Try Your Worst

Over the years, the rivalry between current high school seniors Sadie Katz and Cleo Chapman has evolved from academic competition into all-out prank war that includes sending singing telegrams and instigating food fights. After an unknown third party frames both girls for vandalism, though, the school threatens them with suspension and other consequences that could threaten their collegiate goals should things escalate further. Now the pair must overcome years of antagonism and misunderstandings to discover who’s implicating them. As they investigate, they open up to each other about their respective challenges—Sadie’s struggles to manage depression and anxiety, Cleo’s experience with chronic pain stemming from hypermobility—and their newfound friendship blooms into something deeper. But when the teens’ enemy doubles down on their targeted smear campaign, the fallout jeopardizes Sadie and Cleo’s fledgling relationship and respective futures. This emotionally rich sapphic enemies-to-lovers tale by Greenfield (Time and Time Again) touches on serious subject matter including mental health and invisible illness. Lighthearted prose, good-natured humor, and rousing character dynamics temper these weighty themes across the girls’ uplifting emotional journeys and fulfilling romance. The protagonists read as white; Sadie is Jewish. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jemiscoe Chambers-Black, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)