YAThursday

First & Then by Emma Mills (Henry Holt hardcover, 13 October 2015).

Devon loves Jane Austen.  So much so that almost all her thoughts go through the  WWJD (What Would Jane Do?) filter.  Of course, she doesn't always act on it, especially in her everyday speech patterns.

But she does keep her crush on her best friend Cas to herself.  She's pretty sure he doesn't know about it, seeing as he treats her almost like one of the guys.

In her senior year, her fourteen-year-old cousin Foster comes to stay with them.  Foster doesn't like Cas, but Devon doesn't like Foster.  He's a skinny geek who belongs to the Future Science Revolutionaries Club, and is relentlessly cheerful despite the fact that his father recently died and he's been more or less abandoned by his addict mother.  

Because she hasn't taken her required year of PE yet, she's forced to be in a class with a bunch of freshmen, including Foster.  But one other senior is in the class:  obnoxious football star Ezra Lynley, who seems to think Devon is a lower life form.

But when Foster unexpectedly displays an incredible talent for kicking a football, Ezra takes him under his wing, and Devon is forced to learn more about Ezra than she ever wanted to.

Vlogger Emma Mills' debut novel is a charmer, with believable characters and a sly wit that channels Jane.  It has been described as Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights, and was recommended in John Green's 2015 Holiday Book Giving Guide.  Green's fans, as well as Janeites will love this book.




FTC Full Disclosure:  I borrowed this book from my local library.