Just Friends by Dyan Sheldon

Front cover photograph © 2018 by Photolibrary

Josh Shine loves blues music, watching old movies with the guys, and taking his weekly yoga class with his good friend Ramona. He’s not like most of the guys in his high school. He prefers chess to contact sports, he’s a vegetarian, and he is rather short for his age.
None of the girls in his high school have ever really interested Josh. He would much rather spend his time raising awareness for multiple notable causes. That is until the day he sees Jenna Capistrano in his class. Josh quickly falls for the new girl, but he knows that they could never be an item, because she is out of his league. Surprisingly, they become friends and the closer they become the more Josh wants to be a couple.
Will Josh be brave enough to put his heart on the line and tell Jenna how he feels?
Not many teenage love stories have a male main character. In fact, this is the first one that I believe I have ever read.
Josh is a very unique, interesting character. He is very involved in educating his peers even when they don’t want to hear it. He’s also into older forms of entertainment like old movies and music. His best friends are a lot like him. Sal is passionate about films, especially older ones with deep meaning, while Carter is into environmental sciences.
Then there is Ramona. She’s a stand-out kind of girl who doesn’t care what most people think of her. She’s eccentric and loves fashion.
Despite the character’s obvious level of intelligence, I found myself frustrated by these characters. Especially by Josh and Jenna.
The plot line is one of those ones where you can guess where everyone will end up in the end. Mainly it is just the journey between that is different and unpredictable.
I’m unsure how I feel about this novel. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys unique coming-of-age love stories.
I received my copy of this novel from LibraryThing.com and the publishers, for the sole purpose of providing an honest review. I have requested permission to use an image of the cover artwork above and am still awaiting a reply. 

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