This story is told through Emma’s perspective, and Emma is a little intense about math. She feels comfortable and in control with numbers and code, and feels completely out of her depth in social situations. In fact, she really doesn’t understand relationships at all and kind of freaks out when people don’t follow her algorithm.

But a pretty solid friend group evolves from the coding club, and Emma finally makes a friend other than her sister or George (whose brother is her sister’s boyfriend). But Emma still doesn’t understand attraction or romantic relationships and thinks they should follow a prescribed code. She doesn’t even really recognize it within herself.

This is a pretty fun read, though I did get a little frustrated at Emma a few times, especially when she gets upset with Jane. But I also felt for her, understanding that she was not equipped to understand the nuances of attraction and love. I suspect that Emma may be neurodivergent, though this is never discussed outright.

Emma grows throughout the story, eventually coming to understand that math can’t explain everything. She ultimately ends up exactly where she should be.

Disclaimer: I received a DRC of this book through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.