Right Where We Belong

Teens navigate a slow-burn love triangle and physics-bending time-travel shenanigans in this fresh fantasy adventure by Penn (Cancelled). Grieving her father’s recent death, legacy student Delaney Carmichael coasts into her senior year at STEM-focused Upstate New York boarding school Ivernia, half-heartedly intending to fulfill her family’s expectations that she pursue dentistry after graduating. Her plans are upended, however, upon encountering Lord William Alexander Cromwell, a time-jumping refugee from 19th-century England, who was transported via electromagnetic currents caused by a mysterious geomagnetic storm. Now Delaney must turn to her academic rival, math whiz Sumner Winchel, for assistance in engineering William’s return home. Complicating matters are Delaney’s unresolved feelings surrounding her and Sumner’s summer situationship, as well as Delaney’s attraction to William’s charming persona. But when the timeline alterations from William’s arrival risk erasing Delaney’s own existence, she must question what (and whom) she wants in a pulse-pounding race against time. Subplots centering shifting friendships and uncertain career ambitions are thoughtfully executed, and Delaney’s determination to forge her own path—while managing excessively painful menstruation—makes for a swoony novel about personal transformation and agency. Delaney and William read as white; Sumner has Argentian ancestry. Ages 14–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Oct.)