My Epic Spring Break (Up)

Gr 7 Up–Ashley Bergen is a studious teenager who loves coding. Spring break is here and she’s excited to find out if she was chosen for a summer internship at ZigZag, a social networking company, and to compete in the Hackathon, a marathon coding competition. But a talk with her lifelong friend Jason makes Ashley think she is not “making the most” of her high school years. When she discovers she didn’t make the cut for ZigZag, she vows to have more fun, starting with reaching out to her crush, Walker Beech. They start dating; it’s fun at first, but Ashley realizes she doesn’t have much in common with Walker and he’s a player. Meanwhile, Jason isn’t thrilled about Ashley dating. And when things go south with Walker, Ashley finds herself thinking about how much better it would be if Jason were there instead. Ashley is smart, driven to succeed, and she confidently participates in a male-dominated activity. Her feelings waver between the two boys, creating a back and forth that drags at times. Some aspects of the story are unrealistic, and it’s odd that Ashley is unaware of Jason’s feelings for her. Race and ethnicity of the characters are not mentioned, but names throughout the story suggest some diversity among secondary characters.