Day’s YA: ALWAYS THE ALMOST

ALWAYS THE ALMOST by Edward Underhill
9781250835208
2/14/23
Wednesday Books
Ages 12-18

Sixteen-year-old trans guy Miles has exactly two New Year’s resolutions: 1. Get back his ex-boyfriend, Shane, and 2. beat his arch-nemesis at the biggest classical piano competition of the year. Unfortunately, neither of these things are as easy as he wants them to be. First of all, Shane broke up with him right after Miles came out as trans, and now he’ll barely even look his way. Second of all, he’s got a new piano teacher who keeps telling him that he needs to figure out who he is and what the music means to him if he wants to succeed, which would be fine except he has no idea how to do that.

To further complicate things, new student Eric has arrived and he’s cute and kind and asks Miles all the right questions. Eric and Miles quickly form a friendship and decide to pretend to be a couple to get invited to a Valentine’s Day party, but the fake date soon turns into a very real kiss. Now, with the piano competition looming, Miles isn’t sure what he wants, but the only way to figure it out is to be himself.

Edward Underhill’s debut is oozing with queer joy and heartwarming teen love, and it perfectly encapsulates the messiness and drama of being in high school. It is also very much a love letter to classical piano music, as Miles grows into his identity and comes to understand how that connects to the music he’s playing. If you loved the sweet romance in Heartstopper, the tight-knit queer friend group in I KISSED SHARA WHEELER, and the hopefulness of SIMON VS. THE HOMOSAPIENS AGENDA, I highly recommend ALWAYS THE ALMOST.

“I wrote this story because I believe, firmly, that joy can be an act of resistance in challenging times. And trans and queer kids, especially now, deserve all the joy.”
Edward Underhill, Author’s Note

Happy reading!
<3 Emily

YA Resources:
2023 Books for Teens
2022 Books for Teens
Day’s YA Archives
2023 Adult Books for Teens
2022 Adult Books for Teens