Christmas tree lots, ugh. Santa, New England, snowflakes, mistletoe, blah blah blah.
The cable TV line-up is full of that stuff this time of year, but it’s nowhere near as magical as Hollywood wants you to believe. Honestly, thinking of romance (or the lack thereof) right now is almost enough to bring out your humbug. Get this, though: there’s plenty of romance to go around this Yuletide, but in “I’ll Get Back to You” by Becca Grischow, it might take some planning to find it.
It was supposed to be a great dual-birthday celebration.
Murphy and her BFF, Kat, were planning a “Blackout Wednesday” of drinking and debauchery, followed by a sleepover and snacks at Murphy’s house before they went to Kat’s parent’s place for Thanksgiving. That was the plan, until Kat ruined it by bringing her new boyfriend, Daniel, along and assuming that Murphy didn’t mind.
Murphy minded very much. She hated being the gay third-wheel, and it was doubly annoying when they all ran into Ellie, who’d graduated a few years before Kat and Murphy.
Wait, Ellie was straight in high school, wasn’t she? Well, she wasn’t now and when Ellie, Kat, and Daniel started comparing notes about attending the U of Illinois, it was all Murphy could do not to roll her eyes.
She wasn’t feeling this holiday thing. She was feeling kind of loser-ish, in fact: still living in her childhood bedroom in her parents’ house, working a job she’d had since she was 16, still at Community College and failing Accounting class.
And, apparently, failing at love, too, because Ellie told Murphy that they could be friends, and that was all. But when Murphy realized that Ellie’s mother was the professor who was about to fail her in Accounting class, Ellie came up with a plan.
If they could pretend to have a relationship, then maybe Ellie’s mother would grant Ellie her dream of attending college in New York City. And maybe she’d “play favorites” and give Murphy a passing grade.
It was a weird plan. Super weird. But like romantic relationships weren’t?
Alright, let’s just admit this: a book like “I’ll Get Back to You” isn’t going to change the world or influence people in high places. It’s probably not even going to land on the bestseller list. It’s just a light, fun little story – and isn’t that what you need during the holiday season?
With your typical girl-meets-girl, struggle-and-argument, wacky-plan-happy-ending format, author Becca Grischow tells a tale of friendship and romance and growing into the place in life that’s meant to be, which is a good but subtle reminder for some readers who need it. Grischow gives readers a cast of characters that are kind but authentic, fallible but trustworthy, and mostly pretty likable, too, which makes this an easy book to enjoy at just the right time.
If you haven’t found your Holiday Romance for the season yet, here’s one to look for beneath the mistletoe. Find “I’ll Get Back to You” and you’ll like it a lot.
“I’ll Get Back to You” by Becca Grischow
c.2024, Penguin Books $19 320 pages
