Love Is for Losers

Phoebe is fifteen and thoroughly unimpressed by romance. When her best friend’s attention shifts toward a boyfriend, falling in love seems an especially poor use of anyone’s time. Phoebe prefers to imagine a life in which she never needs to depend on that kind of attachment. Volunteering at a local thrift shop introduces her to Emma, whose presence makes the theory increasingly difficult to defend. Through a diary-shaped account of everyday frustrations and discoveries, Wibke Brueggemann follows a teenager whose certainty about love begins to wobble. Friendship, changing loyalties and a first attraction to another girl all complicate Phoebe’s plans to remain safely above it all.