Nate Plus One

Nate Plus One lacked the magic of van Whye's debut [b:Date Me, Bryson Keller 52739801 Date Me, Bryson Keller Kevin van Whye https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572261861l/52739801.SX50_SY75.jpg 68247313], but it was a pleasant enough read with a fairly straightforward romance, marred by a silly Big Misunderstanding. High school junior Nate has been crushing on his friend Jai for a while, and then several events take place that make him think the universe wants them to be together. First the vocalist in Jai's band deserts them for a rival group, and Nate becomes the default lead singer. Then his Mom is unable to accompany him to a family wedding in South Africa, so Jai becomes his “plus one.” Nate is thrilled, especially because his ex is now dating the bride's best friend. Nate wants to show the guy who ghosted him that he has moved on. Things progress pretty much the way you would expect. The chapters set in South Africa are interesting for their portrayal of the culture and history. Like [a:Trevor Noah 15149526 Trevor Noah https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1555600819p2/15149526.jpg], Nate is bi-racial and “born a crime,” although his family left South Africa early in his childhood. He is strongly affected by the trip because it allows him to learn more about his father, who died when Nate was only five years old. The romance between Nate and Jai was meh. They flirt a lot, they almost kiss a few times, then they admit they have feelings about each other. And then they fall victim to one of the most cliched Big Misunderstandings, (Jai sees Nate kissing his ex and assumes Nate is cheating on him and Nate has to make a Grand Gesture to get Jai back. I didn't necessarily feel the love or the heartbreak, but I didn't mind going along for the ride. ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for an objective review.