"You make it sound like you broke up." It feels that way to Cath since she and her twin sister, Wren, started their freshman year of college in Nebraska. While Cath stocks up on protein bars and peanut butter to avoid going to the dining hall, where she might make a mistake, Wren and her roommate Courtney are in 24/7 party mode. Cath wants to be a writer, and she is already the anonymous author of popular fanfiction about Simon Snow, protagonist of a Harry Potter-esque series. But her school work includes a demanding writing class in which the professor dismisses fanfiction, stating it isn't original to work with someone else's characters. Cath vehemently disagrees, but it's a blow. Cath is also navigating new relationships, something she's never been comfortable with. She slowly connects with her roommate Reagan, an un-nurturing soul with a good heart. But is Levi interested in something more than friendship? What about her writing classmate, Nick? Through it all, Cath misses the closeness she once had with Wren, and then begins to worry as Wren's partying spins out of control. She's also worried about their dad, who's bipolar and not always stable. As Cath navigates her first year of college with all its conflicting demands and concerns, her greatest challenges come in stretching beyond her comfort zone. In doing so, she begins to assert her voice as a writer, a daughter, and a sister. A young woman coming into her own in these and other ways is the heart of Rainbow Rowell's novel looking at new adulthood with sensitivity, honesty, and humor. (Age 14 and older)