The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler (review)

In this sequel to The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (BCCB 10/03), Virginia is still an outlier in her well-heeled overachieving family, and her relationship with her boyfriend, Froggy, has wound to an end. However, her flirtation with a cute visitor to the city, Sebastian, is deepening into a romance—which becomes a huge problem when they realize that Sebastian's sister, Annie, is the college student Virginia's brother, Byron, was suspended for assaulting. Virginia and Sebastian therefore must keep their relationship clandestine, especially as Annie's rape is now a criminal case. Mackler keeps Virginia the sympathetic outsider while allowing her some satisfying growth as she moves from updating to jettisoning her selfpolicing list of "How to Make Sure Skinny Girls Aren't the Only Ones Who Have Boyfriends" and finally conquers her bête noir of getting her driver's license. The touch of Romeo and Juliet to her relationship with Sebastian adds glamor as well as some interesting ethical discussion points. The family drama also progresses in compelling ways, as the troubles of Virginia's brother and her older sister's break from the prescribed path leave a perplexed Virginia in the unaccustomed role of the golden show child. The deft interweaving of romance and family drama makes this effective for fans of both genres, and the novel will satisfy both established fans of Virginia and newcomers.