The Debate Problem (A YA Sapphic Romance Novel)

Audrey Kim has a plan for everything.

As captain of Bellweather High’s debate team, she’s spent years building a reputation for being the smartest person in the room, the most prepared student in school, and the last person anyone would ever call a disappointment.

Because if she stops being exceptional, what does she have left?

Then Sam Torres transfers to Bellweather Cove.

Sam is funny, unpredictable, and completely incapable of following Audrey’s carefully organized systems. She trusts instinct over preparation, people over plans, and somehow manages to turn every debate practice into controlled chaos.

Unfortunately, she’s also Audrey’s new debate partner.

What begins as a season-long assignment quickly becomes something neither of them expected.

Study sessions become late-night conversations.

Saved seats become habits.

Inside jokes become the best part of their day.

And somewhere between tournament buses, rainy walks through town, and afternoons spent hiding from the weather inside Seabreeze Bakery, Audrey discovers that the person she can’t control may be the person she needs most.

But when scholarship pressure, championship expectations, and Audrey’s fear of failure collide, she’ll have to decide whether perfection is really protecting her—or keeping her from the one thing she’s wanted all along.

Because love isn’t a debate.

And some things can’t be won.

The Debate Problem is a warm, heartfelt young adult sapphic romance about belonging, community, first love, and learning that you don’t have to earn a place in someone’s life.

Perfect for readers who love slow-burn romance, cozy small towns, emotional character growth, found family, and stories that feel like a rainy afternoon in your favorite café.