Praise for One Way or Another:

“An engaging combination of delightfully over-the-top Christmas swoons and realistic anxiety representation.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This book will delight readers who love watching romance at work, knowing that the two protagonists are meant for each other, and wondering: Will they ever realize it?” — School Library Journal

2021-12-24
After falling into a fake relationship with her crush while he’s in a coma, Gemma starts falling for his brooding brother.

Socially awkward Gemma Wells lives near the Arizona-Utah border where her father runs boat tours of Lake Powell. She finds herself in the middle of the summer’s wildest drama when she rescues high school hottie Beau Booker from drowning during a boating accident. Beau lands in a medically induced coma, and when a nurse mistakes Gemma for his girlfriend, the story takes on a life of its own. Too nervous to tell the truth, Gemma hopes for a potential real relationship with the boy of her dreams. Beau’s hospital stint forces Griff, his mysterious older brother, to return to town, and when he strikes up a friendship with Gemma, she wonders if she’s falling for him instead. Griff and Gemma’s growing relationship will have readers flying through pages, desperate to uncover what will happen when Beau eventually wakes up. Beyond the romance, McDowell shines a spotlight on mental health: Gemma’s social anxiety disorder is displayed in both her social interactions and inner emotional workings, and her friend Sofía opens up about her struggle with depression. While Gemma and Griff’s interactions and growing closeness are compelling and fully drawn, many of the side characters unfortunately fall flat. Main characters are presumed White; Sofía is cued as Latinx.

Hits the mark as a page-turning romance. (Romance. 12-17)