In person at Brookline Booksmith! Celebrate the release of Planning Perfect with author Haley Neil, in conversation with Adrienne Kisner.

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Planning Perfect

In this charming, heartfelt YA romcom about being on the asexual spectrum, a girl tries to craft the perfect wedding for her mother but discovers that sometimes the best parts of life can't be planned.

Felicity Becker loves watching an event come together. Whether it's prom, graduation, or just the annual Arbor Day school dance, there's something magical about crafting an experience that people will remember. So when her mom gets engaged, Felicity sees the wedding as the perfect opportunity to show off her skills.

After Felicity's long-distance friend Nancy offers up her family's apple orchard as a venue, wedding planning gets even better. But the more time Felicity and Nancy spend together dress shopping and hunting for just-right mismatched china, the more it starts to seem like there might be something besides friendship between them. Felicity isn't sure how she feels. As someone on the asexual spectrum, what would dating even look like for her? And would Nancy be open to dating when Felicity doesn't even know what she wants from a relationship?

Suddenly the summer is a lot more complicated. Especially when Felicity finds out that one of the wedding guests is an event planner with a prestigious internship available. Can Felicity wrangle her irresponsible mom, juggle her judgmental grandmother, figure out her feelings for Nancy, and plan the perfect wedding? Or will all of her plans come crashing down around her?

Haley Neil is the author of Once More With Chutzpah and Planning Perfect, and a recent MFA grad from The New School, where she specialized in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She previously obtained her Masters in Education while working full time as a preschool teacher. She loves school, teaching, and going to school to learn about teaching (as well as walking her rescue pup through her Massachusetts town and working at her local library).

Moderator Adrienne Kisner has lived her entire “adult” life in a college dormitory working in both Residence Life and college chaplaincy. (She prefers the term “dormitory” over “residence hall.” Don’t @ her.) She went to school for a long time so that now she gets to swoop around in a fancy robe and silly hat (like at Hogwarts). She also has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts (a place like Hogwarts). Adrienne is a birder and knitter with more heart and enthusiasm than actual skill. Her debut novel Dear Rachel Maddow won a 2016 PEN New England Susan P Bloom Discovery Award and was one of YALSA’s 2019 picks for Best Fiction for Young Adults. Her second novel, The Confusion of Laurel Graham, was released in 2019. Book three, Six Angry Girls, came out in 2020. She loves her current home in Boston but will always be a Pennsylvanian at heart.