DNF

I read over a hundred pages. There's strong writing and a lot of nerdy quirkiness, and I feel like I should absolutely love this book, but I'm bored. Keil's books have always come out not feelsy for me despite really loving the concepts and everything, so I think her books may just not work that well for me. This is going to be a solid 3 and I'm chugging through other things I feel iffy about. I find myself skimming the family bits and actually most of it, which isn't a good sign.

This is a really fun and unique YA story. I think readers that have an interest in magic will definitely enjoy this one.

I was fully prepared for this to be just another teen romance. The elements are all there: closed of genius has her world expanded by a charismatic outsider. And if that's all this was I'd quickly write it off as empty entertainment. It's so much more, the romantic element becomes something of a subplot. We have two outsiders trying to find their place in the world, their purpose, their people. We have an attempt to "fix" an anxious person which, importantly, fails. Secret keeping and self-centeredness that nearly destroys long term relationships. There's a lot going on in the background which can make the narrative a bit scattered. In all, though, it's an engaging read well worth your time.

Smart, Funny, and Sort of Frustrating Until You Suspend Disbelief

This is a remarkably sharp and funny YA romance and comedy of manners. Our hero, Joshua, and our heroine, Sophia, (who tell the tale in alternating chapters), are smart, engaging, and consistently appealing.

As an exceptional bonus the book is loaded with a tremendous supporting cast. Everyone - the hero's little sister, the heroine's older brother, the heroine's best friend, the heroine's best friend's brothers, the hero's friends and employer, and even the hero's creepy comic relief classmate - comes with a complete range of wise observations, snappy one-liners, and dry commentary on the proceedings.

So, what's the niggling problem? Well, the hero is fine. He is introduced as a sort of dork, but quickly emerges as a good-hearted nerd-mensch who clearly deserves a classic rom-com happy ending. His "thing" is magic, but that never gets in the way and is often turned to nice metaphorical use. But our heroine - she takes a little more time to figure out. Sophia is a full on math genius savant with an eidetic memory and all the trimmings. That's fine. Really intelligent, funny woman are great. (That's why I'm so fortunate to have married the best one.) But, Sophia is also supposed to be crippled, almost literally, by severe social anxiety. This is never treated seriously with a discussion of autism and the like, but it's also not portrayed as just an awkward girl with poor social skills. The author tries to have it both, inconsistent, ways.

This isn't a small problem, because how do you write a book that is one-half narrated by someone who is supposedly incapable of understanding people or processing even the simplest social interaction? Well, you do that by turning her problem off and on as the plot and the narrative require. So, in one paragraph Sophia is staring uncomprehendingly at someone who has asked her a simple question, and in the next paragraph she is making witty, perceptive, edgy, deadpan and shrewd comments about the action. The unfortunate consequence is that every time Sophia kvetches about her anxiety it feels phony and rather precious. Hence, my workaround. I just decided to stop stressing and treat the anxiety's appearance as a convenient narrative device that will keep the lovers apart until the final reel.

None of my griping, though, should in any way obscure my main point - this is easily the smartest, wittiest, and fundamentally good-hearted and upbeat YA romance I've read in a long time.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I really liked Keil’s Life in Outer Space, and I was happy to see Sam and Camilla from that story crop up in this one. However, I didn’t connect with the main characters in this novel nearly as well.

Sophia and Joshua tell their story in first person, with the narrative switching back and forth between them. Sophia is a math genius with an eidetic memory who finds human interaction very difficult. (She might be on the autism spectrum or maybe just socially awkward with near-crippling social anxiety, but she’s never given a label.) Joshua, who is obsessed with stage magic, has had his own problems connecting with other people. But he’s also had a crush on Sophia for years, and he finally decides to woo her using magic tricks. Sophia is mystified but a bit intrigued by Joshua, and the two of them begin to build a relationship. But what kind of connection can be made between two such unusual people?

One thing I liked about this novel was that the focus was not just on the potential romance between the two main characters. Both Sophia and Joshua have relationships with friends and siblings that play an important role in the course of the story. Keil also gives Sophia and Joshua a very real concern outside of their developing connection—they will both be graduating from their Australian high school soon and are uncertain what the future holds for them. In fact, that’s an additional source of anxiety for both characters that affects their behavior in the story.

I think my problem with the book is that Sophia and Joshua are just a little too quirky. Don’t get me wrong—I love characters who are outside the norm. Normal is boring. I can just about deal with Joshua, although his love of magic tricks is a little over the top. However, Sophia is a complete bundle of nerves as she deals with her feelings about Joshua, with her fears that she’s too weird for other people, and with her worries that she will flame out like other young geniuses. All her anxieties were on display nearly all the time, which made reading from her point of view almost uncomfortable for me. I wish Keil had let Sophia have a few more moments where she’s content, just to lighten the story up a little bit, although I guess that might go against her concept of the character.

So, the book isn’t bad, but I didn’t fall in love with it. Other readers who enjoy quirky characters and unusual love stories might like it more.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.