Book Smart Kate

“Thinking about history makes me wonder how I’ll fit into it one day, I guess. And you too. I kinda wish people still wrote like that. History, huh? Bet we could make some.” 

― Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue

Much has been written about this extraordinary book, but I keep coming back to how many people, like me, rediscovered a love of reading because of it. This is the book that made me love reading again! Laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. The characters are so richly developed that they feel natural and grounded amid a sweeping, over-the-top fantasy of enemies-to-lovers global romance.

Alex, the soon-to-be college grad and first son of the United States, has hated Henry, the Prince of Whales, since their first meeting. Over the years, their antagonistic relationship escalates, culminating in a catastrophically embarrassing royal wedding fiasco. Forced to fake a friendship to save face for both countries, Alex and Henry embark on a global PR stunt that, over time, transforms into a profoundly poignant, complex, and heart-felt clandestine relationship. 

The lengths Alex and Henry go to to discover and fight for each other is a beautiful story, but this book is so much more. Once, when someone asked me to describe it, I said it was important. Millions of people have read, loved, and cheered for Alex and Henry during a time when LGBTQ+ rights are again being questioned. To have this representation of an undeniable, rich, and transformative love story between Alex and Henry at this moment is a reminder we all need that love is love.