WISH YOU WERE HER, by Elle McNicoll, Wednesday Books, Aug. 26, 2025, Hardcover, $24, Paperback, $14 (young adult)
A glamorous TV star and a grumpy bookseller clash while working a summer book festival in Wish You Were Her, by Elle McNicoll.
18-year-old Allegra Brooks has skyrocketed to fame after starring in a hit television show, and she’s the overnight success that everyone’s talking about. They just don’t know she’s autistic. And now all she wants is a normal teenage summer.
Her destination for escape is the remote Lake Pristine and its annual Book Festival, organized by the dedicated but unfriendly senior bookseller, Jonah Thorne.
In small towns like Lake Pristine, misunderstandings abound, and before long the two are drawn into high-profile hostility that’s a far cry from the drama-free holiday Allegra was craving. Thank goodness for her saving grace: the increasingly personal emails she’s been sharing with a charming and anonymous bookseller who is definitely not Jonah Thorne . . .
An unforgettable romcom about finding the one person who makes you feel like yourself when the whole world is watching. —Synopsis provided by Wednesday Books
Wish You Were Her is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers YA romance with a real You’ve Got Mail vibe.
The story follows Allegra and Jonah as they butt heads on everything from styles of writing to book placement to life in general.
Allegra is kind, sweet and seems to always know what to say. If only people knew she was hiding behind a mask.
Jonah is passionate and cranky but universally well thought of by the people in his town.
In truth, the two are quite similar. Both love books and reading, love their families and see the world differently than others. The difference is in how each of them approach being autistic. And those approaches have far-reaching implications as to how the world sees them and how they exist in a world not made for them.
Allegra and Jonah’s relationship feels dynamic and real. And though their feelings change in a short amount of time, things don’t feel rushed.
In making both of her main characters autistic, author Elle McNicoll has opened a dialogue about social expectations and judgements, as well as feeling comfortable in your own skin. These topics are universal in nature, and, in this context, make readers think not only of their own experiences but how they could improve those of everyone.
Wish You Were Her is a fast-moving romance that you could see playing out on the big — or little — screen. Both Allegra and Jonah are characters you want to succeed. You can’t help but root for them.
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