What’s not to love about two Mira Costa graduates’ high school experiences
Authors Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka in front of the Manhattan Beach Public
Library. Photo: Jes Workman
by Elka Worner
Authors Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka have always drawn on their experiences at Mira Costa High School for their young adult novels, but even more so for their fourth book, “What’s Not to Love,” .
“These are the characters who are most like us. Their intense focus on academics and questions about the future are very similar to the questions we faced,” Siegemund-Broka said.
The narrator is an overachieving high school senior named Alison Sanger, who could be Wibberley. The male lead is Ethan Sanger, an equally intelligent “Kennedyesque via California” guy with “high cheekbones, sharp nose,” who could be Siegemund-Broka.