Bookish Boyfriends

Boys are so much better in books. At least according to Merrilee Campbell, 15, who thinks real-life chivalry is dead and there’d be nothing more romantic than having a guy woo her like the heroes in classic stories. Then she, her best friend, Eliza, and her younger sister, Rory, transfer to Reginald R. Hero Prep - where all the boys look like they've stepped off the pages of a romance novel. Merri can hardly walk across the quad without running into someone who reminds her of Romeo.

There’s no one better than the boy next door. At least not according to Aurora Campbell, 14, who has been in love with Tobias May since their very first sandbox kiss. The problem is, he’s in love with her older sister, Merrilee. And Merri is already dating one of his best friends. When Ms. Gregoire assigns her to read Little Women for extra credit, Rory discovers more than she expected - both about herself and Toby. Maybe she wasn’t in love with the boy next door...but the boy next story.

Eliza Gordon-Fergus—best friend of Merrilee Campbell—is an expert rule-follower. She has to be; her scientist parents demand she follow dozens of them. They call it “parenting-by-proxy” since they’re rarely on the same continent. Their rules dictate her nutrition, education, sleep, workouts … and forbid her from dating. Eliza studiously obeys them all. Which is why she finds Curtis Cavendish maddening. Rules don’t seem to apply to him. He’s never punished for his class-clown antics—and worse, his mischief actually masks brilliance. Like, give-Eliza-a-run-for-valedictorian brilliance.

The game’s afoot in the next book of the Bookish Boyfriends series—this time starring Huck and Winston! After Ms. Gregoire assigns the works of Sherlock Holmes in English class, a mystery deepens at Reginald R. Hero High. Huck and Win—Curtis’s younger brother—team up to solve the case . . . and while the sleuths gather clues, another swoon-worthy romance blooms in the school halls.