Ollie and Will met over the summer holidays at a lake in North Carolina. Summer lovin’ happened so fast. After summer break is over, they go their separate ways. Ollie gets ghosted by Will (or perhaps he’s been abducted by aliens) and Ollie’s family decides not to go home to California for his senior year so they can help his sick aunty and her family. When Ollie begins at Collinswood High, he isn’t sure if he should be thrilled or alarmed to see Will. To make matters more complicated, Will is still firmly in the closet.

As Ollie begins his senior year, he navigates school cliques and gets to come out of the closet (again). He discovers Will is more basketball jerk than the sweet guy he met at the lake. While attempting to figure out if they could still have (or want) a relationship in this context, Ollie must ensure he doesn’t inadvertently out his crush and also try to protect his own heart from being trampled again.

Only Mostly Devastated is a sweet, contemporary YA novel that is perfect for fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (or the film adaptation, Love, Simon). This queer reimagining of Grease is one I am hopelessly devoted to.

Cindy Morris works as a bookseller at Readings Carlton.