"Sadie Katz and Cleo Chapman were, quite literally, born to hate each other" in Try Your Worst, Chatham Greenfield's sophomore YA contemporary novel, a lively, prepossessing enemies-to-lovers romance.
A lifelong rivalry between Sadie and Cleo was established when their mothers met in Lamaze class. Sadie's mom, due on December 25th, refused to "give birth to her Jewish daughter on Christmas Day"; Cleo's mom, due on January 3rd, wanted to have "the first baby born in the new year." Though both succeeded, Cleo's mother won. After years of "fights, feuds, and one messy incident involving a hard-boiled egg," Sadie and Cleo are now high school seniors vying for valedictorian. When someone begins playing elaborate pranks at their school, they leave clues that point to Sadie and Cleo as the culprits. The girls, threatened with expulsion, realize they are being framed and reluctantly team up to uncover the prankster's identity. As they work together, Sadie realizes that her dislike of Cleo is more one-sided than she thought, while Cleo wonders if the girl that she has teased and secretly crushed on for years might return her feelings.
Try Your Worst is a satisfying gathering of classic rom com tropes--including misunderstandings and forced proximity--and whodunit story beats, told from the alternating perspectives of two endearingly mismatched protagonists. Greenfield (Time and Time Again) skillfully conveys the uncertainty that comes with finishing high school and transitioning to adulthood, showing Sadie and Cleo questioning what (and whom) they want in their futures. The novel delivers a happily ever after without tying its heroines' messy lives up too neatly, encouraging readers to embrace uncertainty. --Alanna Felton, freelance reviewer