Tell Me Three Things

Then Jessie receives an email from someone who calls themselves Somebody Nobody and offers to be her guide to the school. Wary at first, she begins to rely on these messages, and the two invent a game in which they tell each other three things about their day. As their conversations grow more personal, Jessie becomes desperate to work out which of her classmates is writing to her, and whether she would like the answer.

Alongside the mystery, Jessie struggles with her grief, her changed relationship with her father and her difficult new stepbrother, and she gradually makes new friends at school. Julie Buxbaum mixes humour and sadness well, and Jessie's voice is honest, sharp and likeable. The email and chat conversations give the book a light, modern feel. The romance is sweet, and the theme of finding your place after loss gives the story real depth.

Funny, warm and moving, Julie Buxbaum's first novel for young adults. Readers who like the work of Rainbow Rowell will enjoy its mix of humour, heart and a slow-building romance, and many enjoy trying to guess Somebody Nobody's identity. About 352 pages in the Ember paperback.