The Vacation Shift

Lily Chu author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers Inc

Publishing:13th Aug '26

£8.99

This title is due to be published on 13th August, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

The Vacation Shift cover

Gilmore Girls meets a reverse Parent Trap in this swoony and hilarious YA rom-com from popular adult romance author Lily Chu, following a teen who, while on a group tour to Japan, teams up with a fellow traveler to keep their parents from falling in love with each other.

Ivy Yu is cursed. Her parents separated six months ago, and she’s fallen into a fog. To help, her mother books an impulsive trip to Japan (cool) on a bus tour (very uncool). Ivy should be grateful, but this summer is her last chance to get her situationship, Connor, to fall in love with her.

When they arrive in Tokyo, it’s even worse than she imagined. Ivy and her Mom are the youngest of a group of seniors. Make that two of the youngest: there’s brooding Matteo, with his single dad, Keith.

Then Ivy discovers her mother and Keith are getting close, and her crush back home is hooking up with someone else. Desperate for some semblance of control and a distraction from the heaviness she can’t seem to shake off, she makes a deal with Matteo to keep their parents apart. Luckily, he agrees—and their devious plans begin.

Dodging nosy old ladies on the bus ride through Japan, their strange partnership begins to blossom into something unexpected and exciting—but can their romantic spark survive the journey? 

"Chu’s young adult debut features an engaging romance that gradually builds through shared struggles with challenging family dynamics and expectations. An affecting, character-focused slow-burn." — Kirkus Reviews

ISBN: 9780063430624

Dimensions: 203mm x 135mm x 20mm

Weight: 295g

352 pages