Brady Mason's Perfect Fit

Melleby, Nicole. Brady Mason's Perfect Fit
January 13, 2026 by Little, Brown BYR

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Brady Mason lives in New Jersey, not too far from the beach, in a group home with five other girls. She was put up for adoption as an infant, but her adoptive parents died in a car crash and she has never found a home that was a good fit. Ms. Randall doesn't run an unpleasant household, even though there aren't a lot of material comforts, and Brady hopes that she can spend the next six years there. She is close to Cory, and the two have plans to get an apartment in New York City together when they graduate. When the other girls notice a resemblance between Brady and social media personality turned high level editor of Veracite magazine Elena Lavigne, they post aggressively on social media about the connection. This brings spokespeople of  Lavigne's show up at Brady's door asking for a DNA sample. When this shows that Elena IS Brady's biological mother, Brady finds herself briskly swept up and taken to live on the Upper East Side of New York. Since she has fallen out with Cory over a misunderstood kiss, she isn't too sad, especially since she now has a comfortable bed, hot showers, and a very understanding nanny, Mia. She gets to go to work with Elana and finds out how invested in fashion her new mother is, although Brady doesn't particularly care about anything but comfort. She is put into a private school, where she has to deal with mean girls, but makes friends with River, the son of an actress, who understands the scrutiny that Brady now has to deal with. Things don't always go smoothly for Brady, and there are some understandable squabbles as she and Elena get to know each other. There are some highlights, like playing soccer in the park with new friend Alyssa who is more amenable to a more romantic relationship than Cory was. In the end, it helps Brady to visit her old home with Elena, and having a therapist to work through some issues also is a comfort. 

Strengths: This is a fun rags-to-riches story set against the New York City fashion scene. It's unlikely, but plausible, and Brady is an even tempered character who tries to see the best in her difficult situations. This does not mean that she doesn't speak her mind; she is photographed giving the finger to someone pestering her about her mother, often speaks out when she would be better advised to stay silent, and even punches a classmate in the face after he won't stop putting his arm around her and brushes her behind. Readers who enjoyed the LGBTQIA+ characters in Melleby's other books like Hurricane Season, The Science of Being Angry, and  In the Role of Brie Hutchins will be sympathetic to Brady's crush on Cory and her worries about how Elana will react to her. The cover is very appealing and makes this look like a very fun book. 
Weaknesses: I was hoping that Brady would come to see how important fashion was to Elana rather than having Elana write an article on Brady's alternative style, but that's just the way the world is now. I am still personally not understanding the pervasive hatred of dresses! 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who found the happier coverage of children in foster care in O'Shaughnessy's Lasagna Means I Love You and Farr's Pavi Sharma's Guide to Going Home interesting.