Review Detail

“Meet Me Under the Lights” by Cassie Miller tells the story of Eliza and Reed, two teens from rival families who find themselves drawn to each other during the summer before their senior year of high school. Their lives are intertwined, as their families have been at odds for years over the town’s baseball stadium. While Eliza’s family has money, Reed’s family are in danger of losing their farm. When Eliza finds out that her dad, who owns the stadium, has made a bet with Reed’s grandfather that he’s going to turn over the stadium to him if he loses the championship baseball game, Eliza can’t believe it.

As time passes and she grows closer to Reed, despite her initial trepidation to get close to him, she learns that his family has much more to lose than hers, even though they both are at risk of everything being pulled out from under them if their team loses. She can’t help herself, though, as she doesn’t want to hope that Reed loses, despite wanting to keep the life she knows and loves.

The way that Eliza finds a balance between her love of the theater and how to do its lighting to her love of baseball helps Reed see that she’s more than he ever thought her to be, and it’s just the way he wants her.

The story is at times intensely satisfying with its romantic, steamy scenes, and at other times readers will find themselves tearing up, gasping, and wondering just how it might all turn out when everyone has something major to lose. When everything seems like it’s going up in flames, sometimes even literally, it might be just what everyone needs to realize what really matters.