Wren Martin Ruins It All

September 11, 2023
Wren Martin, a high school senior who refuses to talk about his mother’s recent death, wants to use his power as the newly elected president of his Florida school’s student council to end the wildly popular Valentine’s Day Dance. That plan gets derailed, however, by the v-p, Leo Reyes, who arranges for the event to be sponsored by Buddy—a social media app meant for anonymously making friends, which many students use as a dating app. Now Wren must work closely with infuriatingly perfect Leo to organize the shindig while wrestling with his romance avoidance; the whole reason he dislikes dating and Valentine’s Day is because he worries that his asexuality will complicate a relationship. But he soon finds himself developing a crush on Buddy, at the same time realizing that he and Leo have more in common than he thought. While attempting to juggle the two developing relationships alongside dance-related hijinks and setbacks, Wren gradually unpacks his grief, uncertainty about his future, and his low self-esteem. Employing Wren’s wry, prickly first-person POV rendered in crisp, believable prose, DeWitt (Aces Wild) delivers a nuanced, hilarious, and highly readable rom-com. Wren reads as white; supporting characters are racially diverse. Ages 14–up. Agent: Cate Hart, Harvey Klinger Literary.