I truly enjoyed Laura Silverman's Recommended for You. It was filled with likable characters and and believable YA storylines.

Shoshanna Greenberg works at a bookstore, Once Upon, that has become her home away from home. She loves her coworkers and is clearly the favorite of her boss. Her contentment comes to a crashing halt when Jake Kaplan is hired. Soon, she and Jake are butting heads. (He doesn't even read!) Worse, when a competition is announced that the employee who sells the most books wins enough money for Shoshanna to repair her car, Barbara Streisand, it looks like Jake will actually be some serious competition. But, there's something about Jake that Shoshanna can't ignore, and it's not just because he's achingly cute and smells like baked goods. Over the course of the story they learn more about each other and realize perhaps they judged a little too quickly.

During all of this, Shoshanna is dealing with her parents', Mom and Mama, crumbling relationship. Shoshanna tries to fix it the best she can, which leads to some questionable decisions. Speaking of questionable decisions, Shoshanna makes a huge mistake when she uploads one of her best friend's make up videos to YouTube. Everything culminates when Shoshanna and Jake learn that Once Upon may close after this holiday season. They decide to come up with a plan to save the store,

Perhaps what makes this story truly unique is that it features Jewish characters. It's so important for kids to see themselves represented in books, and there are just not a lot of options for Jewish kids if they don't want to read about WWII and the Holocaust. These are just normal kids living in modern times who happen to be Jewish. I want to promote inclusivity and diversity in my library collection, and I will DEFINITELY be purchasing this title for my library.

Disclosure: I received a digital arc in exchange for my review from NetGalley.

This was an enjoyable story of Shoshanna, an outgoing girl who loves working at a bookstore. She is very impulsive and tries to fix everyone's problems. Her moms are fighting, her friend wants to be a YouTube star, and Shoshanna is trying to save up money to repair her car. When Jake starts working there she is instantly attracted to him, yet dislikes his grumpy attitude. Eventually, the bookstore has a contest where the employees compete to sell the most books. Shoshanna is determined to win so she can get the bonus money to fix her car.
Shoshanna and Jake are in the lead and as a result learn more about each other, finding that they are more alike than they thought.

In Recommended for You Shoshana, a Jewish indy bookseller teen, is just trying to survive the holiday mall rush, and hopefully make enough money to fix her old car (adorably named Barbra Streisand). Winning the bookshop's holidays sales challenge seemed like it would be easy until Shoshanna meets the new guy: Jake, a self-professed nonreader whom Shoshanna can't seem to stop offending, which is especially unnerving because she's super attracted to Jake. When Shoshanna starts sensing trouble between her moms at home, and gets embroiled in some friend drama, she's more overwhelmed than ever. Can Shoshanna make it through this holiday season full of changes?

Recommended for You is so sweet! I never thought anything would make nostalgic for a packed mall during the holidays, but between quarantine and Silverman's adorable indy bookstore, I was here for it. I would highly recommend this book as a fun holiday read for tweens and teens!

This was a cute book. You could tell that the author wrote with diversity in mind, although I'm not sure how successful it was, because it was done with a pretty heavy hand. The characters are well drawn. It deals with serious issues in a way that will relate to teen audiences experiencing the same thing. There was humor throughout the novel, to lighten the mood. The book store employees were a delightful ragtag bunch. I found the Epilogue a little anti-climatic as well as the resolution of the romantic element. Overall a fun read, though.

Young adult contemporary romance. Shoshanna is a teenage girl working in the Once Upon bookstore. She is looking forward to the holiday season until a new coworker shows up. Jake is not there as a devoted reader, but simply to do a job-- he doesn't even read for fun! After the store boss announces a sale competition with a $250 bonus, it becomes clear that Shoshanna and Jake are the two frontrunners. As the two devise ways to sell more and more books, their initial dismay turns into respect and then friendship and perhaps more.

I loved the bookstore setting, the strong friendships, and the sweet crush. I felt so bad for Shoshanna as she was dealing with a lot of stress from so many aspects of her life. Overall a light fluffy read with a dollop of Jewish culture.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to read this book because of the Jewish background of Shoshanna and the bookstore aspect. This book was so cute! I did find it to have A LOT going on, maybe a bit more than I would have liked, but it is a good holiday read.

Shoshanna works in a bookstore and Jake the new guy isn't only "hot" he is also Jewish. But the kicker, he doesn't read!
I felt that Shoshanna had a really good heart, but doesn't always make the right decisions and has some impulse control problems. As sometimes teens do. Jake, man he is a big ball of angstiness (is that a word) and he and Sho try to be enemies, but that doesn't quite workout for them. There are a lot of other characters, friends, family, coworkers, and so on. I think we could have done without a few, but they also show you different aspects of Shoshanna and Jake's characters.

A fun read and if you don't already support your local bookstore, it might just make you want to because we can't let bookstores die! There are libraries, sure, too, but there is something about a great bookstore when you enter it and you get chills and just feel like home.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This was such a cute book and the sweet read you need after a heavy one or need a bookish escape. I really liked Shoshanna and her character development.

Guac is always extra, and so is Shoshanna Greenberg, a sixteen-year-old Jewish girl living outside of Atlanta and working at an independent book store to pay her bills. And sometimes her moms' bills too. Shosh has got her share of problems, but her biggest situation is that she is impetuous. and really needs to grow up. I'd say this story is her "come to Jesus" moment, but Shosh would probably point out that she's Jewish, like she does ad nauseam. But Jake Kaplan, the new hire at the bookstore, is Jewish too and they bond over Christmas at the mall and saving the bookstore as they find that maybe they can work together instead of trying to sabotage each other from winning the prize money for selling the most books over the holiday rush.
Cultural Judaism abounds, but so does friendship. The strength of the story lies in the mistakes Shosh makes, but the way she makes up for her wrongs, especially with her friend's video she posts without permission. The story is strong in its approach to accountability, and that is a lesson a lot of us can learn.

An adorable YA romcom, set in a bookstore over the holiday season! Warm and cozy and delightfully Jewish, the romance is sweet and earnest, and the cast of characters is diverse and charming. Would make an adorable Netflix movie!

It would've been my dream to work at a bookstore as a teen (and now if we're being honest), so this book allowed me to live vicariously through Shoshanna, the best little bookseller there ever was.

There was a LOT going on over the span of one week in this book. The list includes possible parental separation, fights with friends, money problems, job insecurity, a new crush... it felt pretty packed into just one, fairly short, book. I thought it had been over the course of a few weeks until toward the end of the book they mention it's been just ONE! With so many subplots, it was hard to tell what the focus should be. At some point, I just wanted it to be a romance book about two teens falling in love in a bookstore. I wouldn't have said no to a makeout session between the stacks, but that's just me.

On a positive note, this book does a great job with diversity. It has not just a token diverse friend, but diversity of pretty much all kinds - racial, economic, religious/ethnic, and there was character who was physical disabled. It didn't feel like the author was checking a box, but just naturally writing a story in a diverse world, which is always the goal.

But, as each one of these characters interacts with Shoshanna and they come to blows in some way or another throughout this one week, it all felt a bit overwhelming. If the timeline had just been extended a little, it would have felt much more realistic. All of the turmoil, random actions, and constant back and forth made it a little hard to like Shoshanna at times.

That being said, it definitely helped to cement Shoshanna fully as a teen. I wouldn't expect any teen to know all the answers. They have stupid fights with their friends, they try and fail to act cool around their crush (to be honest, Jake would have befuddled me too), and they do pretty much everything without thinking it through. A lot of YA books don't capture this well, instead creating these super teens. Shoshanna was not that and it worked.

This is a cute, quick read. It falls very much on the young, wholesome side of YA, with just a sprinkle of romance, and a lot more focus on all of the relationships in Shosanna's life. I can see it being the perfect read for a winter break.

I received a preview copy of this book through NetGalley. The description hooked me immediately because I love rom-coms, I love To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and I loved You’ve Got Mail way back in the day. Overall, the plot was sweet but simple. It’s a very quick read, which is something I do want in a book that I’m going to offer my students in my high school library.

Bless her heart, Shoshanna could be me. I also am a fixer who struggles when I’m not in control, and I am far too impulsive. She has opportunities to learn valuable lessons in this story, and her character development is solid, in spite of it being a short book. I would be friends with Shoshanna if she were real!

Cute story, somewhat predictable but interesting characters, and quick pacing that keeps everything moving—good choice for a light read.

Recommended for You is such a fun read. Shoshannah is hilarious and well meaning which leads to multiple hijinks. I love how much she loves everything with enthusiasm even if it leads her wrong from time to time. It was hard for me to believe this book takes place over a week and not months. We see a lot happen and a ton of growth for the characters and it was great to see a story about a young POC who wasn't pig holed into a sterotypical box.

Laura Silverman does a great job with the pacing of this story and the heart of our main character. The side characters are tons of fun too. I love that the friendship between Shoshannah and Jake was a big part of this week and there is tiny hints of romance.

This is a great, quick read, mirroring the one-week time frame of the book. I think Jewish readers will love the "What is Christmastime for the Jewish kids?" vibe of this, and all readers will enjoy Shoshanna and Jake's slow-burn romance. Nothing majorly groundbreaking here, but enough fun and novelty with the characters and storylines for everyone to enjoy.

There are lots of things to like about this book. It's a holiday romance, but it's more focused on the holiday shopping season at the mall than the usual winter festivities. This is one of the first books I've read that take place in a bookstore that doesn't come off as cliche; you can tell that the author has spent some time either working in a bookstore or has friends who work in a bookstore because the customer interactions are very true. This book has the enemies to friends to lovers trope, but the enemies section felt very short compared to the rest of the book which makes sense since the whole plot takes place over one week. Excellent, fleshed-out side characters who all have their own problems and happy endings. I also liked how not all the problems are solved by the end of the book; it acknowledges that some issues take longer than a week to manage. Even though there's an epilogue, I could still see a sequel being written for this book. My one issue is that the main character is very unlikeable at the beginning. He unlikeable traits don't go away as the book goes on, but she does acknowledge that she has these personality behaviors to work on and uses her weaknesses to her advantage towards the end. A fun, satisfying romp.

This is an adorable ya rom-com set during the holiday season in a book store.... what could be more fun?! I really enjoyed this cute, quirky book for many reason. Yes, I worked in a mall during the holidays, so that added to my adoration if the insanity and survival of holidays at the mall. I really love bookstores and Once Upon sounds like a magical place all book lovers would want to work at! Soshanna loves her job and her besties and her two moms, but things are a little stressful at home and money is tight. When her boss decided to throw a sales contest into the holiday mix, things get stressful at work with the adorable new guy. This is an delightful read and I loved the pop culture references, as well as how quickly it read. I would love to see this on Netflix as a holiday film! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

"The scent of books and the quiet hum of morning customers browsing the shelves welcome me. My body lifts with contentment. I'm home."

Shoshanna Greenburg's second home is Once Upon, the independent bookstore she works at. Not only is it full of books--her favorite thing in the world!--but it's a lot more comfortable than her actual home right now, with her mothers fighting constantly. In the midst of the holiday rush, Shoshanna newest coworker seems to be too good to be true. Hot, and Jewish? How lucky could a girl get! Until he drops the bomb.

He doesn't read.

As you can imagine, his attractiveness goes down considerably. (No, it doesn't... Not at all... Curse you, Jake Kaplan!) However, Shoshanna is quickly distracted by a new competition within the store: whoever gets the most customers to buy books before the store closes on Christmas Eve gets a bonus, which is just what Shoshanna needs to save Barbara Streisand (her car, not the singer). But Jake wants that bonus just as much as she does.

Stakes are high, time is ticking, and Shoshanna and Jake are not in the game to play.

They're in to win.

"Recommended for You" is incredibly adorable, and I just adored Shoshanna. She's got a good heart, but doesn't always make the right decisions and has impulse control problems. And Jake. Oh my wonderful ball of angst with a heart of gold Jake... They are so sweet together, once they get over the 'enemies' stage in "enemies-to-friends-to-lovers". And then there's the wild cast of friends, coworkers, customers, family and more, who keep things interesting. This book is just so sweet and perfect and I want to wrap it up in a fuzzy blanket and feed it cookies and peppermint hot chocolate.

Also, I had so many flashbacks to my days of working at Books-A-Million. Because I was simultaneously Shoshanna--who loves books! Give me all the people who need books and book recommendations!--and Jake, except with coffee instead books. Yeah, I was "that" barista who hated coffee. A+ for the most realistic way to work at a bookstore without actually having to work at a bookstore. Especially during the holiday rush. Seriously, this is book is virtual reality bookstore employee without the virtual. (And so much reality...)

So support your local independent booksellers and this amazing author, and go pre-order "Recommended for You" today!

This book has a lot going on as far as plot and characters.
• There are LGBTQIA+ parents as well as friends that the main character has, Jewish main as well as side characters, and a variety of other characters of all ages and walks of life.
• This takes place during the holiday season at a retail mall which is fascinating for someone who doesn't know what it's like working during that time and somewhere that you love to work at especially for book lovers.
• When it comes to the plot, I can definitely recommend it to a younger audience to start with the romantic comedy genre. The dislike to love aspect of things was really fun between the two characters and I enjoyed how they got to know each other especially when it came to cooking.
Overall, this book is fantastic for the holiday season as well as for book lovers wanting to work at a bookstore. It is definitely great starter rom-com for younger audiences but also fun for older audiences. It can be a tad cheesy.

A bookstore meet cute with endearing characters! Recommended For You by Laura Silverman creates an endearing story about two young employees, Shoshanna and Jake, at their mall's local bookstore, Once Upon. I'm a sucker for a bookstore and a sweet story, so this grabbed my attention from the very beginning.

In Recommended For You, Shoshanna and Jake both work at Once Upon where their boss has established a book-selling competition among her employees. Shoshanna lives and breathes books, Once Upon, and everything having to do with both of them while Jake, the new hire, doesn't even read. Shoshanna thinks she has this competition in the bag, but with things happening in her personal life, it's not as cut and dry as she assumes,,,and Jake is just as determined as Shoshanna to sell the most books and win the prize. In a spirit of competition, the two who, on first interaction seem like polar opposites, learn they may actually have more in common than they thought.

Shoshanna's character is high energy with stream-of-consciousness tendencies and the desire to help everyone, which doesn't always turn out well. Jake is more reserved, but business and people-savvy. Watching these two navigate working together, helping their bookstore, and also learning about themselves was so sweet; I found myself rooting for Shoshanna and Jake the whole time while they were learning about themselves and about each other--giving each other the benefit of the doubt, a second chance and a peek behind the proverbial curtain.

While it took me a bit to buy in at the beginning, this wholesome story was truly delightful and just what I needed to kick off my Summer reading!

This was a sweet young YA romance contemporary romance book. I loved the bookstore setting and the competition plot. Pitting these two teens against eachother who eventually fall in love was fun to see.

And I really love this cute cover! Soshanna’s the bookworm so of course she has a stack of books. And Jack the non-reader is slouching, side-eyeing her so she won’t think he’s actually interested in reading a book. And the “Author Appearance” sign is clever.

I think this book might be my new favorite. It combines all of my favorite things: books, food, love and bonus (my favorite movies). This book has the romance and gushy feels of my two favorite movies as a teen- You've Got Mail and Sixteen Candles. The book store love and feel of the plot just reminds me so much of Kathleen Kelly and her awkward cuteness- more importantly vast love for books. There are definitely some really adorable romantic scenes that rival the birthday scene from Sixteen Candles- also, the main male's name is Jake (coincidence- I think not!) Now to the actual book.

I Loved this book- it was cheeky and delicious to read. The type of book that just makes you curl up in a blanket with your coffee and enjoy all of the warm and fuzzys it gives you. It makes you say the statement "I love love" so much you almost want to just smother your family and significant others with all of the love and affection you feel you have been missing. This book is a coming of age story with a Bad ass Jewish girl with two moms and zero qualms about how much she loves her life. Until she notices that things have been a little off in her house- much more hushed fighting and closed doors. Then when she goes into work, Once Upon a local bookstore, she meets the Joe Fox to her Kathleen Kelly. The non-reader to her bibliophile. With her stress mounting and having no where to call her safe place anymore, she starts making some rash decisions that she might regret.

Shoshanna might make some regrettable and miraculous decision in this book- but if you read it, I promise you will do anything but regret it! That is if you love cheesy romances like I do!

Recommended For You comes out September 2020! It will be on my list for this years purchases- I would think it will be for you too!
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