Something Like Fate (2010), a young adult contemporary romance novel by Susane Colasanti, follows a girl who is in love with her best friend’s boyfriend and the choices she must now make. The book received mixed reviews upon publication, as many readers struggled to find the relationships portrayed in the book authentic. Colasanti is a bestselling author who has authored many young adult contemporary romance novels. A science teacher at a local high school for ten years, she brings her understanding of teenage behavior to her novels. Sixteen-year-old Lani is finishing up her junior year in high school. She has two best friends—Blake and Erin. She has been friends with them for as long as she can remember. Lani, a keen activist, leads the One World Club, a group focused on recycling and saving the planet. She’s popular with her classmates and never gets into any trouble. All Lani is interested in is the great senior year which is now approaching. Lani doesn’t have a boyfriend. Still, she’s happy for Erin when she starts dating Jason. Erin loves Jason and wants Blake and Lani to meet him. They all hang out at a pizza place one afternoon, and Lani immediately feels a connection to Jason. She doesn’t mention anything to Erin, of course, but she has an instinct that the feeling is mutual. Later, Lani thinks over what happened at the pizza place and decides to forget about it. Jason is Erin’s boyfriend, and Erin looks happy. However, when Jason starts sitting with the girls at lunchtime, Lani can’t help falling in love with him. She spends as much time as she can getting to know him. Blake doesn’t say anything, because he assumes it’s innocent—and, at first, it is. The problem is, Jason falls for Lani, too. She’s the only girl who’s ever “got” him, and he feels they have so much in common. Lani feels the same way, but she’s too scared to admit it. When Jason finally tells Lani how he feels, he doesn’t expect her to have the same connection. At first, Jason wonders if Lani and Blake are together, but Lani assures him she’s interested in him. She also tells Jason that Blake is gay, something Blake doesn’t want everyone to know just yet. Feeling she has crossed a line, Lani tries to avoid Jason. When Erin goes away to summer camp, Lani focuses on her activism and her summer job. When she tells Blake about how she feels, Blake admits he’s not surprised. He tells Lani to go for it because nothing should stand in the way of love. Still, Lani hesitates. One day after work, Lani runs into Jason in the grocery store. She tries to pretend she doesn’t see him. Jason, however, sees her and comes after her. He wants to know why she’s been avoiding him. Lani doesn’t know how to answer him. However, Jason gives Lani news she wasn’t expecting—he broke up with Erin, and he wants to have a relationship with her. Lani feels horrible for being glad that Jason is finished with Erin. She’s not ready to have a relationship with him yet. She agrees to see him over the summer, just to see if they could work. Blake thinks this is a great idea, especially since Erin’s still at summer camp. She doesn’t need to know anything about Jason and Lani. Lani hasn’t heard much from Erin over the summer, because they’re both busy. This makes it even easier to cover up what she’s doing. Jason and Lani finally share their first kiss on the Fourth of July. Lani decides she’s ready to have a relationship with Jason. They see each other all the time, and they grow closer. They decide to tell Erin about their relationship as soon as she gets back from summer camp. They want to be honest with her because it shouldn’t come from anyone else. Blake vows he won’t say anything until Lani does. However, Jason emails Erin before she comes home to tell her about Lani. Erin is livid because they’ve kept this a secret from her. She also feels betrayed by Lani. When Erin comes home, she exiles Lani from the group. Blake isn’t speaking to her either, because he finds out that everyone now knows he’s gay. Lani breaks up with Jason because she’s mad at him, and she thinks it’s the only way to get Erin back. Erin, however, still doesn’t want to know her. One night, Lani helps Blake out of a bind, and they apologize to each other. He encourages her to talk to Erin. When Lani tells Erin how she feels, and that she never meant to hurt her, they repair their relationship. Erin gives Lani her blessing to date Jason, so in the end, Lani gets both the guy and her friend back.

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