Five books that reinvent the love triangle trope

Rachel Strolle is a librarian and a reader. At the BN Teen Blog she tagged "five books with well done, unique love triangles that reinvent the trope." One title to make the list:

Odd One Out, by Nic Stone

This brings me to the newest fulfillment of the classic trope—Nic Stone’s sophomore book, Odd One Out. Featuring three main characters, each of whom has a possible love interest in the other two, Odd One Out brings a beautiful intersectionality to a traditionally white and heteronormative motif. Coop and Jupe are best friends and next-door neighbors, and Coop would be even more in love with Jupe if she didn’t self-identify as gay. When Rae moves to town, both Coop and Jupe acknowledge their crushes on her to each other—and Rae is unsure which of the two she has a crush on (maybe it’s both?). As Jupe’s feelings for Coop morph into something new, the three fall into a very messy love triangle that is bound to cause some heartache. Stone has presented one of the most authentic, innovative love triangles YA has ever seen. Three teens of color (Coop is black, Jupe is black/Latinx, and Rae is white/Chinese-Jamaican), two of whom are queer, are long-overdue leads in this miraculous story about love, friendship, and the sheer resilience of the teen heart.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue