Review: Galgorithm / You Me Us

I have a fair amount of thoughts on this book, Galgorithm. Starting with An Abundance of Katherines I'm kind of a sucker for books where people discover (or try to discover) the formula for love, so the premise of this one - a high school boy who uses his advanced, mathematical understanding of How Girls Work to help his lovelorn compadres capture the girl of their dreams - was perfect for me. Very Hitch-esque.

The cover here is kind of goofy, as is the title, so I wasn't honestly expecting too much from this book. But it was funny! And it was sweet! And it had a few quotable lines! ("I'm feeling a lot of feelings right now, and it's weird.") It was a bit predictable and I never fully felt the core romance between Shane and his female BFF, Jak, but I went with it. Shane was a relatable, slightly-quirky main character, his friendship with Jak was always pretty great (I bought their friendship, it was just the requisite more-than-friends feelings that I had some trouble with), and the various romantic entanglements of his clients were entertaining. I won't lie; this book had me hooked. It's not one I'll return to again and again, but I had a hard time putting it down. And considering the luck I've had with books this year, that's a win.

Note that this book is published as an ebook under the (much better) title You Me Us, and I'm wondering if it might come out in paperback with that title also?

review: this is what happy looks like

THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE
Jennifer E. Smith
Poppy

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight was a really good book, but I wasn't floored by it the way so many others seem to have been. I liked it a lot, but didn't love it. Still, when I first saw This is What Happy Looks Like on Goodreads with a comparison to You've Got Mail, I put it at the top of my must-buy list. (YGM is my faaaavorite movie of all times ever.)

And let me tell you: for me, This is What Happy Looks Like blows The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight out of the water. The story (told in alternating third-person perspectives) of a girl in small-town Maine ending up an accidental e-pen pal to a boy whose identity she doesn't know is great. Of course there are plenty of opportunities for internet safety speeches here, but the book doesn't take that direction because this is a book about sweet and unexpected love. Ellie and Graham follow the You've Got Mail rules of not revealing anything personal in their letters (although Ellie does accidentally let the name of her town slip), which means that when Graham shows up in Ellie's hometown to shoot his new movie she has no idea that this is the boy she's been emailing. And Graham has no idea that for Ellie, being in the spotlight seems like the worst thing in the world. The secret of Ellie's camera-shy personality is one that in other books could have come across as overly dramatic or heavy-handed, but here is handled exactly perfectly well. Her reasons, when they come to light, aren't as deep and dark as they could have been and fit in well with the rest of the book, with her and her mother's reaction to Graham's fame.

I've said multiple times that a book has to be more than just "cute" or "entertaining" to make me really fall for it, and based on that and how utterly sweet this story is, you'd think this would be an easily forgettable book for me. But it's not. This is What Happy Looks Like is the best sort of romance; it's sweet and funny. The characters are loveable. The more unrealistic aspects are more than made up for by the fact that the emotions felt by these characters are so utterly relatable. These are the most universal of feelings: love, friendship, infatuation. And This is What Happy Looks Like relies on these themes/feelings (along, of course, with Jennifer E. Smith's great writing) to make the unrealistic premise work really, really well. It's a sweet, adorable, wholesome romance that I totally fell into. In short: I loved this book. It's the best sort of YA romance and if this review doesn't seem to do it justice it's just because beyond omg so cute so good awwwwhhh!!! there's really no better way to describe or explain how I feel about this book.

(Also you can note that this is the first five-star book I've read in all of 2013. Step it up, year.)

The List - YA Romances

I have a difficult time finding love stories that I really, really like. While I love a romance as a secondary or sub-plot, the book often seems to fall short when romance is the primary focus of the book. That said, I've read quite a few love stories that are absolutely brilliant. These are all novels that could be classified as (YA) Romance in that the love story is the primary focus of the book, and they're all incredible.

Anna and the French Kiss

Stephanie Perkins

I realize that everyone who has read this book can't hear enough good things about it and anyone who hasn't read it is sick and tired of it, but honestly -- this book is amazing. The only problem with it is that there's no way for me to pull a blue skidoo and jump into it. I would say this is everything a love story should be but the truth is that this is everything a YA novel should be. It's perfect. I'm shocked at how good it is, how much I love it, how much I'm hyping it up without even worrying (that much) about it falling short for somebody. I heart Anna and St. Clair.

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight

Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler

In some books the love between the two protagonists feels, if not fake, at least temporary, and this isn't the case here. This book is adorable, touching, and if it weren't for the personalities of the two characters, absolutely unbelievable. But, because both Calliope and Eliot are so great, this book is fantastic and the love between them rings out as both true and lasting. Not to mention the settings (Christian fat camp and a Renaissance Faire) are incredibly quirky and well-written.

Sea

Heidi R. Kling

I hesitate to include this because it doesn't follow the typical formula or path of a romance novel, but it definitely falls under the romance category, so it's staying. Warm, adventurous, and with an emotional connection that most books can only strive for, this is a breathtaking book. I kept reading at the exclusion of everything else not because it was a page-turner, but because the world inside these pages is, in spite of being devastated, also very beautiful in many ways -- and a lot of that is due to the love between Sea and Deni.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

Erin McCahan

Again, this is a book that doesn't adhere to the typical path and there's really a lot more here than just the romance, but it is the primary focus of the book. And as far as romances go, this one feels like it should have been pulled from a Jane Austen novel. Not only are there the required mix-ups (though less here than in an actual Austen novel), but more importantly the two protagonists are both incredibly perfect for each other. Bronwen is such a lady and Jared is the definition of a gentleman, which makes this book a very comforting and lovely romance.

This Lullaby

Sarah Dessen

Though all of Dessen's books have a romantic subplot, this is the only one that really could be called a romance. And, like every Dessen novel, it's incredibly well-written. The main character who doesn't believe in love until that special someone comes along is played out nicely here and the characters are ones you can root for, even when they're being stupid. Saying more (like, um, my feelings about the ending) would spoil the book for those who haven't read it, but suffice to say that this is an authentic and wonderful story.

What YA romances are on your list?