Julia at the Drive-In

by Rainbow Rowell

A shy high school girl steps out of her comfort zone in this tender and wistful coming-of-age story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell.

On the eve of her senior year, Julia has a look so new she doesn’t even recognize herself in the mirror. It’s the only reason she feels bold enough to talk to Wyatt, the boy she’s been staring at for three years. Tonight, at the drive-in, Wyatt finally stares back. Does he see Julia? Or some new and perfect stranger?

Rainbow Rowell’s Julia at the Drive-In is part of The Edge of Everything, a collection of short coming-of-age stories of first love, messy choices, and self-discovery. Each story can be read or listened to in one sitting.

Genres: Romance, Short Stories, Young Adult, Audiobook, Novella, Fiction, Contemporary

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 23, 2026

About the author

Rainbow Rowell writes all kinds of stuff.

Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS, LANDLINE, SLOW DANCE).

Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK, FANGIRL) .

Sometimes — actually, a lot of the time — she writes about lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings. (THE SIMON SNOW TRILOGY).

Recently, she’s been writing comics, including her first graphic novel, PUMPKINHEADS, and the monthly SHE-HULK comic for Marvel.

She lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

More at rainbowrowell.com.

Reviews

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡]

pre-read:

this series was part of my july hopefuls to somewhat help me to get out of my slump. spoiler alert: i didn’t enjoy the first book, so i got back to my slump 😟 and i got scared to continue with it because it might put me in a slump AGAIN. but here we are, facing the fact that novellas are the book that will help me get back on track with my goal for this year. let me enjoy this one, I’M BEGGING!

[John Gilbert]

Lovely coming of age short story all happening at a drive in movie featuring Jurassic Park. Remember Drive-Ins, I do. Julia is sitting in the back seat with her best friend and boy friend in the front seat when she goes for a wander and starts a new life experience. 4+ stars for me, Rainbow can be hit or miss for me, this one a hit.

[Lorna]

Very short story about a teenage girl going to the drive-in with her best friend and her friend’s boyfriend. After going to the snack bar she sees a guy she knows from school. She’s had her hair cut and styled a new way and wears contacts now. She’s doesn’t look like the nerd she looked like the previous school years. Reinvented. He talks to her. I’m leaving it at that. It was entirely too short and it’s part of a series by several different authors about coming of age. Rainbow Rowell is a favorite author of mine and I listened to it free from KU. It was a cute young adult read and really needed more. Just my opinion as I am not the target audience.

[Mai H.]

Maybe he was waiting for you to make the first move

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Julia at the Drive-In is a short coming of age novella for young adults that is sweet and wistful.
Julia has always been/felt a little nerdy, but when at the movie drive-in with her hest friend and her boyfriend, she goes to get snacks and runs into Wyatt who she's had a crush on for years. Looking different with her new hair and contacts she feels good about herself and uses that confidence to talk to him...
This was a cute quick read but it lacked much substance to really capture my attention unfortunately - perhaps because it was a very short read? But, I'm sure YA will enjoy this.

[Violet]

She was still stumbling when she walked back out into the field of cars-stumbling emotionally.

As a standalone entry in a multi-author collection, this short story features characters who are well-written and authentic. It is a heartfelt, charming read in just forty pages.

[Christy]

4 stars

This one was so much fun. One of the better Amazon shorts I’ve read! I would love to read more about Julia and Wyatt!

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 4 stars
Narrators: Rebecca Lowman
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: NA Romance
Length: 1h 1m

[Olga]

He leído varias novelas cortas de Rainbow Rowell y me gusta muchísimo su estilo de escritura. De hecho, me acerqué a esta colección de Amazon, The Edge of Everything, precisamente porque me enteré de la existencia de este relato. Tengo súper pendientes sus novelas largas en mi lista de prioridades.

Siento que Rainbow tiene un talento increíble para manejar el género juvenil; su escritura es muy fresca y sencilla, pero al mismo tiempo tiene ideas tan reales sobre la experiencia de ser adolescente y adulto joven que te hace empatizar un montón. Básicamente te hace sentir que puedes ser tú o que fuiste tú en algún momento de tu vida.

Este relato en particular es como la película Grease pero en la actualidad: muy cliché, pero funciona.

En específico, me encantó cómo representa las inseguridades por las que todos pasamos con nuestro físico, más que todo en la adolescencia. Conecté mucho con Julia en el sentido de sentirte muchas veces invisible y sentir que tienes amigos, pero no Amigos con A mayúscula (bueno, en el relato ella lo dice con F mayúscula por Friends, pero ustedes me entienden JAJAJA). Tengo 18 años, igual que Julia, así que digamos que no he superado del todo esa etapa, pero ajá, me vi muy reflejada en sus miedos e inseguridades.

El romance de la historia no me emocionó especialmente, aunque es tierno, pero me gustó mucho más Julia como personaje. Por cierto, yo sé que en la primera reseña de la colección ya mencioné Victorious, pero si me recuerda a eso tengo que decirlo... Chloe y Aiden, los amigos de Julia, eran básicamente Jade y Beck.

Aunque sentí que esto hubiera sido mucho mejor con 100 páginas más (porque tenía potencial para dar más de sí), fue un relato bastante sólido. No iba con ninguna expectativa y me gustó mucho, dejándome con muchísimas ganas de por fin leer a Rainbow en formato largo.


P. D.: Estoy guardando Fangirl para cuando empiece la universidad (ojalá en 2027), porque sé que lo voy a amar mucho más en esa etapa, ya que he escuchado que retrata súper bien la experiencia de entrar por primera vez a la universidad.



Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of Julia at the Drive-In in exchange for an honest review. 🫰🏻

[☕︎︎𝐋𝐞𝐱𝐢✞]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25


This was REALLY good for a novella👏👏🥹.

It flowed nicely and I was invested from the first page😍


And I honestly was expecting tons of language bc Ik Eleanor and Park has a bunch (same authors) but it surprisingly didn’t (it still had some tho😰) so I was pleased with that for sure🥹🙏.



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Characters ! 🍿



Julie : OKAY SHE MIGHT BE MY IDENTICAL TWIN-🥺🙏. Just one thing- I don’t have contacts OKAY IM TERRIFIED OF THEM👹. But I for sure felt for her during this novella about not belonging and what not🥺🙏. Overall she was a fantastic character <3



Wyatt : Okay I fr just watched A Cinderella Story (the Chad Michael Murray one😍🙏) and he reminds me SO MUCH of Austin Ames AHHHHHHH🤭. He was so sweet and funny AHHHHHH IM SORRY I CANT🤭🤭🤭. He was green flag time 10👏👏🥹.



Chloe : She lowk felt fake ngl👹.



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Quotes ! 🎬


Check out my Notes and Highlights if you’d like to see some quotes from this novella and my commentary!

(I can’t make them visible rn bc I’m traveling but I’ll do it once I get some WiFi <3 )



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Overall ! 📍


Yeah this was actually quite enjoyable :D

I also loved how they basically js talked the whole book I TOO ATE IT UP MUAHAHAH🗣️🔥🔥🔥.


I would recommend this to you if you enjoy…


🍿 Mental Health Rep

🎬 Strangers To Lovers

🍿 Fast-Paced Books

🎬 Clean Romance


*cue the dinosaurs (bc they were watching Jurassic park duhh)*

*cue me dancing WITH the dinosaurs🤭*


🕺🦖🕺🦕



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Post-read ! 🩵

That was actually super duper cutie hehehehehe🤭. Rtc!!!

[Alya ( 20 comments restriction )]

This was super cute, reminded me of my teenage years lol major nostalgia

My Bookstagram

[Olga Rudnitska]

So cuteee🥰🥰🥰

Julia, who self-doubt about her beauty with the help of her new friend trying to change herself a little.
But a random interconnection at the Drive-in brings a butterflies in stomach

[Janssen]

Quick and cute

[Susan]

Really cute! My only complaint is that I didn't want to stop reading. I hope there will be another book to continue Wyatt and Julia's story. There connection was so cute and kept me smiling!💜💜

[har (super ia)]

┆ ⤿ 🎞️ ⌗ started: july 2, finished: july 2

3 stars 𓂃˖ ࣪⊹

summary: ⋆˚࿔
on the night before her senior year begins, julia decides to try something different. with a brand-new look giving her a little extra confidence, she finally talks to wyatt, the boy she's admired from afar for years. as the two spend the evening together at the drive-in, julia begins to wonder whether wyatt is seeing the real her or simply the version she's pretending to be.

thoughts: ⋆˚࿔
this was super cute and sweet! i really liked the message about confidence and learning to step outside of your comfort zone. julia's story felt realistic, and i think a lot of people can relate to wanting the courage to finally talk to someone they've admired for so long.

that said, i didn't really feel a strong connection to the characters, so i wasn't as emotionally invested as i wanted to be. it's a charming, easy read, but it didn't leave a lasting impression on me. still, it was an enjoyable little story to read in one sitting.

⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ OUT NOW

[Krysta ꕤ]

cute af 🥺

[mimi (catching up)]

Aww, this was just so cute <33

↠ 4.5 stars

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

[ObscureVi]

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Okay, color me surprised, but this short young adult coming of age story turned out to be exactly what I needed without even knowing it.

Julia was a character that I found myself relating to a lot, in ways I never really thought of before and it scratched that teenager in me, the same one that grew up too fast and wished that some things played out differently.

Wyatt on the other hand, was a complete cinammon roll and I can't remember the last time I saw a character that screamed green flag harder.

I would love to read an actual book with those two and if miss Rowell ever decides to write one? I will read it in a heartbeat.

Side note about Chloe: I won't lie, the way she acted throught the story, I kept thinking that she will turn out to be someone awful/fake, so the ending and her reaction made me smile.

[Anna (annareadit)]

You don't need to change just to get someone to notice you, but maybe that change will be the push they need to make the first move...

It's hard to rate this because it's literally about 20 minutes of someone's life 😅

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sam]

This novella is so stinkin’ cute. It reminds me of all the joys of going to the drive-in theater over the years. I need some popcorn and twizzlers stat.

[Lindsay (pawsomereads)]

Julia at the Drive-In was such a sweet and light-hearted coming-of-age story about stepping outside your comfort zone. I really enjoyed Julia’s excitement and nervousness as she finally found the confidence to talk to Wyatt. This was a quick read, but it captured those awkward, hopeful feelings of first love really well.

[Moon_child31]

This was great and I really like how she writes 🫶🏻

[Mariah (Wondered Pages)]

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Julia at the Drive-In felt like a 40-page retelling of She's All That (1999). I kept wondering why we needed to revive the ugly duckling makeover messaging in 2026.

Julia is a shy high school senior who has spent years watching Wyatt from afar. Her new friend Chloe gives her a makeover before a night at the drive-in. Suddenly, Julia has styled hair, contact lenses, makeup, and enough confidence to finally talk to Wyatt. Wyatt also suddenly notices her. See my problem?

The message behind Julia's transformation bothered me. Julia brushes her hair, puts on makeup, changes her clothes, and now the boy she has liked for three years looks at her differently. The story tries to question whether Wyatt sees the real Julia or the prettier version standing in front of him. That did not make the story feel any less sexist to me. We have spent decades criticizing the makeover trope that tells girls they were beautiful all along if only they just took off their glasses first. I am not sure why we needed another short story version of it.

Chloe did not help matters. She is supposed to be Julia's vibrant new best friend, but I thought she was a horrible friend. She brings Julia to the drive-in with her boyfriend, then spends the evening fighting and making out with him while Julia sits awkwardly in the backseat. Girl, why did you invite her?

The story is only about 40 pages long, so there is very little room for Julia, Wyatt, or their connection to develop beyond the makeover and drive-in encounter. I finished feeling like I had read a modernized scene from a late 1990s teen movie instead of a complete coming-of-age story.

Pick this up if you enjoy nostalgic high school stories, first crushes, and classic makeover tropes. I was mostly frustrated by what the story seemed to be saying about Julia before and after her transformation.

[Sarah (bookofsari)]

Review coming soon!

[Lisa Nicole]

Cute and easy.

[River]

It's soo cute🥺🤍🤍

[kar ୨୧ ✿]

⭐ 3 stars :)

❀ thank you to amazon original stories & netgalley for the arc! :)))

this was so so so cute, i genuinely loved the drive in setting & i genuinely wish this was a bit longer so that we could have gotten more development with the characters and their relationship but they were genuinely adorable! the only thing i didn’t like was that the fmc thought so low of herself & it made me very sad, she feels like nobody notices her & that she is invisible & not worthy of friendships or love or anything & i just wanted to hug her and tell her differently, i just wanted her to love herself a bit more! i also didn’t like how rushed the relationship aspect of this story was & i understand it is a short story and you can only do so much within 50 pages especially for a romance but again, that is why i wish it was just a little bit longer so we could have had more time to love, understand & connect with the characters & their relationship dynamic as well as the side characters in the story like chloe! anyways, this was very cute & i thought it was adorable that he knew it was her all along even though she didn’t think that was possible! :) 🌷🌼💐

[mandie ੈ♡˳]

This was so cute. 🥹 I really loved the drive in setting, it's been so long since I've been to one.

Julia finally works up the courage to talk to Wyatt after secretly crushing on him for years, and I was smiling through all of their awkward conversations by the snack bar and while they watched the movie together. The way she kept wondering if Wyatt actually recognized her or if he only noticed her because of her new haircut, contacts, and lip gloss honestly made me feel bad. It was very reminiscent of when I was in middle and high school, hoping my crushes would notice me lol.

I do wish it had been a little longer because I would've happily read another hundred pages about these two, but for such a short story it packed in so many butterflies.

[☆ Annie ☆]

I always say I'm too old for YA, then Rainbow starts writing and all (seriously, ALL) bets are off. Not that I'm complaining 😉

[Sertan]

Short and sweet!
Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC!

[Liz | lizzuplans]

Cute!

Short but nicely thought out, well written, and fun characters. Captured all the teenage feelings surrounding crushes and growing up.

3.5 rounded up