“Top Ten” is Katie Cotugno’s latest young adult novel, and I just finished reading it. I don’t think I could make a list of my ten favorite things about it, purely because there are too many. This book made me think so much of my own friendships, particularly my own best friendships with other guys. If you’re a fan of the film When Harry Met Sally, this book is for you. If you deal with any type of anxiety, this book is for you. If you go to school where it feels like everyone is has so much more of a disposable income than you, where you can feel the class difference almost palpably but everyone else seems blind to it, this book is for you.
I make the above recommendation because at the heart of this novel lies the following question: can a guy and a girl be just best friends? Are they ever only best friends? At what point, and how often, do the feelings happen? I can’t speak for everyone, but as someone who grew up with very close friendships with guys, this question defined a good portion of my adolescence.
Gabby and Ryan are a mis-matched pair of best friends, but their bond is near unbreakable. They during their freshman year of high school, and each are in completely different social orbits. Ryan is a popular newbie on the varsity ice hockey team; one of the few freshmen to get that coveted spot. At the surface, he’s a typical young jock: he wants to fit in so he goes to parties with the upperclassmen on the team, has undeniable good looks, and hooks up with girls left and right. Under the surface, he’s the exact opposite of your typical jock: his parents are divorced; his mom owns a small business, so they’re not as well off as the rest of the town; and all he wants is for his dad to be proud of him. One of his biggest inner conflicts is over ice hockey and his relationship with his father. Gabby, on the other hand, is quiet; has one close friend; and tends to avoid people and large social gatherings by staying behind the camera and focusing on photography work for the school yearbook.
The story is told in ten sections, each of which describe the ten pivotal moments of their relationship. It’s not chronological, but for this story, it makes sense, and only adds to the characters and their feelings for each other. They support each other through family issues, concussions, life decisions, and other relationships. They constantly question their feelings for each other, but appear to be constantly one step out of sync with each other in that regard. Through these two characters, Katie Cotugno discusses class differences (Ryan) and social anxiety (Gabby). These two things simultaneously define and don’t define the character’s lives, but they’re very real issues, and I’m glad to see a young adult novel discussing them.
Needless to say, I absolutely loved this one. Katie Cotugno is one of my top three favorite novelists to begin with, but “Top Ten” blows her other three novels right out of the water. She writes about friendships and confusing emotions beautifully- I would include quotes, but all of my favorite ones are definitely spoilers. I can tell I’ll be re-reading this one many times. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy!
~Simran
*All photos in this post are mine!
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