Cirrus@Austlit

'Poppy Nwosu has made an art form of the teen romance, with realistic characters and dialogue that capture that aching self-consciousness and dramatic up and down of adolescent life. Making friends with Alice Dyson (reviewed in English in Australia 54.2 (2019) was the first and Alice, its conscientious protagonist, works hard with not much in her life but study. A brief dance with school troublemaker, Teddy Taualai, goes viral and the reader watches with delight as Alice's initial rebuffs slowly morph into a dance as their friendship grows and changes. Reputation and stereotyping are part of the appeal of this entertaining novel with bullying, identity and anxiety hovering in the wings.' (Introduction)