Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings.

Although he’s the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate’s seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist in real life.

Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel—but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernández, his childhood best friend.

After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after?

Much like Perks of Being a Wallflower, this novel captures the mundanities and hormonal ups and downs of teenage life. Nathan is a bit of an overthinker, moreso than usual as he tries to get over his feelings about his ex-girlfriend/current still friend cheating on him. He forces himself to forgive her because he wants her in his life, and has a tiny hope that she’ll come back to him while knowing it will never happen. And she is busy trying to get him to be friends with her new gf and encouraging new relationships because she feels guilty for cheating and is also scared that his resentment will make him leave her.

Sounds complicated, and you’d think it would have more dramatic tension, but it doesn’t. Like I said above, teen life is kinda mundane. Their fights aren’t dramatic, drag-outs because Nathan tends to be emotionally repressed, and is more torn up at beating himself up for his assholery. Honestly, he has ups and downs between being a self-aware dick and trying to make up for dickishness because he doesn’t know how to process his emotions or communicate. Yet Callender manages to keep readers on his side because sometimes his options are just that shitty.

His romance with Oliver James was sweet, and I believe it’s because of their absence from each other that allowed them to get together again whereas his comfortability with Florence made him all the more scared of losing her and made sex a bigger deal that scared him. Also I just love to artsy boyfriends encouraging each other’s artsy talents.

I wish there had been more exploration of his relationship with his Mom and how her grief over his father affected his views on love, and her desire to go nearby for college. It was decently illustrated in the pages that were there, but felt like it could have had more oomph. Then again, this is a coming of age novel and Nathan is sixteen so he doesn’t want to be hanging around his house/Mom have a big presence in his life so I guess it makes sense.

His other two friends, Gideon and Ashley were fine. I liked what they added to the friend group, but also felt nonessential too. Like I said, this has a slower, mundane pace to match real life so I shouldn’t expect the supporting characters to be foils or whatever to Nathan’s realization that loving in the present can be enough.

It’s a good novel with a refreshing lack of tropes, and well-rounded characters, but if they don’t grab you, the slow pace and lack of drama will make you tap out.

3 stars.