Textrovert. Lindsey Summers. Toronto, ON: KCP Loft/Kids Can Press, 2017. 234 pp., hardcover, $18.95. ISBN 978-1-77138-735-4. Grades 8-12 / Ages 13-17. Review by Stephanie Johnson. *** /4

excerpt:

She blinked, then bolted upright. Squinting against the harsh light of the screen, she saw "Unknown Caller." Alarmed, she asked, "Who's this? Where's my brother?" Keeley's dog, Tucker, who was lying at the foot of the bed, popped his head up.

"I have no idea and frankly, I don't care."

"Then why are you calling me? And how'd you get this number?"

"I dialed it." An implied "duh" to his tone.

She was too tired to deal with this. She should hang up.

"Hello? Are you there? Or did I lose you?" The voice paused. "Look, I don't know what you're on and I'm not going to ask, because I live by a strict plausible deniability rule, but you have my phone and I want it back."

Was this guy for real? She twisted to see the clock on her nightstand. "First off, it's one in the morning. I'm not on anything except sleep, which, I'll point out, you rudely woke me up from. And second, I don't have your phone."

"Yeah, you do," he insisted.

"I don't."

"That phone in your hand is mine. Not yours. Mine," he said, enunciating every word.

This had to be a prank. "Did my brother put you up to this? Is he trying to get back at me?" Crisscrossing her legs, Keeley hunched forward and rested her elbows on her thighs. Wisps of bangs too short to fit in her ponytail fell around her face. "Unbelievable. I don't know what his problem is." …

"Would you just look through my phone?" he asked, sounding tired.

She didn't feel an ounce of sympathy. Not when this guy was being so rude. "I want serious groveling after I prove –"She swallowed the rest of the sentence as a picture of a red race car glowed on the screen.

"You said something about groveling…?"

Keeley is always losing her phone, and her trip to the fair is no exception. Luckily, she finds it lying under a table and is happy to not face the wrath of her parents. But when a one a.m. phone call wakes her up, she is shocked to hear the sarcastic, witty voice of a guy at the other end of the phone, a phone that does not belong to her. While a swap would be the best option, Talon just left for football camp with Keeley's phone in his pocket! Promising to forward each other their messages, Keeley and Talon end up chatting every day, and Keeley finds herself bantering like the best of the best, not like her usual introverted self. Struggling with college applications and family expectations, Keeley looks forward to her time talking to Talon until they finally decide to meet in person. Little does she know that Talon is her brother's football arch-nemesis and there is a lot of dark history between the two guys. Is upsetting her brother worth potentially finding the guy for her?

      Textrovert was a fun, quick read that is told in varying bits of prose and text message bubbles. The action starts right away, and readers will be instantly drawn in by the funny banter between Keeley and Talon. The secondary characters of Keeley's brother and best friend help in adding drama and emotion to the story, and readers get to know Keeley better through them. There is frequent reference to Keeley's introverted personality; however, readers never get to see this side of her and she would have had a bit more depth if readers got to see her go through the personality change. The book also tackles some serious issues teens face today, including cyber bullying and the effects it can have on everyone, not just the victim of the bullying. All in all, Textrovert is a feel-good, romantic read for young adults, one that will be easily relatable and stir up giggles and heartache alike.

Recommended.

Stephanie Johnson is a graduate of the Master of Library and Information Studies Program from the University of Alberta.

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