The sardonic, free-thinking Wilhelmina "Will" Everhart ("insolence is her trademark") and the naïve, overachieving Harriet Price, year-12 classmates, couldn't be more different. The one thing they can agree on is that something must be done about their school's swim coach, whose sexist comments have gone unchallenged long enough (even if Harriet is "fairly certain he does not mean them"). To expose him without incriminating themselves, they create Amelia Westlake, a fake student who uses political cartoons and epic pranks to speak out about injustices at their privileged all-girls school in Australia. As the intrigue and mystery surrounding Amelia grows, so does the chemistry between Will and Harriet, making it harder to keep their secret. When the perfect opportunity arises for Amelia's biggest prank ever, though, Will and Harriet must decide how far they're willing to go to fight the system.
Through the alternating viewpoints of a principled, controversial rule-breaker and a tightly wound, responsible rule-follower, Erin Gough (Get it Together, Delilah!) tells this slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance. The surprisingly complementary pairing of Harriet and Will and the will-they-or-won't-they tension create an affecting love story. Amelia Westlake Was Never Here is also a timely commentary on the injustices faced by marginalized groups, such as classicism--"What's the point of going to this school if we still have to mix with the poors?"--racism and sexism. A private school becomes the perfect backdrop for the "antiauthoritarian hoax" Will and Harriet enact to prove their school is a "crackpot institution that entrenches blind obedience."
Gough manages to strike the perfect balance between heartwarming queer romance and essential social criticism in this pertinent and empowering story. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader