Diving in: "The Start of of Me and You" by Emery Lord

Paige Hancock is just starting her junior year of high school. For the past year she had been known by the label "the Girl Whose Boyfriend Drowned". She was the class widow, the one who got "the look" from teachers, classmates, people on the street. She was devastated by the loss of Aaron, her boyfriend, but they had only been going out for two months...
So, it was time to start fresh. She would never forget Aaron, but she had a long life ahead of her. She had three great girlfriends, divorced parents who shared time with Paige and her younger sister, and a wonderful Grandmother who she could spill her secrets, hopes and dreams to...though she did seem a little forgetful these days.
She decides to write a list, a set of challenges to help her move forward and rejoin high school society and, well, life in general. It began with the title How to Begin Again and included parties/social events, joining a new group, traveling, swimming (something she used to love but since Aaron's accident had developed a phobia about), and ... dating!
She had a boy in mind, when she wrote that word on her list. Ryan Chase. A boy who  used to have a popular steady girlfriend, was athletic... but also very kind to his sister who had recovered from cancer. And he understood what "the look" was all about because of that. One day, Ryan overhears Paige responding to someone's concerned query about Aaron. He sympathizes with her and before they part ways he tells her they would "make it a good year in Honors English" which both had on their upcoming school schedule.
Preoccupied with Ryan and finding herself seated next to him in that very English class... the teacher has other ideas and mixes the seating arrangements up, and Paige now finds herself sitting next to Max Watson, Ryan's super smart, nerdy cousin.  Was this switch going to be a let down for Paige... or the beginning of something she wasn't expecting?
Ms. Emery's characters are people you enjoy spending time with. We follow Paige as she struggles with her feelings, pushes herself in new directions and slowly relearns to embrace what life throws at her.