Rachel Lynn Solomon. We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This, June 8, 2021. 336p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99. (9781534440272). Grades 9-12.
We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon is an opposites attract romance set in the world of weddings and wedding planning with much needed conversations about mental illness.
Protagonist Quinn Berkowitz grew up watching her family (her parent’s and older sister) help create their clients’ dream weddings and happily ever afters, despite seeing her parents go through rough patches in their own relationship. Now eighteen and working part-time for their wedding planning company Borrowed & Blue, Quinn couldn’t be more cynical about love and marriage. Fear of upsetting the family dynamic keeps Quinn from being honest with her family about the expectation of her joining the family business after she graduates college. As Quinn starts to feel the suffocating pressure of the future, she finds an opportunity to do something she actually enjoys and must decide if she will follow her parents’ wishes or share her true feelings with them.
Quinn’s viewpoints on love do not stop her from falling for Tarek, the uber romantic son of the Mansours, wedding caterers that often work with Borrowed & Blue. Tarek’s romantic gestures seem fake and over the top to Quinn; while Tarek can’t understand how Quinn can be so cynical. Despite this friction their growing attraction is undeniable. Both protagonists are also diagnosed with different mental illnesses, Quinn with OCD and Tarek with depression. Solomon seamlessly weaves in Quinn’s OCD and her inability to stop this compulsive behavior–she repeatedly checks her bag for her keys or checks to make sure she locked her car. In one instance Quinn is mocked by a passerby as she engages in this behavior and her internal monologue is one of shame and embarrassment. Though Tarek appears to ghost Quinn after her confession of love, she finds later that this is due to his depression, and that his life is starting to unravel. Along with repairing their relationship Quinn learns to question her assumptions, give a person the benefit of the doubt, and to look outside herself rather than center her own experience and hardship.
It is not until further into the narrative that Tarek and his family’s religion is mentioned. Tarek speaks about being Muslim and the ways in which observance differs within his own family. For example, Tarek’s mother drinks alcohol while his father does not. This conversation between Tarek and Quinn feels natural; Tarek’s explanation provides a relatable example for young adult readers in discussing religion without judgment. After this moment, Tarek’s religion is not brought up again, and in general religion does not play a significant role in the story, either as a point of conflict or interest. Quinn’s religion (Judaism) is mentioned sporadically throughout the book. Though her family is not religiously observant, she notes her older sister becoming more religious as a result of being in a relationship, and Quinn reflects on how practicing religion can vary for each person.
Realistically flawed, Quinn sometimes veers into self-destructive, immature behavior, and Solomon handles her growth deftly, making her relatable, sympathetic and real, leading readers to root for her, and ultimately find her own way. We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is a solid read, and more than adequately addresses topics of mental illness and transitions into adulthood.
