The societal preoccupation with answering the question “What will you do after high school?” is portrayed beautifully in this new novel by Nina LaCour. “College, of course,” seems to the be the obvious response for the majority of high school graduates. But Colby and Bev are not the majority; they’ve planned to hit the open road with their admittedly awful band, called The DIsenchantments, and later take a year to travel Europe to their hearts’ content, much to the distress of their high school counselors. As their friends ramble about college applications and scholarships and recommendation letters, Colby can only envision his grand adventure with Bev, his best friend and unspoken love, and marvel at how he’s living the dream every teenager wishes they could have. 

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

However, Colby’s world quickly begins to shatter. Bev has revealed that she has no intention of going to Europe; she has already applied and been accepted to the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Colby, under the impression that their plans had been set in stone, neglected to look at colleges, let alone apply to any. Despite this blow, the band decides to continue with their summer tour in a final attempt to spend time together before they break apart in different directions. As time goes by, Colby starts to realize that Bev has been hiding more from him than just a college application; the ensuing days reveal she has been keeping secrets as far back as eighth grade, and he begins to question the foundation of their friendship. Now, he has to decide what’s next in his uncertain future: whether he wants to keep to his original plan sans Bev or fall back into the collegiate life. 

This story perfectly addresses the painful part of growing up that everyone warns you about but you never believe: change sometimes means growing apart. It also highlights the fundamental fact that women are talkers and men are doers; for Bev, the idea of backpacking through Europe was simply that, an idea to mull over but never act upon. To Colby, it was the promise of an adventure he intended to see through to the very end. Most importantly, The Disenchantments shows that there’s more to life than school, and you shouldn’t be afraid to search for what that could be. LaCour has written a novel that will resonate with most, if not all, adolescents who struggle to decide between what they should do and what they want to do.