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DATING MAKES PERFECT

A laugh-out-loud YA romance with a smart cast.

Awards & Accolades

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  • Kirkus Reviews'
    Best Books Of 2020

In this YA romantic comedy, a Thai American teen from a tightknit family starts dating—on her parents’ terms.

Orrawin “Winnie” Techavachara is entering her final semester of high school in the Chicago suburbs without a boyfriend. Her parents don’t allow her to date, a rule that started with her beloved older sisters, Ari and Bunny, now in college several hours away and happily independent with no thoughts of settling down, much to Mom’s dismay. Fearing the same fate for their youngest daughter, Winnie’s parents change the rules. Winnie is now allowed to date, but it’s not quite that simple. First, Winnie’s mom will dictate the dates’ locations, each of which will pay tribute to beloved rom-coms, like Always Be My Maybeand When Harry Met Sally. Second, she’ll also dictate the boy. And it won’t be Winnie’s crush Taran, the new guy in school who also happens to be Thai, but Winnie’s former best friend, Mat Songsomboon, who’s been Winnie’s sworn enemy since an epic falling-out in junior high. Also, kissing is verboten. Mat’s father ups the ante for his reluctant son: For every date Mat and Winnie complete, he’ll add a day to Mat’s post-graduation solo backpacking trip through Asia. What starts as an awkward car ride to school soon becomes much more as Winnie realizes her feelings for Mat are more complex than she once believed, and Mat makes a startling revelation about his feelings for Winnie. But what’s a good Thai daughter to do when she’s not actually supposed to fall in love? New York Times–bestselling author Dunn, a first-generation Thai American, takes on the enemies-to-lovers romance trope with punchy dialogue and adorable twists while paying tribute to the culture’s prioritization of food and family: One of the novel’s best scenes plays out at the Songkran festival, a celebration of the Thai New Year. Both Winnie and Mat are intelligent, sympathetic characters with genuine chemistry in the throes of mutual eye-rolling–turned–puppy love, and Winnie’s family members are finely drawn and nuanced, with aspirations, conflicts, and dreams of their own.

A laugh-out-loud YA romance with a smart cast.

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-68281-497-0

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Review Posted Online: July 21, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020

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IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.

The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.

Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.   (Fiction. 14 & up)

Pub Date: April 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

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NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES

From the Better Than the Movies series , Vol. 2

A worthy second-chance romance.

In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.

After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.

A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9781665947138

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024

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