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.

September 15, 2023
A newly instated student council president's ambitious schemes to abolish a dance go awry when his archnemesis, the vice president, suggests a sponsorship with a trending social media app. As student council president, Wren Martin intends to enact meaningful change before he graduates by eliminating the Dance. The Dance may be the biggest social event of the year, but it eats up over half the student council's budget, which instead could be used to fix the hole in the auditorium's stage. Unfortunately, not everyone on the student council agrees with Wren's revolutionary plan. Even worse, smart, handsome, annoyingly perfect, and inexcusably tall Leo Reyes, the vice president, suggests an alternative to keep the Dance and their budget: a sponsorship with Buddy, an anonymous friendship social media app. This coming-of-age romantic comedy centers on an asexual protagonist in a lighthearted enemies-to-lovers relationship. Wren's quirkiness and precise comedic timing strike a refreshing balance with his stubborn, jaded attitude, making him as endearing as he is flawed. Social media plays a significant role in the plot, showing both the benefits and drawbacks of online relationships with honesty. Grief and loss also feature as central themes of the story. While Wren reads white, the well-developed cast of secondary characters reflects some diversity, including Leo (cued Latine), Wren's best friend and her family (implied Black), and the other two student council members (cued Chinese American). Sharp, lovable, and timely. (Romance. 14-18)

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December 1, 2023

Gr 9 Up-High-strung student council president Wren Martin has one goal for his senior year term: to eliminate the school's wasteful spending on the annual Valentine's Day Dance and use the money to address more pressing needs, like fixing the hole in the auditorium's stage. When golden boy and student council vice president Leo Reyes comes up with an inspired solution-getting anonymous social media messaging app Buddy to sponsor the dance-Wren is profoundly annoyed. With the app's anonymous matches slated to be revealed on the eve of the dance, it's bigger and buzzier than ever, saddling Wren with a year's worth of collaboration with Leo, his long-time nemesis. Nobody can ever find out that cynical, dance-hating Wren has secretly downloaded the Buddy app-or worse yet, that he's falling for his match. Employing the tried-and-true plot structure of movies such as You've Got Mail, this is a charming, quippy romance perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli or Casey McQuiston. The plot's semi-strained mechanics are balanced out by effortless chemistry between the two leads and depth in their backstories that yields satisfying character growth. Wren's asexuality is woven into the narrative subtly and thoughtfully, making this a valuable addition to collections looking to enrich the scope of their LGBTQIA+ representation. Wren is cued as white and Leo as Latinx, with a racially diverse cast of supporting characters. VERDICT A witty, feel-good romance with the perfect blend of tension, banter, and heart. Highly recommended.-Elizabeth Giles

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 22, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* If there's one thing Wren Martin is going to do, it's cancel the school's Valentine's Day dance. As student council president, he's committed to the idea that the school is a waste of resources and that its focus on romance is exclusionary for people, like him, who might be asexual or not focused on romance. It's bad enough that everyone at school is obsessed with the anonymous chatting app, Buddy--it's supposed to be for making friends, but people are totally using it to hook up. Wren never expects Leo Reyes, student council vice president and longtime thorn in Wren's side, to suggest the school get Buddy to sponsor the Valentine's Day dance, freeing up Wren's budget, and he definitely never expects Buddy to say yes. When he joins the app, it's just to see what he's up against, but then he meets someone he can't stop talking to (or thinking about). As he and Leo bond unexpectedly over shared grief, the dance they're planning together starts to spiral out of control. The surprise here isn't where this rivals-to-lovers romance is headed but in the wit and warmth with which DeWitt takes it there. Wren (sharply funny, endearingly grumpy) beautifully articulates the loneliness of asexuality in a world that doesn't fully understand or engage with it, and the trajectory of his story feels lovingly earned.

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