What To Say Next by Julie Buxbaum - ESSENTIAL

Buxbaum, Julie What To Say Next, 287 pages. Delacorte Press (Random), 2017. $18.99. Language: PG-13 (46 swears, 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG (bullying, off-page fight). 

David is an exceptionally bright loner at the high school, separated from his classmates by his high-functioning autism but generally thought of as just "weird." Kit is one of the more popular girls at school, smart, kind and now forced apart from her classmates by her grief over her father's recent death. When Kit chooses David's lunch table one day in an attempt to avoid her friends, an unlikely and unexpected relationship begins to blossom. Kit needs David's blunt honesty and David needs a friend who will actually see him for who he is. Together they delve into the real story behind the car accident that killed Kit's dad, but the truth--and the getting to it--will challenge their newly discovered friendship in ways neither could expect. 

To put it simply, I loved this book. I loved how the story is told from each character's perspective in alternating chapters, and I appreciated the distinctiveness of each voice. The characters felt real and never said or did things that felt entirely fictional or unbelievable. There were a few twists and turns I was not expecting, but it all seemed true to the story and not just done for added drama. This is a solid YA novel and I'd love to read more just like it. 

MS, HS--ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: TC