Review: She's So Money

SHE'S SO MONEY
Cherry Cheva
HarperTeen

Maya, straight-A student and good-girl extraordinaire, runs into a bit of trouble when her parents leave her in charge of the family restaurant while they're out of town. Maya's used to her life revolving around school and the restaurant so running the place for a few days should be no problem. Unfortunately a run-in with a couple of rude customers quickly turns into a much bigger problem when Maya gets herself slapped with a huge fine that - if she can't come up with the money quickly - could put her family's restaurant out of business. This leads to an ill-advised partnership with the hottest, most egotistical boy in school, and a cheating ring that starts small but soon becomes more than Maya can handle.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book. The premise seemed so outlandish, but I was happy to discover that this crazy premise is handled really well. This book fits squarely into the "comedy of errors" camp and benefits hugely from the fact that it never takes itself too seriously. This is a funny book - a YA comedy, dare I say? - and realizing this makes it easier to accept the crazy plot.

Maya and the rest of the characters (especially her partner-in-crime, Camden) aren't always likable, but it doesn't matter as much as you'd expect. It's clear from the outset that Maya's a well-intentioned girl who, under extreme pressure, panics and goes along with the first hare-brained scheme she thinks up. It's her loyalty to this scheme that really makes things interesting and that, eventually, makes it difficult to like her. Because while it's easy to understand the beginning of the cheating ring, it's quite a bit harder to justify the continuation of it especially as things begin going out-of-control. Once again, this is where the book's commitment to comedy is such a good thing; it's hard to take too seriously a book that cracks jokes continually, even in the worst of times, and because of this She's So Money is operating on a slightly different level than many other, drama-heavy YA novels.

Maya and Camden's whip-smart and hilarious interactions are often laugh-in-public funny and I'd recommend this book for YA readers looking for a straight-up comedy.