One True Loves by Elise Bryant
Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Publication Date: January 4, 2022
ISBN: 9780062982865
Lenore (fans will remember her from Bryant’s Happily Ever Afters) is on a European cruise with her siblings and parents the summer after high school. She’s NYU bound in the fall – as long as she can pick a major by the end of the cruise. Also, her brother’s acting weird, and there’s an annoying guy hanging around. As Lenore struggles to make a plan for her future, she realizes maybe she doesn’t need to struggle alone.
One True Loves is both about finding yourself and falling in love. The characters are complex and the writing is engaging. The romance is naturally woven around consideration of the little space afforded to Black young adults to make mistakes or change directions.
Give One True Loves to fans of Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever, Sarah Dessen, or Blackout.
—Abby Lance
Other Nominated Titles:
- The Year I Stopped Trying by Katie Heaney
- Live, Laugh, Kidnap by Gabby Noone
- The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin by Kip Wilson
The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the title suggestion form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination.
Each week, the teams feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation are listed as well. At year’s end, the team will curate a final list from all nominated titles and select a Top Ten.