Finding true friends

 The Roommate Arrangement
By Samantha Markum

 

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Publication date: January 27, 2026

Print length: 352 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1665973076

Reading age: 14 years and up

Grade level: 9 – 12

 

Publisher’s Blurb:

When Blair accidentally becomes college roommates with her brother’s best friend, sparks fly in this hilarious rom-com from bestselling author Samantha Markum, perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Emma Lord.

Blair might be a little type-A, but she never thought of herself as completely overbearing…that is, until her two best friends drop her from their housing arrangement a week before her pre-college summer coding program is about to start.

Blair knows if she switches to an on-campus dorm, her parents will make her give up her expensive sculpture class with her dream mentor in order to pay for it. Desperate, she agrees to be the fifth roommate to four off-campus sophomores who are also in a last-minute bind. But things get complicated when one of her new roommates turns out to be her brother’s best friend, Jamie Atwater.

Blair begs Jamie not to tell her brother about the new living arrangement. Her brother would go straight to their parents, who would definitely not approve, and all her plans would fall apart. So they strike a deal: she’ll help him finish coding the app he’s building if he promises to keep her secret.

Spending more time together shouldn’t be a problem. Sure, Jamie has a new haircut, a mysterious tattoo, and a year’s worth of earned muscle, but it’s not like Blair is noticing. After all, they’re only roommates, right?

 

My Thoughts:

Blair is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Her mother and stepfather are extremely controlling and, quite frankly, snobby. They’ve chosen her future career and how she should spend her time. What she really loves is sculpture, and when her “best” friends pull out of a rooming agreement for college, she is left scrambling to find a place. Naturally, she accidentally ends up with her misfit older brother’s best friend. Whom she hates. And believes hates her. Or whatever.

 

Of course, things develop. It turns out that Jamie’s really not so bad. And Blair finds out what it really means to be accepted and supported by friends. The theme of found family is the best part of this story, because her own family is pretty awful. There is redemption, eventually, with her brother, and it’s a sweet moment.

 

Watching Blair struggle in her summer coding program is really hard. Particularly with the bully of a professor. But the support she received from her sculpture mentor makes up for a lot of that. Blair eventually learns to let go and trust herself. And Jamie.

 

Possible objectionable material:

Teens drink and party. End of a friendship. Lying to parents. Blair has been sexually active in the past. Innuendo. Swearing, including the F word. Blair has a panic attack. A character is nonbinary.

 

Who might like this book:

People who like stories of found family and overcoming difficulties. Those who like art. Blair talks about herself as “fat”, so those who like female main characters who don’t fit the usual mold.

 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

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