Begin Again: A Novel

by Emma Lord

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Author Emma Lord is back with another romantic page turner, this time set against the backdrop of one of life’s biggest adventures – college. This heartfelt story of self-discovery and unexpected love is sure to make readers laugh, cry, and everything in between.

As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hyper competitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite the nerves that have recently thrown her for a loop. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it all together.

But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out of Blue Ridge to her community college. Her roommate Shay needs a major, and despite Andie’s impressive track record of being The Fixer, she’s stumped on how to help. And Milo, her coffee-guzzling grump of an R.A. with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack at a time.

But sometimes, when all your plans are in rubble at your feet, you find out what you’re made of. And when Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away–Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.

Filled with a friend group that feels like family, an empowering journey of finding your own way, and a Just Kiss Already! romance, Begin Again is an unforgettable novel of love and starting again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250874948
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/30/2024
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	6,659
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Emma Lord is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn't writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, a whole lot of love, and copious amounts of grilled cheese. She is the author of Tweet Cute, You Have a Match, When You Get the Chance, Begin Again, The Getaway List, The Break-Up Pact, and The Rival.

Editorial Reviews

"This grumpy-sunshine rom-com features a grouch with a secret heart of gold, an eternal optimist with plenty of depth beneath the surface, a healthy dose of banter, and a generous helping of Lord’s laugh-out-loud wit." - School Library Journal

"If you haven’t read a novel by Emma Lord before, you’ve been missing out on something spectacular." - Paste

From the Publisher

11/14/2022

Eighteen-year-old Andie always dreamed of studying psychology at Blue Ridge State, where her go-getter mother, who died seven years ago, pioneered the college’s radio program. After she’s rejected, though, she attends Little Fells Community College while her boyfriend, Connor, heads off to Blue Ridge. When she’s given the opportunity to transfer, she keeps the good news secret from Connor, hoping to surprise him. But upon arriving at Blue Ridge, she learns that Connor has transferred to Little Fells to be near her. Andie’s anxiety at being alone in an unfamiliar place is further complicated by her struggle to maintain a long-distance relationship with Connor, pass a difficult statistics class, and get to know her perpetually sleep-deprived RA, Milo, who inexplicably appears when Andie needs help. Andie jumps at the chance to headline an anonymous advice show at the radio station her mother started, but an emotional mishap jeopardizes her budding collegiate life. Utilizing sparkling humor, familiar romantic tropes, and tidily resolved conflicts, Lord (When You Get the Chance) deftly balances Andie’s challenges with an authentic teen voice, leading to a gratifying romance. Andie, Connor, and Milo cue as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Janna Bonikowski, Knight Agency. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

01/01/2023

Gr 8 Up—When Andie Rose doesn't get into her dream college, she goes to community college and works hard to transfer. She shows up at Blue Ridge State mid-year, armed with a relentlessly positive attitude and unlimited snack cakes, and jumps headfirst into college life—corralling her reluctant dormmates into weekly hangouts and diving into the ribbon hunt that will help her gain entrance into the same secret society her late mother was in. She also jumps into solving her new friends' problems—helping her roommate Shay figure out a major and curing her grumpy RA's caffeine addiction. All this might be a means to avoid her own issues, like her struggles with statistics class, her fears that she'll never live up to her mother's legacy, and her problems connecting with her long-distance boyfriend. As she finds a home away from home at Blue Ridge State, complete with ride-or-die friendships and maybe even a new romance, Andie will have to come to terms with her past, reckon with her expectations for herself, and find a future path that's all her own. This grumpy-sunshine rom-com features a grouch with a secret heart of gold, an eternal optimist with plenty of depth beneath the surface, a healthy dose of banter, and a generous helping of Lord's laugh-out-loud wit. While Andie is the star of this story, secondary characters, especially new friends, Shay and Valeria, are fleshed out and have their own interesting narrative. Andie and her RA, Milo, are presumed white and straight; Shay is Black, Valeria is biracial, and both girls are queer. VERDICT A worthwhile addition to your collection to satisfy romance lovers and fans of Lord's previous books.—Alison Glass

School Library Journal

2022-10-11
A destined-to-be romance hits a snag.

Andie Rose is no shirker—she doesn’t fear hard work, and she has ridiculous plans for achieving her goals. The first step is transferring from Little Fells Community College to competitive Blue Ridge State, where her boyfriend, Connor Whit, is a student. Andie is certain the two were made for each other. She will major in psychology and write a self-help guide for achieving happiness, which of course means she must first master it herself. Hoping to give Connor the surprise of his life, midyear freshman transfer Andie shows up at the university without telling him—only to discover that Connor has in fact transferred to Little Fells in an effort to surprise her. The couple decide to grin and bear it for a semester, and as Andie does her best to navigate this absurd situation, she finds comfort in the company of attractive but surly resident adviser Milo Flynn and a gig anonymously giving advice on the university’s long-standing pirate radio show. The premise references popular romantic tropes that will appeal to many readers. Unfortunately, the book is let down by thin characterization: Laser-focused Andie feels over-the-top and there’s no real friction, desire, or excitement between her and Milo. Without exciting narrative hooks to keep readers invested, the story fails to spark.

Contains all the right ingredients but doesn’t quite come together. (Romance. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews