Age: 25
male
Joshua Taylor Bassett (born December 22, 2000) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a teen actor, appearing on the third season of Disney Channel family sitcom Stuck in the Middle (2018) as Aidan Peters. Bassett rose to prominence for his leading role as high school student Ricky Bowen in the Disney+ streaming series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2023), and for its accompanying soundtracks, for which he was nominated for two Children's and Family Emmy Awards, winning in 2023. He also starred in Better Nate Than Ever and led the voice cast in Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again (both 2022). In music, Bassett was signed to Warner Records in 2020 and subsequently released four extended plays. His debut album The Golden Years was released on July 26, 2024. He is currently starring as Seymour Krelborn in Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway.
Opposites attract in this battle-robot-building YA romance from the NYT best-selling author of The Atlas Six. Bel would rather die than think about the future. College apps? You’re funny. Extracurriculars? Not a chance. But when she accidentally reveals a talent for engineering at school, she’s basically forced into joining the robotics club. Even worse? All the boys ignore Bel—and Neelam, the only other girl on the team, doesn't seem to like her either. Enter Mateo Luna, captain of the club, who recognizes Bel as a potential asset—until they start butting heads. Bel doesn’t care about Nationals, while Teo cares too much. But as the nights of after-school work grow longer and longer, Bel and Teo realize they've made more than just a combat-ready robot for the championship: they’ve made each other and the team better. Because girls do belong in STEM. In her YA debut, Alexene Farol Follmuth, author of The Atlas Six (under the penname Olivie Blake), explores both the challenges girls of color face in STEM and the vulnerability of first love with unfailing wit and honesty. With an adorable, opposites-attract romance at its center and lines that beg to be read aloud, My Mechanical Romance is swoonworthy perfection.
