by Val Emmich
First published 2022
Tegan Everly keeps to herself at school. Students know her as the girl with the hand, and she mostly talks only to her friend Neel. When her mother ambushes her with a truth she cannot handle, Tegan runs into a snowstorm and takes shelter in the local Thomas Edison museum. Mac Durant arrives soon after. He's the striking athlete everyone adores, and Tegan dislikes him intensely. She even thinks his name sounds fake. But this Mac seems different tonight. He's shaken and needs her help. Over one night, they share antique records and snacks from the corner store. They drop their school masks and escape family pressures. In the New Jersey spot that sparked Edison's greatest inventions, they forge an electric bond and remake themselves. Tegan carries a shameful secret that could destroy what they're building. The story explores how pain can isolate us in darkness or become something we share to light up the world again.
Genres: contemporary, young-adult, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: New Jersey, Thomas Edison Museum
Period: Contemporary
288 pages · Paperback · Poppy
Content warnings: mental-illness