This Is Me Trying

In this contemporary coming-of-age YA novel, a teenage girl navigates a romance with an older boy when they're cast as the leading roles in their school's production of Romeo and Juliet. When Brooke and Matt are cast as romantic leads in their school's theater performance of Romeo and Juliet, they don't mean to actually fall in love. Brooke considers secrets and lies a small price to pay for a relationship with an older guy, until she learns of the illegality of Matt's actions one night in an empty auditorium when they take their relationship to the next level. When her anxiety reaches breaking point, Brooke makes a decision that changes her life forever. Years later, as adults, Matt is reunited with Brooke, desperately seeking redemption. Can they both find the strength to forgive one another, or is it too late? Exploring mental health, co-dependency, and the blurred lines of sexual consent, this captivating debut reveals a young woman's journey to independence as she strays from everything she has ever known to confront her traumatic past.