It's Our Prom (So Deal With It)

Gr 9 Up—Azure has a secret crush on her best friend, Radhika, but so does her other best friend, Luke, who happens to be bisexual. When Azure's principal asks her to join the senior prom committee to make it more inclusive, she jumps at the chance, but having no idea how to organize a prom, she enlists her friends' help. From the first meeting, organization goes awry with a clueless advisor and only one member who has ever been involved in planning the event. Fundraisers fall flat, the hotel ballroom burns, and friendships are almost lost, but predictably, in the end, the committee pulls off the best-attended prom ever, replete with royalty, poetry slam, and a drag show. The story is told in alternating chapters by Azure and Luke, with subplots revealing familial issues, such as Radhika's strained relationship with her education-minded parents, old and new romances, and Luke's coming out "musidramedy." While many readers will be a step ahead of the next plot twist, they should still enjoy a fun read about a Denver high school whose idea of inclusivity goes beyond the norm to include all "geeks, freaks, and uniques."—Betty S. Evans, Missouri State University, Springfield