Day’s YA: TILLY IN TECHNICOLOR

TILLY IN TECHNICOLOR by Mazey Eddings
9781250847065 (HC) | 9781250328120 (TP)
8/15/23
Wednesday Books
Ages 13-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss and NetGalley

Plenty of us are already huge Mazey fans, so I know many will be delighted to hear that she’s finally coming out with a YA novel! Get ready to jump back into the MECU (Mazey Eddings Cinematic Universe) with this delightful, swoon-worthy story of two teens who form a seemingly unlikely match.

Tilly and Oliver could not be more different. Tilly struggles with ADHD which leads her to be disorganized and flighty; Oliver has Autism and functions best when there’s order and structure. When these two not only end up next to each other on a flight to London but as interns at the same start-up (which happens to be headed by Tilly’s older sister), they’re in for a wild ride. Even though Tilly drives Oliver crazy and they struggle to understand each other’s perspectives, they can’t help but be drawn to one another and eventually develop feelings. But they each have their own futures to worry about as college is fast-approaching and neither of them have any idea what they want. 

Tilly’s parents want her to be more like her put-together, high-achieving older sister even though her sister’s path does not fit her whatsoever. Oliver has always thought he wants to be a graphic designer but meeting Tilly and spending a whirlwind summer working at the internship and travelling around Europe has thrown everything into question for him. As Tilly and Oliver’s summer together comes to a close, they realize being thrown together wasn’t actually the worst thing and are left to figure how (or if) they can make their relationship work. 

I loved the way Tilly and Oliver were written and felt Eddings did a terrific job portraying neurodiverse characters in a way that is relatable to a wide variety of readers. The setting was also such a nice armchair travel–from England to Spain to Italy and more, I wanted to jump right into the pages and go along for the ride with Tilly and Oliver myself. The story has elements that will appeal to almost literally any romance reader–whether you’re a lover of disastrous meet-cutes, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity (via a road trip, no less), or some combination of these! I recommend TILLY IN TECHNICOLOR for fans of THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by Tracey Garvis Graves, ALWAYS THE ALMOST by Edward Underhill, and THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY by Ashley Schumacher.  

Happy reading!
<3 Michelle

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