Suffer Love

February 8, 2016
Hadley’s family is trying to repair itself after the discovery that her father was having an affair. Sam’s family is in a similar situation—his mother was the one involved with Hadley’s father. After the two teenagers meet at school, they begin to fall for each other, but Hadley is unaware of the connection between their families; Sam regrets keeping this secret from her but worries it could ruin their fragile new romance. Shifting between Sam and Hadley’s points of view—with anger and disillusionment viscerally apparent in each of their voices—debut author Blake puts the teens in a near-impossible situation, adeptly showing how Sam and Hadley can be more adult in handling the complications of romance than all four of their parents. The two scenarios Blake sets up (Hadley’s family tries to stay together, while Sam’s starts over) both emphasize the painful ways that infidelity takes a toll on entire families. Readers will be left thinking about the ways love can both hurt and heal. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Rees Literary Agency.