Wilson, Lakita. Last Chance Dance. Viking, 2023. 978-0-593-52561-6. 326 p. $18.99. Grades 9-12.

Leila Bean is cruising to the end of her senior year. That is until Dev, her boyfriend since Freshman year, breaks up with her three weeks before graduation. Suddenly, everything Leila thought about how life was going to be is shattered. Lucky for Leila, her best friend, Bree, is the chair of the Last Chance Dance committee and is ready to help repair Leila’s broken heart. With a little coaxing, Leila agrees to fill out the questionnaire to see who has crushed on her during high school, if only to make Dev jealous. Throughout Leila’s dates with her three crushes and one wildcard, she finds that taking care of herself is okay and she even finds a true friend in her nemesis Tre’. You’ll have to read it for yourself if you want to know if Leila finds love before graduation day.

THOUGHTS: Although this is a cute story, Leila is hard to get behind and cheer on. I found myself wanting to tell her that there is more to life than high school romances. A lot of the drama that was supposed to make the story tug at your heartstrings just annoyed me. I guess the bottom line is that this is a book for high school romance lovers, not a middle-aged married woman.

Romance