Ros Demir is Not the One
$19.99 USD
Hardcover
Ros will do whatever it takes to get the guy. At least… she thinks she will.
Sixteen-year-old Ros is a go-getter. When she wants something, she makes sure she gets it.
But a lingering rumor (and maybe some ambivalence about her half-Turkish heritage) has kept Ros from achieving the kind of reputation she deserves. So, after years of plotting her big comeback, she just needs one thing: a hot, adoring guy on her arm at junior year homecoming. And when she meets charming new classmate Aydın at the Pine Bay resort over the summer, she thinks she’s found The One.
It doesn’t work, though. And things get messy when Ros’s plan ends up hurting the only friend she has left… poor, sweet, forgiving Eleanor. This has happened before—things tend to get messy with Ros around—and it’s getting harder for her to ignore the pattern of hurt feelings. Plus, it seems like Ros and Aydın aren’t really meant to be. What kind of a plan results in everyone ending up unhappy? Not a very good one.
A not-quite rom com starring a bold, outspoken antiheroine, this Turkish-American Romeo and Juliet remix is refreshingly snarky. Witty, whip-smart dialogue plays with the complexities of multicultural identity and female friendships, from Ros’s very first screw-up to her unconventional happy ending. Perfect for fans of Crystal Maldonado and Michelle Quach.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Leyla Brittan is the author of the young adult novel Ros Demir Is Not the One (Holiday House 2024).
Originally from Chappaqua, New York, she received an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Wyoming in 2023, and she graduated from Harvard College in 2019 with an A.B. in English and a Secondary Concentration in Computer Science.
Her short fiction has appeared in Pigeon Pages, 5x5, and The Harvard Advocate, and has been nominated for Best American Short Stories. She has attended workshops in fiction writing, screenwriting, playwriting, and journalism through Tin House, Harvard University, the UVA Young Writers Workshop, and the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio.
She is also an actor and singer; while at Harvard, she toured internationally with the jazz a cappella group The Radcliffe Pitches, and she has most recently appeared onstage in Relative Theatrics’ productions of Black Sky and Arsonist.
She has a background in outdoor sports, and has written for the rock climbing magazines Rock and Ice and Gym Climber. She is a recreational rock climber, skier, hiker, runner, and PADI-certified Open Water Diver.
“An engaging story with a rightfully complex protagonist.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Compassionate text highlights character flaws while encouraging growth and deftly tackles issues surrounding islamophobia and self-esteem.”—Publishers Weekly
“Fierce, funny, and utterly absorbing! Ros Demir is Not the One embraces the messy interplay of culture, identity, and our search for belonging. From her reckless choices around friendship and love to her complicated feelings about her Turkish American heritage, Ros is refreshingly flawed—and deeply human. A witty page-turner that breaks with tradition, Brittan’s debut shines with a special kind of light.”—Anuradha D. Rajurkar, award-winning author of American Betiya
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