SEVEN PERCENT OF RO DEVEREUX by Ellen O’Clover follows the title character, who created an app for her senior project. The app is called MASH and it predicts users’ future place of residence, occupation, and how many kids they’ll have with 93% accuracy. Never intending for it to go public, Ro is shocked when influencers latch onto her app, and it spreads like wildfire. Adding to the mayhem, a tech company reaches out for acquisition, but the caveat is they want to launch the partner matching segment of her app and for Ro to be the face of it. To her dad’s dismay, Ro agrees and matches with Miller, her childhood best friend and current archnemesis. If she can somehow get him to pretend he’s in love with her, the app's projected future is bright, and if not, everything Ro’s worked for could be in jeopardy.

From reading the blurb on this book, I knew two things: the likely structure of the book and that I’d probably like it. Having now finished the novel, I can safely say that while I was right on both accounts, the story took me by surprise! I wasn’t prepared for how deep and heavy this novel gets and found the commentary on life and the world as we know it to be the true meat of the story. It really made me think, and not in the pedantic sense. It did it through feeling— by bringing me along with Ro on her emotional journey. It’s profound in its reflection on assumptions, expectations, difficult conversations, and so much more.

That being said, the romantic element of the story is still a crucial piece of the narrative. Friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers are the best tropes to exist, and this novel combines both of them. I like Miller’s character a lot (his goofiness, his love of Classics, even his tux!), and while at first, I had a hard time fully grasping why Miller and Ro didn’t talk to each other for three years, I did understand by the end. The nature of their relationship shows how life can sometimes get in the way of connection, but also, how sometimes it can be repaired with a five-minute explanation. I did want a little more payoff between Ro and Miller, but I respect that what happens between them is more of a subplot.

Overall, SEVEN PERCENT OF RO DEVEREUX is a great musing on what it means to go after your dreams and what sacrifices are worth it. It's a good reminder of the importance of staying true to your vision and intention, and more importantly, it leaves space for what it means to be a human, encouraging the open-ended exploration of that.

If you’re looking for a good cry, add this book to your wishlist.

i am a SUCKER for fake dating so aaah i loved this!! i think i have discovered fake dating is even better when the characters secretly “hate” each other and have to pretend to love each other ahaha i went into this book thinking it was something else (i think i read an old synopsis or i just misinterpreted it?) i thought the future predicting part of the app was like, magical realism like she created this app and suddenly everything it predicted was magically coming true? but i am very glad it wasn’t actually that as i’m not really a fan of magical stuff anyways! so i was very happily surprised when it didn’t turn out that way :) i loved all the characters so much (miller are you kidding me???? where do i find one of him for myself????) ro was so cool and smart and relatable! maren my beloved <3 a fellow bisexual! overall i highly recommend this book for some good ole powerful smart women and childhood friends to forced fake dating to lovers vibes :)

This was such a fun new adult novel. We get to see Ro really grow up as she discovered that even though science and numbers make sense, it's not always everything.

Be mindful that there is death of a loved one and I LOST it whilst reading. Like, every cry.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy. This is definitely one I will recommend

I love love loved this book!

Ro creates an app for her senior project, it gets picked up by an incubator, and things quickly spiral out of control.

It has girls in STEM, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, and all the best tropes, I read it straight through!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Rachel Lynn Solomon recommended this book and so without any expectations I requested a copy from Netgalley. I was lucky enough to receive a free eARC. What I was not ready for was how much I would end up loving Ro and Miller.
Ro creates an app for a senior project based on MASH. As someone who played this as a child it was very nostalgic. The app gets bigger than the school project and leads her to having to spend time with her ex best friend Miller. Their relationship starts hurt and strained but leads into such a believable slow burn.
I was only disappointed when this ended. I can’t wait to read more from this author. I ran and preordered a physical copy of this, I loved it so much! Thank you again Netgalley, and Harper Collins for the book in exchange for an honest review.

I am 100% in love with this book–which places the enemies-to-lovers genre in high school setting–even though it contains on-purpose mean. Endorsements from Rachel Lynn Solomon and Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka got me to download from NetGalley, and I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. I read it in one sitting, foregoing beauty sleep, and cried. Twice.

When Rose Devereux’s senior project, a future-predicting app based on a childhood cootie catcher game, goes viral, she is unexpectedly matched with her childhood best friend turned enemy, Alastair Miller, who agrees to participate in the ruse they are in love and meant to be for the price of his college tuition. The app, designed in conjunction with the help of family friend and behavioral scientist Vera, makes predictions for your future housing, career, number of children and then matches you to a prospective partner, based on your answers to a 100-question quiz. When a start-up becomes interested, eighteen-year-old Ro signs the contract against her father’s wishes, hoping to go directly into a coding career and skip college altogether. Her senior year of high school becomes lost to daily meetings, app coding adjustments, social media training, and fake dates, and no one seems to be listening to her assertation that human behavior is only 93% predictable, and Vera doesn’t want any part of profit-sharing on the project. MASH provides no guarantees, but XLR8’s narrative focuses only on the shiny promise of the peace of mind of leaving nothing to chance. Ro’s best friend Maren is reluctant to take the quiz and lock herself in, focusing instead on her own senior project, and provides some foreshadowing in wondering what happens when one half of a couple in a happy relationship opts into the partner matching aspect. And then, XLR8 starts adding unvetted questions to the quiz to stay “nimble” and the New York Times breaks an story on the rise of teenage depression due to dreams not just deferred but destroyed.

The slow burn between Miller and Rose is wholly believable. They were best friends because their mothers were best friends, and after Ro’s mom split when she was two to pursue a career, Miller’s mom Willow became of surrogate of sorts–until their freshman year, when they have a falling out when Ro cruelly puts Miller down at a party, simply to look cooler in front of the senior basketball star she’s crushing on. Ah, the terrible decisions we make at fifteen without thought to the consequences! And the grudges we hold, when the air could have been cleared with time and patience… Miller and Ro don’t speak for three years–until he comes up as her perfect match. Having a front seat to their gradual and skittish trust, acceptance, and reliance on one another was a beautiful thing. Supporting characters are a little more one-note: ambitious Evelyn, the orchestrator of the project; concerned dad, a coffee shop guy with restaurateur dreams. Felix, who is appointed as stylist and babysitter, channels a gender-neutral Nigel from Devil Wears Prada but stands out–and stands up, as does Maren.

The Denver setting and Colorado suburbs are a great contrast to the NYC publicity circuit. The XLR8 offices with their kombucha on tap and infused waters seem a bit tongue in cheek. I had a little trouble suspending my disbelief that the principal would be on board with MASH’s detraction from academics, with students downloading the app surreptitiously under their desks and couples being made and broken from an app. Still, this contemporary novel covers ethics, science, psychology, media, grief, fame, love and loyalty with authenticity and grace. Ro suffers tremendous losses and is incredibly resilient and resourceful, and she does the right thing, even when it’s not the easiest path, which is tremendously satisfying.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #SevenPercentofRoDevereux from #NetGalley.

Ellen O’Clover’s debut YA is an absolute delight. I sometimes find myself having trouble connecting to young adult books because of the forced teen slang or cheesy tropes, but this was emotional, sweet, loving, deep, and so fun to read. I literally shed tears at times!

The premise is reminiscent of The Soulmate Equation, where an app finds you a match based on science/human behavior. The concept in more relevant than ever and beautifully shows the harm in letting technology decide your life for you.

In short, go read this. It’s wonderful.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

Seven Percent of Ro Devereaux is about Ro, a high school senior with the passion to make an app that predicts your future. When she has to prove the app’s worth, she enters into a fake relationship with her best friend-turned enemy.

I promise, this book is so much more than you expect. It feels heavy and raw but at the same time light and hopeful. It is poetic and gorgeous and it had already burrowed into my soul less than a quarter of the way through. Learning about the characters’ stories and motivations feels like a true peek into their hearts, and made me look at mine too.

I am obsessed.

*I literally cannot thank Netgalley, HarperCollins, and Ellen O’Clover enough for this ARC!

Seven Percent of Ro Devereux is such a smartly written romance. I love how author Ellen O'Clover wove it all together for that gut punch of an ending! Not going to spoil anything here, but this girl features a whip-smart, app-designing high school senior who creates a MASH app that will accurately predict people's futures. Sorta. She ends up having to pretend date her best friend turned enemy, deal with a mom that abandoned her, and figure out how to navigate meeting Dad's expectations while pursuing her own dreams and passions. Plus, her cat is cranky sometimes! Well, maybe that's just the cat being a cat. And I loved Ellen's super approachable "regular" prose that is mixed in with language so perfect you can taste it. For example, one analogy I enjoyed was "Trip my lungs like a breaker so they remember their rhythm and keep me alive." Thanks for this wonderful debut, Ellen! Here's to many more.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Ellen O’Clover for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a fun read! I thought this whole book was so well written, and I truly enjoyed every page. i’m not usually into flashbacks, but I think that they were written really well in this book. I also really love the friends to enemies to lovers trope so you know I ate this up!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 🌶️ 2/5 (not much, but we’ll done) DISCLAIMER: slight spoilers. Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn’t influence my review. This was genuinely a good book, especially in this technologically-obsessed and hook-up dating culture we live in. This book went through almost all the difficulties of life a high schooler student can go through in this generation, and had sensitive topics. I obviously came for the romance (which was giving), but the plot was great. One of my favorite morals of this book was that technology cannot 100% tell you what your future will be like, since human beings are not robots, and they continue to evolve and change as they grow older. That 7% is what makes us human: no dating app or future-telling app can give you the future, since it only sees how compatible you are with another, it doesn’t make compromises/sacrifices for you. Humans 👏🏽aren’t 👏🏽robots 👏🏽. For instance: If you are with someone you love, and a dating app matches you with someone else, WHY TF WOULD YOU LEAVE THEM??? Technology is not God or fate lmao. I am very proud of Ro for making the right choices in the end, and it is something we should all think about. Where have the traditional romances gone to? Why are we using technology to meet new people? What will we tell our children? We met on a dating app?
Also the romance was soooo good I loved it!!!! Best tropes🤭🤭🤭
Tropes: angst, slow-burn, second chance friendship, former friends to lovers, fake dating, guy falls first
Side note: I Loved the Jimmy Fallon interview! They got his characteristics and personality very accurately.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This sweet YA book does not disappoint! I loved the premise, which reminded me of a YA variation of the Soulmate Equation and The One. Ro creates an app for her senior seminar project that is a scientific version of the childhood game MASH. Despite its instant success, she finds that what lies in the 7% science can't account for is free will, drive and the unpredictability of love. This is a superbly written childhood best friends to enemies to lovers trope that is enjoyable and hard to put down.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ellen O’Clover, and Harper Collins for this advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

UGH! How do I put this into words? This book blew my mind. I was a little worried at first that it would be similar to a very popular adult book, but it wasn't. This was so unique, and I loved (hehe) the love story.

This just checked all the boxes. 5 stars easily.

A YA book based on the game MASH! Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House…yes, please!!!

This was so good! Ro creates an app for her senior project that predicts your future! It claims 93% accuracy and can predict where you live, your career , how many children you will have, and your soul mate!

The app blows up and gains thousands of users. Things get out of hand. Along the way Ro learns some hard lessons and has to question the other 7% that the app doesn’t account for.

There’s friendship, family drama and a second chance at romance! I loved it!!!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this fun read! I can’t wait until it hits the shelves!!!

This. Freaking. Book. 👏

It's one part YA slow-burn romance in the vein of friends-to-enemies-to-lovers to 'OMG I love Mo so much I could simply decease,' mixed with a poignant take on brain chemistry, social commentary, and how the two can be negatively impacted by the endless swipes and clicks we thoughtlessly make. The story itself is grounded and painfully human while feeling just dystopian enough to jolt you into thinking this reality could actually exist. The characters are fun and multidimensional, and Ro especially will steal readers' affection with her wit and charm. (ALSO. Can we get the genetic code for Alistar Miller? I feel like we have the science to do that. Because akjhskhsk.)

I may not have a life-predicting app to tell me what my future holds, but I do know that I want it to include more stories like this. (Maybe an Alistar Miller too. Because akjhskhsk.) A FANTASTIC debut from Ellen O'Clover!

Oh wow. Where do I begin with this book?
”Seven Percent of Ro Devereux” was a book I first heard about from Rachel Lynn Solomon at a book signing. I decided to request it on NetGalley and woohoo! I was approved. So with that, thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the opportunity to review this title.

When I read Ro Devereux, I was instantly met with something unlike I had read before. Ro is a high school senior who created an app for her senior project inspired by the game MASH (mansion, apartment, shack, house). The app predicts the future and find your true love, as well as your destined occupation. When the app goes viral, Ro meets with company executives on how to expand the apps reach, and takes the quiz herself. She is then matched with her childhood friend-turned enemy Miller. The two must figure out how to navigate being the faces for the app, while dealing with their differences at the same time.
This was such a fantastic book! The banter was amazing, and O’Clover creates a beautifully quirky cast of characters in the best possible way. This book felt like a warm hug. It also tackled difficult topics such as loss with so much care. It is a well crafted, witty and smart debut novel that I am so glad I was able to read early. It has become easily a new favorite of mine.

Wonderfully brash, brassy and alive, Seven Percent of Ro Devereux is brimming with zest and some surprisingly salty language, as well as a heroine who will not be forgotten by young readers who try out her adventures. Ellen O’Clover has a wonderfully engaging authorial voice, which definitely helps smooth things along.

Ro Devereux has an eye to the future. She’s created an app called MASH – an acronym for Mansion Apartment Shack House, as it’s based on an old childhood game – for a class project that will cap her senior year of high school. But she hopes that selling it will fund her future and send her to Silicon Valley without having to get a college education. Her father wants her to go to college anyway, but MASH immediately gains the attention of tech investors - as would any app which can guess the majority of major events in a person’s future - down to who their soulmate will be – with ninety-three percent accuracy.

Ro runs the app in front of her investor and is alarmed when she’s matched with her former friend, Alastair Miller. They were thick as thieves during their childhood, but following a severe fight, haven’t spoken with each other for three years. To avoid scaring off the investors, Ro contacts Miller and they agree to pretend to date to prove the app’s validity. Might MASH be right? Or have Ro and Miller’s feelings fallen into that seven percent margin of error?

What a delightful book. Ro is a heroine after Judy Blume’s heart; she’s acerbic, imperfect, wise in her own way, a dreamer and someone who lives in the future instead of the now. Miller is realistically messy in his own way. Their fights and their romance seem perfectly in-tune with how a high school senior will interrogate their feelings at that age. I loved Ro’s relationship with her father, as well.

I know enough about the tech world to understand that O’Clover has an ear for how things run there. The end result is perfectly cromulent without hurting the reader’s ears.

Seven Percent of Ro Devereux is a lovely little story – intriguing and romantic without being cutesy. Pick this one up for your teenager and watch them be enthralled.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible or your local bookshop
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This book grew on me. I was skeptical at first because it didn't seem like the main two plot points were integrating well with each other, but somewhere around the middle mark O'Clover found her groove and I really started to care for Ro and Miller. I think if I would have felt that way from the beginning I could have given the book a 4.5 or a 5 star rating.

I think if you love messy protagonists that make a lot of mistakes, but end up growing from them then this book is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperTeen for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Well-written, engaging, funny, and heartfelt. Teens who crave romance will be satisfied, while also being served up a realistic exploration of family relationships (both those you choose and those you choose not to recognize), grief, anxiety over the future and who you'll turn out to be, and finding comfort in the uncomfortable, in the uncertainty of life. The narrative voice felt very appropriate and authentic for teens, and I adored the perfect way Ro's perspective was crafted -- with enough flair and depth to be memorable and real without being overly complex or overwritten. Give this to a teen who's looking into reading contemporary lit but also wants to read about experiences they're currently navigating through.

4.5 stars! I am charmed by this book! It’s earnest, thoughtful, and surprisingly emotional. I didn’t expect to cry my eyes out, but I did and it was cathartic. This is so much more than a romcom; there are huge emotional and social stakes that kept me up way past my bedtime.

Ro was a well-rounded heroine; she’s smart, brave, and driven, but she makes A LOT of mistakes along the way. Her chemistry with Miller was unbelievably good. The friends to lovers trope is growing on me lately!

In terms of theme, it was interesting to see a tech-focused book that explored the dangers of fame, social media, and influence. We dive deep into the ethics of dating apps and how much control technology should have over our lives. The book also tackles the hard subject of what to do when the adults in your life disappoint you, which broke my heart into a million little pieces.

I have a small gripe with the plot towards the end, so I unfortunately have to remove half a star for that, but otherwise this was practically perfect!

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.