Despite the distance in space and time, Issa Maayo could not forget her first love, the boy she left behind, the precious innocent moments they shared, and the secrets that led to lies that ultimately led to regrets. If she thought writing her high school memoir would let go of the past and end their story, if she thought she would never see him again, if she thought he would never get to read the book, the story she wrote about them, she was wrong. An inescapable meeting seven years later begged the question: Were the feelings she had for the boy the same as those for the man he has now become?

From the award-winning author of The Fiancée comes a tender coming-of-age story of an enduring sweet young love, with poems intricately woven throughout. The Promising Pal, by far, is Margie Tayone Bruce’s most romantic work.