As a member of the Fearless Fiteeners, I was able to read an ARC of Alexis Bass’s young adult contemporary novel, Love and Other Theories (12/31/2014; HarperTeen). ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) are the uncorrected proofs that are sent to reviewers, librarians, and book bloggers to promote the book. My fellow fifteeners and 2k15 classmates are sending their ARCs on tour, which allows us a sneak peek at these upcoming new releases. I’ve decided to let you all know about the ARCs I’m reading to help support my 2015 debut colleagues.

Here’s the description: If you want more, you have to give less.

That’s the secret to dating in high school. By giving as little as they expect to get in return, seventeen-year-old Aubrey Housing and her three best friends have made it to the second semester of their senior year heartbreak-free. And it’s all thanks to a few simple rules: don’t commit, don’t be needy, and don’t give away your heart.

So when smoking-hot Nathan Diggs transfers to Lincoln High, it shouldn’t be a big deal. At least that’s what Aubrey tells herself. But Nathan’s new-boy charm, his kindness, and his disarming honesty throw Aubrey off her game and put her in danger of breaking the most important rule of all: Don’t fall in love.

What I liked about it: Alexis Bass takes an unflinching look at love and sex in high school. Aubrey and her friends hook up with boys when they want to because they want to. They are not worried about others’ feeling because, according to their theories, feelings make you needy and pathetic. On the surface, they’re mean, self-centered mean girls, but…just wait…the story is about so much more than that. Aubrey and her friends learn that feelings are required for personal growth. They don’t make you weak; they make you human. Some level of heartbreak is inevitable when you love people–friends as well as boy/girlfriends. Playing by their self-imposed rules only delays the inevitable, and everyone has to face the messy truths of love and heartbreak before they can move on.

About the author (from her website): Alexis grew up in Washington, went to college in Arizona, and spent her early twenties in Seattle. She currently lives in Northern California with Dylan McKay, her gorgeous and rambunctious golden retriever. She loves good fashion and good TV as much as a good book, and is a huge advocate of the three C’s: coffee, chocolate, and cheese.