Anything to Have You

December 9, 2013
Harbison (New Girl) follows the faltering friendship between a pair of high school seniors in this entertaining and believable drama. Brooke is an attention-seeker who begs her serious-minded best friend Natalie to “make an effort” to party with her before they graduate. At the “Stupid Cupid Rager,” Brooke gets drunk, flirty, and belligerent, once again alienating her boyfriend, Aiden, as well as Natalie. A hungover Natalie awakes the next morning in bed with Aiden and little memory of the night before. She knows she’s had sex and assumes it’s with golden boy Eric, who’s been acting unusually friendly. Yet she can’t shake her feelings for Aiden and the guilt that accompanies them. Meanwhile, Brooke’s risk-taking spirals out of control. Harbison makes it easy to sympathize with and understand both girls—the narration alternates between Natalie and Brooke (allowing readers to see certain scenes and events from two angles), and occasional flashbacks give a fuller sense of their friendship. A realistic look at the difficulty of searching for a direction in life and pursuing one’s desires honestly. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jane Rotrosen Agency.