The Calculation of You and Me: A Novel BY Serena Kaylor

Marlowe Meadows understands a lot of things. She knows that calculus isn’t overwhelmingly beautiful to everyone and that Python coding typically kills the mood at parties. She understands that people were surprised when golden boy Josh asked her out, transforming her from weird, math-obsessed Marlowe to half of their school’s couple goals. She was the most surprised when Josh dumped her, citing a need for a girlfriend with more emotional depth and romantic flair.

Refusing to fail, Marlowe is determined to win Josh back. Enter Ashton Hayes, her new partner for an English project. His black clothing and moody eyeliner cause her a bit of a systems overload, and the dissonant sounds of his rock band make her brain itch. But when Marlowe discovers Ash’s hidden stash of love songs, she proposes a desperate deal: if Ash helps her write love letters to Josh, she’ll use her data analytics skills to make his band go viral.

As the semester progresses, their collaboration heats up with yearning love notes, a syllabus of romance novels, and late-night study sessions. Marlowe finds herself questioning if there’s really a set solution to love. With every moment spent with Ash, who defies every algorithm her brain attempts to impose, she starts to wonder if her calculations about love have been wrong all along.

Could it be that the girl who’s never met a problem she can’t solve is falling for the one variable she never anticipated?