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Summary
Summary
"A sweetly charming love story that leaves the reader with a lasting sense of hope." --Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star
"The perfect novel to snuggle up with." --Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read
A heartwarming and thoughtful enemies-to-lovers rom-com about two teens--one trying to save his family's failing pinball arcade, the other working for her tech genius dad who wants to take it over--who get trapped together in a snowstorm.
Adam Stillwater is in over his head. But the pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he's determined to protect it from Philadelphia's newest tech mogul, who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafés.
Whitney Mitchell doesn't know how she got here. Her parents split up. Her boyfriend dumped her. And now she's spending her senior year running social media for her dad's chain of super successful gaming cafés--which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town.
But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between them seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place. But what happens when the storm ends?
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Philly kids Adam and Whitney were best friends and inseparable through junior high; then, Adam's father died and the grief caused them to drift apart. Now, both are seniors, and rivals, each struggling in their own way. Adam runs his dad's faltering pinball arcade while Whitney struggles for her dad's attention as the social media voice of his growing esports franchise; a franchise intent on buying up the arcade and one of Adam's last pieces of his father. A massive Philly snowstorm gives the pair a chance to resolve their differences and rediscover their friendship (and maybe even more), but they soon learn the path to reconciliation is not always easy. This is a relatively routine YA romance plot-wise, but gives itself a boost with its inventive premise and with the way Smith explores Adam and Whitney's struggle to define themselves and their place. It's also about family and the balance between living for yourself and living up to expectations, real or otherwise. Unfortunately, the story drags quite a bit in the beginning and only really picks up just before the snowstorm hits. The two main characters are developed well and their stories are compelling, but some of the support characters come off two-dimensional. The old versus new dynamic is nicely played out with the arcade and the esports café each supporting the narratives of Adam and Whitney. There are several pinball references, including excerpts from a fictitious book called The Art and Zen of Pinball Repair, and while many of them are interesting, some of the references feel gratuitous. Overall, Smith's book will find an audience with folks who like a nice, simple romance or are attracted to the subject. VERDICT A sweet romance with a quirky premise and solid, relatable protagonists.--Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX
Publisher's Weekly Review
Once close friends, high school seniors Adam Stillwater and Whitney Mitchell now spar on Twitter via their respective family businesses' social media accounts. Palestinian and Sicilian American Adam is trying to keep his deceased father's beloved pinball arcade alive, but his mother is exhausted, and it's time for him to think about college. Cued-white Whitney, meanwhile, is trying to get her father--an entrepreneur who's finally hit it big with an e-sports place--to notice her by handling his social media. Whitney and Adam drifted apart when high school started: she got cool, while he got caught up in running the arcade. Set in the run-up to their Philadelphia neighborhood's winter festival, and told alternatingly by Adam and Whitney--and their snarky social media exchanges--the book shows Adam's lingering grief, and Whitney's doubts about her mean-girl friend choices. Then a snowstorm threatens to derail the festival and thrusts Adam and Whitney together. Smith (Don't Read the Comments) does a nice job setting up the camaraderie between local merchants; while excerpts from an imaginary pinball repair guide grow a bit wearying, it's a pleasure to see the two leads work through the past to build a future. Ages 13--up. Agent: Dawn Frederick, Red Sofa Literary. (Nov.)
Booklist Review
Since entering high school, Adam has helped his mom run their failing pinball arcade, his late father's passion. After his dad's passing, Adam also lost his best friend Whitney, who found new friends and fell into managing social media for her own work-obsessed father's booming gaming cafés. Now, the two teens only interact when feuding via their workplace Twitter accounts--or is it flirting? As a blizzard threatens to shut down Philadelphia's Old City Winter Festival, Adam is determined to keep his dad's dream alive, but what about his own? Smith alternates between Adam's and Whitney's perspectives, wisely investing the bulk of the novel in developing their characters and simmering tension before executing the book's hook: Adam and Whitney are snowed in, alone, inside the pinball arcade, forcing them to confront their troubled past and promising future. The story is colored by wonderfully specific details around pinball and horticulture--which will thrill fans of those niches--but it's anchored by a satisfying enemies-to-lovers romance that will please any fan of the genre.