Hooking Up: A Young Adult Novel (Sleeping Around #2)

by Morgan Vega

What better place to get right with God than church camp? Until you’re stuck all summer with the ex-boyfriend you committed your worst sins with.

Upcoming college sophomore and aspiring journalist Emma Anderson is going back to her childhood summer camp, Blue Woods Christian Camp, as a camp counselor. She’s set on getting right with God after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend Owen.

But Emma’s first day at camp starts with headline-worthy bad Owen’s a camp counselor too. She’s stuck with him all summer—the last person she needs to be around while trying to repent and regain purity. And Owen seems set on removing “ex” from “ex-boyfriend.”

When her high school crush and track star Javier becomes her twelfth grade co-counselor, Emma gets the idea that Javier can help put some distance between her and Owen—from sharing a canoe to not hooking up to the zip line course. (Heights? No, thank you.) Except the more time she spends with Javier, the more she starts dropping “high school” from “high school crush.” Will Emma earn God’s forgiveness before the summer ends? Or will she continue to choose her desires over God?

A companion to the award-winning young adult contemporary novel Sleeping Around, following a teen girl’s journey of religious deconstruction to self-love.

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 8, 2025

About the author

Morgan Vega grew up and lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. She earned her BA in English from Bridgewater College and MA in Technical Writing from James Madison University. She has worked in higher education and publishing. She’s written two coming-of-age YA contemporary novels, Sleeping Around (2021) and Hooking Up (2025). Publisher’s Weekly awarded Sleeping Around the 2022 YA/MG BookLife Prize, calling it “a masterpiece of early college angst, complicated friendships, young love, and overcoming trauma.” Follow her on social media at @bymorganvega.

Reviews

[ohheyashleyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story with an important purpose for young adult readers. It’s for people who want to confront their past and change their future.

I was honored and excited to be a beta reader for this book before it was published. I’m so proud of the author, Morgan Vega, for all the vulnerability and hard work that went into writing this book.

[Emma Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooking Up is the perfect companion novel to Sleeping Around—they’re both stories about belonging, love, and self-discovery amidst teenage confusion. Emma’s inner world is warm and relatable. I loved how the story mixes humor with more serious themes like religious trauma, handling them with nuance and genuine care. It’s definitely a book I wish I’d had when I was younger! 🫶🏻

[Morgan Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all the girls deconstructing the religion that taught them self-shame. You are more glorious and worthy than you know.