A few weeks ago, Star Line received an ARC of Nic Stone's upcoming release, Odd One Out, which will drop on October 9th, 2018. So naturally, I grabbed it first cause I love this mermaid novelist.
I absolutely devoured this book. Stone's first release Dear Martin was a timely novel in reaction to the brutality & stereotyping against African American men, specifically young men. Odd One Out is the novel that Stone wished she'd had when she was a teen as she was figuring out who she was. This story follows the narratives of three friends, two old and one new. Courtney Cooper is a lovable basketball player, who, though he could have any girl he desired, wants his best friend Jupiter Charity-Sanchez, who also happens to like girls. Then Rae Chin moves into town and forms a wedge down through the Jupe-and-Coop duo.
After her parents divorce, her mother choosing to leave, and her older sister abandoning her, Rae is all kinds of messed up, and the only way she can keep it together is to keep on smiling and pleasing everyone. But as she becomes closer to Cooper and Jupiter, they force her to question her people-pleasing tendencies and confront the root of her problems--the day that everything fell to shambles.
Which just happens to be the same day that Cooper's dad was killed in a car accident while Cooper and his mom were at the same famous kid-scientist show in Atlanta.
Through their common connection, Cooper and Rae grow closer as they try to solve a mystery and come to terms with their own traumas. Meanwhile Rae and Jupiter have a hard time ignoring their natural chemistry, which just mixes up everyone's brains. And then there's the undeniable connection between Jupe-and-Coop, which has been building up over a lifetime.
Who loves who? Who's supposed to love who? What if who you thought you were isn't who you are at all, or only a small part of you?
Being a teenager is one of the most confusing times in a person's life, hands down. Yes, we're still figuring it all out when we're in our twenties, sometimes 30s & 40s and so on, and that's okay. But the teen years are when we really start to develop who we are deep down inside. Nic Stone weaves three tales into one with her precise, witty dialogue and unique, lively characters that pull at your heartstrings.
I can't wait to see what Nic does next. If you haven't read Dear Martin yet, be sure to check it out before Odd One Out's release in October!
Happy Reading,
HER
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