The Adventures of Luba and Dalon
Best friends Luba Hayes and Dalon Kim have three goals for their sophomore year of high school: 1) Survive. 2) Avoid humiliation. 3) Maybe, just maybe, become slightly cooler than they were last year. Unfortunately, the universe seems to have other plans.
When a well-intentioned attempt to join the school newspaper accidentally lands them in charge of a long-abandoned advice column, Luba and Dalon find themselves the reluctant confidants of the entire student body. With zero qualifications and even less common sense, they begin dispensing dubious wisdom that leads to hilarious disasters, unexpected romances, and a school-wide scandal that threatens their friendship.
Meanwhile, they're navigating their own personal challenges—Luba's chaotic blended family keeps expanding, while Dalon's parents have impossibly high expectations for his future. As the advice column spirals increasingly out of control, the two friends must figure out how to fix the problems they've created while staying true to themselves and each other.
"The Adventures of Luba and Dalon" is a laugh-out-loud story about the beautiful messiness of teenage life, the wisdom of admitting when you're clueless, and the friendships that help us survive it all.
From the Author
I spent ten years teaching high school English before becoming a writer, and those experiences heavily influenced "The Adventures of Luba and Dalon." While the specific scenarios in the book are fictional, the emotional truth of being a teenager—that wonderful, terrible, confusing time—comes directly from what I observed in my classroom.
What always struck me was how funny my students were, even (especially!) when navigating difficult situations. Their humor, resilience, and capacity for growth inspired me to create characters who bumble and stumble but ultimately find their way—with plenty of laughs along the journey.
My hope is that readers will see themselves in Luba and Dalon's imperfect but earnest attempts to figure out life, and perhaps feel a little less alone in their own adventures.
— Emily Stewart