Country Girl, City Girl

Phoebe Sharp has long red braids. She wears old beat-up sneakers and clothes from Goodwill. She lives with her father and brother on a small farm in Maine, where she reads fairy tales to her goats and snaps pictures with her Instamatic camera. Phoebe doesn’t have a single friend, never mind a boyfriend—that is, not until she meets Melita.

Melita arrives at the Sharps’ farm in a see-through T-shirt and strappy platform sandals that show off her drawn-on “tattoo.” With her caramel-colored skin, stylish clothes, and urban attitude, Melita seems as different from Phoebe as two teenage girls could be. Through the summer, the girls grow to know each other. As their friendship develops, confusing feelings also begin to emerge. Could their friendship be deepening into something more?

• Friends to Lovers: Phoebe has never had a friend, let alone a crush. When worldly Melita arrives for the summer, everything Phoebe thought she knew about friendship—and herself—begins to change.
• Opposites Attract: One is a quiet farm girl with beat-up sneakers; the other is a confident city girl in platform sandals. Their connection is as unlikely as it is unforgettable.
• A Sweet YA LGBTQ+ Romance: A tender and heartfelt story about discovering your identity and the courage it takes to explore new feelings for the very first time.
• Atmospheric Small Town Setting: Set against the backdrop of a quiet Maine farm, this gentle romance captures the magic of a single, life-changing summer.

Jahn-Clough shows insight into Phoebe's developing personality.
—Kirkus Reviews A shy unpolished girl in the throes of growing up having something to offer to a fashion maven will be a welcome idea to the many girls for whom glamour and popularity seem as distant as the moon.
—School Library Journal Smoothly told, with feminist sensibilities and references to Grimms' Fairy Tales, this novel engages readers with a fully developed protagonist who demands sympathy from her reader.
—VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)