I received this Netgalley ARC for free from Kanter’s agent in exchange for an honest review.

Ava (our titular “Fitz”) Fitzgerald’s brand is all about sustainability fashion. In fact, she has created quite a career out of it on social media. Soon, she’ll upgrade on a prestigious fashion internship in NY and prove to her girlfriend that long distance will be no sweat when Danica graduates.

Unfortunately for Fitz, Danica prempts her absence with a breakup, sending Fitz into a heartbreak spiral as she’s haunted by Danica’s accusation that Fitz is more concerned with her online brand than their real life relationship. She deciddes to go on a clense, even though it means losing her upcycling mometum and losing followers because she needs to show she’s changed. However, changing oneself might not be enough. So when she gets a surprise reunion with her childhood best friend, Levi Berkowitz, she recruits him to be her fake boyfriend. Dani will be jealous, his ex will be jealous, and by September, they’ll be back with the person they belong.

Any savvy reader can guess where this fake dating trope will end up. Let’s be real. Add in childhood best friends reconnecting in young adulthood as they remisce about their old dreams, how they’ve changed, how they might get back on track before parental/academic pressure and social media distracted them, it makes for a sweet romance that they never thought they needed.

Okay, I’ll admit that this book immediately reminded me of Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi just from the synopsis. Influencer whose break-up with her GF 9also involving blurred lines between their brand online and codependency) spurs her to take a break from the social media that has been burning her out to fall in love with the less tech-savvy male lead, and thus has to fight questions of if she belongs in queer spaces. It was kinda hard to shake off those similarities, but it Kanter managed to set it apart with a sweet focus on Fitz’s sisterly relationship.

Her older sisters are so much cooler and get-together, and she desperately wants to be like them and treated like an equal but they shut her out because theyre dealing with more adult issues. They’re protecting her in a way from how unglamorous life is, but in shutting her out, she doesn’t see that side. She just feels isolated, so one can understand why she’s so desperate to reunite with Danica as one of the most meaningful relationships she had. They had one of the most meaningful arcs and relationship growth. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for siblings but seeing them bond and understand each other was my favorite part of the book.

The romance itself was cute, but nothing I haven’t seen before and predictable. Fans of New York will enjoy Kanter’s obvious love for the city through Fitz and Levi’s “not dates,” and their romance is build up well.

Honestly, I give it 3 stars. It would have been more, but it is just so similar to Follow Your Arrow that I cannot stop comparing it. Reading that one first makes this feel unoriginal as it social media addiction seems like the new trend in YA and doesn’t tackle “the bisexuality is queer too” in a stand-out way as it did when CeCe made her speech at Pride and learning not to judge herself so much on other’s opinions especially her father’s. However, it Kanter’s subtle Jewish rep was nice to see.

Again, it’s not to say this is bad. If I hadn’t read Follow Your Arrow first, I probably would be giving this 4 stars as it’s a wholesome read and would be a nice intro book to anyone finding reassurence about their place in queer spaces and the relatable difficulties of growing up Gen Z with social media at your fingertips. Wow, I feel old typing that.

3 stars.