David Is an Ugly Word

Don’t judge a name by its colors.

MacKenzie Hamilton has the unique ability to see letters and numbers in colors. Her synesthesia seemed almost useless until she decided to start categorizing people based on their names’ color combinations. For instance, her parents’ names are pretty, so they’re destined to reconcile. And David Shaw, the boy next door, has an ugly name, so of course, she had to push him away. For three years, she’s lived with a false sense of security until senior year, when her color theory is put to the test in the worst way possible.

David Shaw doesn’t understand why MacKenzie ghosted him. One minute, they were BFFs, and the next, it was like he never existed. But with money being tight, he has bigger problems to worry about. College may not be in the cards, especially music school. When David is paired with MacKenzie for a class mock-marriage project, he hopes she’ll finally tell him what went wrong. He would love to be friends again… maybe even more.

The more they work together, the closer they become, causing MacKenzie to question her rationale for ditching David in the first place. Perhaps David’s name isn’t so ugly after all. As long as he never discovers why she shunned him, everything will work out. Famous last words.