National Network for Equitable Library Service

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is settling in for the worst summer on record. After she's unfairly implicated in one of her best friend's ideas gone awry, Tatum's stepmother places her under virtual house arrest. But to Tatum's surprise, her summer doesn't turn out to be all bad. And things really begin to look up when she starts her own graphic design business and meets a cello-playing client, Seamus. If Tatum is reading his emails right, Seamus is funny, smart, and talented-and he seems to think the same about her. Too bad he's spending his summer across the ocean in Irelandnot that Tatum would be allowed to go on a date anyway. But over the course of the summer, Tatum will learn that sometimes going after what you want means breaking the rules. In the process, she'll discover things about her friends, her family, and herself that she never could have guessed. And when Seamus turns out to be closer than she thought, she might just get a perfect kiss in the bargain. A modern play on the Cinderella story arc, Christina June's It Started with Good-bye will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, and Jennifer E. Smith.