• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
      Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
    • CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
      CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
    • WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
      WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Why Art Basel is partially responsible for Miami’s gentrification
      Why Art Basel is partially responsible for Miami’s gentrification
    • It’s time to put traditional grading to the test
      It’s time to put traditional grading to the test
    • What can the fall of Z-library teach us about textbook accessibility?
      What can the fall of Z-library teach us about textbook accessibility?
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • No image
      Pentimento’s Open Mic is Like an Old Patchwork Quilt–Worn, Yet Cozy
    • No image
      Kanye’s Antisemitism Steps on his Shoe Brand
    • Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)
      Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Sports and Wellness
    • Student-Athlete of October
      Student-Athlete of October
    • Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
      Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
    • The Case for Body Neutrality
      The Case for Body Neutrality
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Top 10 Girlbosses who aren’t alumnae, but I would totally believe you if you told me they were
      Top 10 Girlbosses who aren’t alumnae, but I would totally believe you if you told me they were
    • Wendy Wellesley’s Thanksgiving Menu
      Wendy Wellesley’s Thanksgiving Menu
    • The Snooze Awards for the Best Tanners of 2022
      The Snooze Awards for the Best Tanners of 2022
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Ann Zhao Arts, Books Before Boys, ReviewsSeptember 29, 2022

I have never been more interested in fish fossils

Books Before Boys is a curated list of reviews, written by Ann Zhao. Graphic courtesy of Kalie Holford.

Welcome (or welcome back) to Books Before Boys, a misnomer of a book review column (“Books Before Literally Anyone Because I’m Aromantic and Asexual” just doesn’t quite have the same ring to it) in which I, Ann Zhao, head news editor, forgo my news responsibilities and tell you about a book I think you should read. 

This week, we’re talking about “How to Excavate a Heart.”

I don’t care for the holiday season. I don’t like dogs. I don’t like oddly specific fields of science (unless they’re linguistics). So you might be wondering why I decided to read a book about a paleoichthyology lab intern living in Washington, D.C. for winter break who falls in love with the owner of a corgi she’s been walking while her housemate, the usual dog-walker, is gone for the holidays. (Oh, also, they’re both Jewish, which I am not.)

And to that, I say: it was gay.

I’m just kidding. Everything about this book is actually incredibly endearing, and you will fall in love with this book faster than Shani and May fall in love with each other. (It only takes them, like, three weeks. Lesbians move fast, etc.)

Regular readers of this column will know by now that I love a good love story. A proper romcom has to have a few elements for me to enjoy it: a perfect sense of humor, a third-act breakup that actually adds to the story, characters I can easily love and a certain unexplainable charm to the whole thing. Jake Maia Arlow’s YA debut manages to capture all those details and more. 

I cannot remember the last time I felt such a wide range of emotions while reading a book. Arlow has perfected the art of putting the “com” in “romcom” (but rest assured, the “rom” part does not disappoint). Shani and May’s interactions and Shani’s inner monologue are seriously incredible, and the situations that Shani ends up in will make you laugh, cringe and quite possibly cry.

Also, I should probably actually talk about the romantic plotline! I will not name names, but I recently read a book where the main couple had zero chemistry whatsoever, and Shani and May were a breath of fresh air. They’re absolutely adorable. Their conversations are chock full of banter. You will be begging for them to kiss before they actually do, and then when they do, you’ll probably cheer out loud and then feel very embarrassed that you had such a visceral reaction to a bunch of words on a page.

Maybe I lied a little when I said I didn’t care for the holiday season. This book made me look forward to it. No, I am not going to have a whirlwind romance with a girl my mom almost kills when we first arrive in town while it’s snowing, but this book did make me crave a warm mug of hot chocolate and a fun snowball fight. 

Above all else, Arlow manages to capture a distinct, awkward, mistake-filled part of the queer experience that I crave more of in YA novels. Shani is a hot mess, and I love that about her. She fights with her mom, she doesn’t know how to interact with her crush and she shares a little too much with her lab coworker about her burgeoning love life. But she’s trying her best.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will be hanging posters around the College’s bulletin boards to advertise this book. Yes, I will actually be doing that. Also, I think that means I’ll have to do that to advertise my own book in, like, a year. God, that’s terrifying.

Before reading this book, do have a look at content warnings. Particularly, while the tone of this book is overall lighthearted, there are references to the main character’s past experience with sexual assault.

“How to Excavate a Heart” comes out Nov. 1, 2022. Many thanks to HarperTeen for the early copy (and to Jake for letting me blow up your DMs while I was reading).

Tags

book reviewbooksbooks before boys

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous article“Lessons in Chemistry”: Good Story, Bad Feminism
Next articleElvis Presley Told by Austin Butler and Tom Hanks: Everything right, wrong, and amazing about it

You may also like

Pentimento’s Open Mic is Like an Old Patchwork Quilt–Worn, Yet Cozy

Kanye’s Antisemitism Steps on his Shoe Brand

Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top