07/29/2024
Former best friends fake-date to further both their ambitions in this warm sapphic holiday romance from married collaborators Lippincott and Derrick (She Gets the Girl). Arden James hasn’t been in touch with her best friend Caroline Beckett since Arden left their Christmas-obsessed hometown of Barnwich, Pa., four years ago. Now a Netflix star and Los Angeles party girl, she claims to be dating Caroline to land a serious role for a director looking for someone “small-town. More genuine. More homegrown, less Hollywood.” Stung by Arden’s abandonment, Caroline only agrees to go along with the scheme after Arden persuades editors at Cosmopolitan into letting Caroline write a story about their courting. As the pair—both of whom assumed their childhood crush on each other was unrequited—go on dates and Arden leverages her star power to help the financially struggling town, old feelings resurface. Lippincott and Derrick fuse believable teenage characters, cozy holiday vibes, and a gentle reworking of familiar romance tropes to deliver a winning and satisfying love story. Arden is of Korean descent; Caroline is “part-Jewish” and reads as white. Ages 14–up. Authors’ agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Jr. (Oct.)