Things I Should Have Known

Chloe Mitchell is a popular teenager in Los Angeles who decides her older sister, Ivy, should have a boyfriend. Ivy is on the autism spectrum, and Chloe already has a candidate: Ethan Fields, a sweet boy obsessed with movies who attends Ivy's special needs class.

There is a complication. Ethan has a brother, David, and Chloe would happily ignore him if she could. But Ivy and Ethan are not comfortable going out alone, so Chloe and David have to come along on every outing.

Frozen yogurt dates and movie nights turn the four into a close, quirky group. As the bond grows, Chloe has to take a hard look at her own romantic choices and at what normal means for her family.

This is a contemporary young adult novel told from Chloe's point of view. First love is part of it, but the central relationship is between the two sisters. The tone is warm and often funny, and it shows ordinary teenage life with autism in the picture, with a gentle pace built around small social scenes rather than big plot turns.