Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti

Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti, Viking, 2010.

Lani and Erin, although two completely different individuals, have been best friends forever. They don't always agree on everything, but their friendship is strong enough to weather any storm. Or so Lani thought. Almost finished with junior year, Erin sets her sights on Jason and enlists Lani's help. Lani thinks Jason is a great guy, and the pair connect on several levels. Lani, always striving to be a good person and an even better friend, convinces herself that the connection between her and Jason is one of friendship, and even when she begins to suspect that her feelings are not as honorable as she'd like them to be, squelches those feelings in deference to Erin.

Things might go on in this plateau-like state forever, except that summer arrives, as it aways does, and Erin heads off to camp, as she always does. Lani still struggles to hide her feelings for Jason, but begins to suspect that fate might be trying to tell her something. Should she risk her friendship with Erin to tempt fate with Jason?

I was really, really looking forward to reading this book and have been waiting anxiously for it to arrive in my library. It was totally worth the wait. Colasanti has a skill when writing from teens' points of view. The language and the situations are realistic. While the story isn't a new concept--girl meets boy, girl dates boy, girl's best friend falls in love with boy--Colasanti presents this situation in a fresh and real way.

While the main characters in the story are pretty well-rounded and not without their faults, the secondary characters, for the most part, are just evil. Most of Lani's classmates are terrible, homophobic monger homophobes. The glowing exception is Blake, Lani's best guy friend, whose homosexuality has to remain a secret not because he's ashamed of it, but because he literally fears for his life. Blake is an incredible character, one of the few that readers know, without hesitation, will absolutely have his own happy ending. I would love to see him as main character in a spinoff book!

Enjoy your reading!
Christi