All My Bests

Meister, Britnee. All My Bests
November 12, 2024 by Aladdin

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

Immie and Jack have been friends and neighbors for years, and have a great time hanging out, watching movies the other person hates, and supporting each other at school. As they start high school, however, things start to change. For one thing, Immie finally is insistent that her mother tell her about her father. Immie's always known that she was conceived through IVF, and has never been shy about telling others this. She also hasn't wanted to know about her father, and now she does. Her mother is reluctant to say much, but gives Immie a collection of CDs from 2006 that her father put together. Utilizing technology to try to find her father, Immie puts together a fake social media account to try to figure out who her father was. Jack, who has parents who support his siblings but seem too busy to watch his soccer games, is struggling with several different issues. He isn't the soccer star his brother is, and has been prone to injuries lately. Not only that, but his feelings for Immie have changed. Every time he thinks he can make a move, Immie seems to be interested in someone else. She is; Elijah is very cute, but she also is starting to think about Jack in a new way. As high school begins, the two engage in an intricate dance of emotions where they are constantly treading on each other's toes. Set against the background of Immie's father's songs, and from Immie's viewpoint, then Jack's, and then from them both together, we see how their relationship evolves. 

Strengths: Immie and Jack are starting their freshman year in high school, which is the perfect age to appeal to both middle school and younger high school readers. While there is a high school party, there's not a lot of drinking shown, and no hanky panky, which is increasingly rare in Young Adult books. It's good to see that Immie and Jack are firm friends, and have many shared interests. I also found it interesting that Jack really tried to tell himself that Elijah was a better choice for Immie because she deserved someone better than himself. This is such a great encapsulation of the early teen psyche, and was quite touching. This was a quicker read than I thought it would be, and kept me interested the whole time, even though I am old and roll my eyes at some of the teen thinking. The cover will age very well. 
Weaknesses: There are a lot of details about the songs that may not resonate with middle school readers, but high school students might find looking into the music of the era when they were born interesting. It might have been helpful to have included a playlist of all the songs if readers wanted to listen to them without having to page back through the story. 
What I really think: At 384 pages, this is a little on the long side, but the inclusion of the male perspective in a romance, as well as Jack's anxiety, make this a compelling story. This is perfect for fans of dual point romances like Blecher's Listen to This and Heldring's The Football Girl. 

I would have loved this in high school, but was just sort of annoyed with the characters as an adult. I also found it difficult to believe that in 2006, the mother would have cared at all about telling the daughter who her father was. I think more of my students don't have fathers in the home than do.