A grieving, lonely teen unexpectedly lands in the middle of a political protest.It's 2013, and Alex faces the summer before his senior year with the grim acceptance that his only friend is Mr. Monaghan, an 85-year-old man he reads to at an adult day center for his required community service. Alex is shocked but thrilled to get a call from cute, unattainable Cassie, "the most Catholic girl on the planet who isn't an actual nun"-they have known each other since their elementary years in Catholic school, but they aren't exactly friends. She asks him to come to the Texas Capitol building for something important, which turns out to be a filibuster for Senate Bill 5, proposing a ban on abortions after 20 weeks. Alex is only vaguely aware of the controversy, and he experiences many reckonings throughout the day. This smart, poignant novel effectively weaves the backstory of the death of Alex's best friend into the present-day events, portraying Cassie, who is there in support of the abortion ban, as intelligent and caring even as it makes clear the hypocrisy of the politicians involved in its proposal. Well-drawn secondary characters shine, including confident, compassionate Iranian American Shireen, Alex's classmate and former friend who is present to support the filibuster, and foulmouthed Mr. Monaghan, who is an astute, progressive role model. Cassie is cued Latine; other major characters read White.A thoughtful and compelling personal story set amid larger societal issues. (Fiction. 13-18)