I draw in a long, icy breath, and it feels like I'm swallowing the stars themselves.
isbn: 978-1682814970 | pages: 320 (approx.)
publication date: August 18, 2020 | source: physical arc
genre: contemporary, young adult, romance, diverse, own voices
friends to enemies to?
This story is perfect if you're looking for a fun young adult rom-com to feel all the butterflies that come with a first love relationship. Winnie's parents set her up on an extremely outrageous dating experiment after their eldest daughters return from their first semester at college without a potential love interest. Her mother enlists the help of Winnie's former best friend to take her youngest daughter on dates that popular movies have proved to be effective at kindling romance.
With the romantic relationship being such a central element of the plot, reading this book felt a little bit like riding a rollercoaster. There were high moments when I couldn't stop smiling cause it was so cute and low moments when I just had to take a breath because I was experiencing a second-hand cringefest, not that it's necessarily a bad thing though. The relationship between Winnie and Mat is fundamentally cute and I did enjoy seeing their relationship develop, plus I think it's pretty age-appropriate for its target audience.
the bond of family and culture
My favorite aspects of the book have to be the family dynamic and vivid descriptions of Thai culture. As an Asian-American, like the Tech siblings, I resonated with a lot of their individual struggles when it came to pleasing their parents and finding the perfect balance of their Asian heritage and American upbringing. While I couldn't always relate to what Winnie was going through relationship-wise, her insecurities about being the "good Tech girl," obeying her parents, and struggling to distinguish what made her different from her sisters definitely hit close to home. In a way, I wish there was more time spent exploring her character beyond the central plot but I did appreciate what we got.
I adored Winnie's father and he was hands down my favorite character in the entire story. A lot of times with Asian-Amerian stories, there's a lot of tension with parental expectations and (sometimes) lack of communication so it was really heartwarming to see a supportive Asian parent in YA literature. Winnie's father is also just hilarious and I loved the entire Tech family dynamic, even if her mother sometimes tried too hard to control the circumstances. In the end, her parents were doing what they could to protect their daughters from the struggles they faced and I think that's pretty reminiscent of what a lot of immigrant parents want for their children.
final thoughts
I had a lot of fun with Dating Meets Perfect and I think it'll appeal to a lot of contemporary fans who love a cute romance. Taking a step back and looking at the story's potential influence, I'm really excited to see a YA novel with such a deep appreciation for Thai culture and a main cast of characters who are Asian. I definitely wish I could have read something like this back when I was in high school and I hope that it can impact other Asian-Americans in portraying their coming-of-age experience.
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| I'm super excited to be part of the blog tour for Dating Makes Perfect hosted by Hear Our Voices. There are so many amazing #ownvoices readers participating on this tour so be sure to check them out by clicking on the tour banner above! |
A B O U T T H E A U T H O R
I'm a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. I graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B., and received by J.D. at Yale Law School.
My novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance. In addition, my books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the Tome Society It list; the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award; and a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of the Year. My other novels include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, STAR-CROSSED, and MALICE.
M O O D B O A R D
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(images from pexels) |
I had a lot of fun putting together this post and once again a massive thank you to Hear Our Voices Book Tours for letting me join!
If you have read Dating Makes Perfect, who was your favorite character? Also, what would you do if your parents set you up to practice dating?
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