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Last Chance Dance



by
Lakita Wilson

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Penguin Random House
Imprint
Viking
ISBN
9780593525616
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco: Underage Use
$23.57   $19.64
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QTY

JLG Category

City High School

An utterly charming YA romance perfect for fans of Elise Bryant and Leah Johnson. Leila is devastated when her high school boyfriend breaks up with her right before graduation, but when she gets paired with four unrequited crushes in the lead-up to her school's annual Last Chance Dance, she might just fall in love with someone new.

Leila is crushed when Dev, her boyfriend of four years, breaks up with her right before graduation. Just when she’s thinking she wasted her entire high school experience on a dead-end relationship, her best friend Bree reminds her that Last Chance Dance is just around the corner.

A high school tradition, the Last Chance Dance gives all the students one last opportunity to find love before they graduate. All Leila has to do is submit three unrequited crushes to the dance committee and if any of her crushes list her too, they’ll get matched. Presto: new relationship, just like that. To her utter amazement, Leila is matched with all three of her choices—and with someone she never expected, Tre Hillman, her chemistry partner and low-key nemesis.

Though at times skeptical, Leila embarks on her Last Chance Dance mission—trying out her matches and going on dates. If Dev wasn’t her true love—then maybe someone else is. She knows it’s definitely not Tre, even though he seems more and more determined to convince her he’s right for her.

But as graduation and the dance approaches, and each date seems to change her mind (and her heart)—Leila must figure out what—and who—she really wants. It’s her last chance, right?

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco: Underage Use

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

336

Trim Size

8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Dewey

F

AR

0: points 0

Lexile

770L

Genre

Fic

Scholastic Reading Counts

0

JLG Release

May 2023

Book Genres

Realistic Fiction, Romance

Topics

School dances. Dating. Washington, DC. Black people. High schools. LGBTQ. 

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Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

School Library Journal

Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Smarting from her parents' divorce in eighth grade, Leila Bean thinks it must be fate when she meets cute Dev Rajan while shopping for schools supplies the summer before freshman year. Then after four years as their high school's most unproblematic couple, Leila is devastated when Dev decides to break up with her just before graduation, instead of taking their relationship long-distance during college. Hurting from the breakup and the confusion of being out of a committed relationship for essentially the first time, Leila is devastated that this will be her biggest memory from high school. Then best friend Bree reminds Leila that the school's Last Chance Dance is coming up, giving Leila a chance to match with three unrequited crushes (if the interest is mutual) and one algorithm-chosen wild card. No one is more surprised than Leila when she's matched with all of her crushes and her longtime nemesis. Going on dates with athletic Kai, activist Mason, and bookstagrammer Eva is fun, but the biggest surprise for Leila is that class clown Tre' (orchestrator of her biggest humiliation in eighth grade and possibly her entire life) might be an actual contender for a date and maybe even more. Leila and most of the characters in her Maryland school are Black; characters fall across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, including bisexual Eva and "masculine-presenting lesbian" Bree. VERDICT Wilson's breezy narrative and the inventive Last Chance Dance premise make a winning combination in this romance where Leila learns how to trust again while figuring out how to define herself outside of her relationship status.-Emma Carbone?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

School Library Journal

Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Smarting from her parents' divorce in eighth grade, Leila Bean thinks it must be fate when she meets cute Dev Rajan while shopping for schools supplies the summer before freshman year. Then after four years as their high school's most unproblematic couple, Leila is devastated when Dev decides to break up with her just before graduation, instead of taking their relationship long-distance during college. Hurting from the breakup and the confusion of being out of a committed relationship for essentially the first time, Leila is devastated that this will be her biggest memory from high school. Then best friend Bree reminds Leila that the school's Last Chance Dance is coming up, giving Leila a chance to match with three unrequited crushes (if the interest is mutual) and one algorithm-chosen wild card. No one is more surprised than Leila when she's matched with all of her crushes and her longtime nemesis. Going on dates with athletic Kai, activist Mason, and bookstagrammer Eva is fun, but the biggest surprise for Leila is that class clown Tre' (orchestrator of her biggest humiliation in eighth grade and possibly her entire life) might be an actual contender for a date and maybe even more. Leila and most of the characters in her Maryland school are Black; characters fall across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, including bisexual Eva and "masculine-presenting lesbian" Bree. VERDICT Wilson's breezy narrative and the inventive Last Chance Dance premise make a winning combination in this romance where Leila learns how to trust again while figuring out how to define herself outside of her relationship status.-Emma Carbone?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Grades 10 & Up
City High School
For Grades 10 & Up

Teen readers looking for realistic city settings and urban themes will enjoy these often-gritty titles that deal with contemporary situations and feature ethnically and culturally diverse characters. These titles will have special appeal for urban teens who want to see their own lives reflected in the books they read. Readers interested in the excitement and challenges of a city setting will also be drawn to the 12 books that comprise this category.

12 books per Year
$259.20 per Year
Interests
Diversity,Fiction,Mature Readers,LGBTQ+,Novels,Realistic Fiction
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Grades 10 & Up
City High School
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