Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg (review)

People have always asked whether men and women could be best friends without romantic complications getting in the way. Eulberg approaches this question for teens in nearly the same format as the classic film When Harry Met Sally, interspersing quip-laden and sometimes tense retrospective dialogue between Macallan and Levi with the narrative of how they met, how their relationship grew, the difficulties they had as they dated other people, and the multiple near-misses as they stumbled toward each other. Levi moved from California to Wisconsin while Macallan was still reeling from the loss of her mother in a car accident, and their families became close, with Levi’s mom often standing as surrogate during Macallan’s adolescence. Eulberg openly acknowledges her debt to When Harry’s screenwriter Nora Ephron, as she should: age and material considerations aside, Levi’s and Macallan’s characters are similar to Harry’s and Sally’s as well, with Macallan being uptight and often self-righteous, while Levi is more interested in pursuing his own popularity and insecure about his ability to sustain a relationship. Levi stands a bit in awe of Macallan, and Macallan always needs to have the last word, a condition that Levi indulges and even seems to enjoy. Heck, even the boyfriends and girlfriends they leave along the way are supportive of their eventual, inevitable coupling. The fits and starts of their relationship provide that delicate sense of frustration and suspense that readers are looking for, and teens seeking light romance laced with just enough melancholy, setbacks, and relatable insecurities to make them want nothing but happiness for the characters will enjoy this.