Wish You Weren’t Here
Written by Erin Baldwin
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers
Juliette doesn’t hate Priya Pendley.
At least, not in the way teen movies say she should hate the hot popular girl. They don’t do cat fights, love triangles, or betrayal. To survive their intertwined small town lives, they’ve agreed to a truce. They complete group projects without fighting, never gossip to mutual friends, and stand on opposite sides of photos so it’s easy to crop each other out.
Priya seems to have everything during the school year—social media stardom, the handsome track captain boyfriend, and millions of adoring fans—and Juliette is at peace with that. Because Juliette has the summer, and the one place she never feels like “too much”: Fogridge Sleepaway Camp.
But her hopes for a few Priya-free weeks are shattered when her rival shows up at Fogridge on move-in day… as her cabinmate, no less. Juliette is determined to enjoy her final summer, even if it means (gag) tolerating her childhood rival, but everything that can go wrong, does.
If Juliette can’t find something to like about her situation—and about Priya—she risks hating the only home she’s ever had, right before she says goodbye to it forever.
Primary ISBN: 9780593622698
Publication Date: June 2024
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult, Age 12 or older
Community Represented: Filipino/Filipino American, Unspecified (South Asian)
Themes: Accolades & Awards, Accolades & Awards: Starred Review, Cross-Group Friendship, Format: Audiobook, Genre: Romance, Identity: Multiracial, LGBTQIA+
Setting: United States
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Unknown Arrival
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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