Review: You Were Made For Me by Jenna Guillaume

You Were Made For Me is a fluffy, contemporary YA novel that leaves the reader in a ‘feel good’ mood. Contemporaries are some of my favourite reads as they confront realistic issues which are present for many teenagers and adults alike. Something else that is great is that it is written by a Love Oz Ya author!

The book is focused on main character Katie and her dream of having her first kiss and a dream boyfriend. She is seventeen years old and embarrassed that unlike her best friend, she’s never had a love interest and feels like she needs to change this. One day, she and her best friend magically make her dream boat character and the rest of the book deals with the implications of this.

When I first came across this book, the plot instantly intrigued me. A girl creating her perfect boyfriend? It seems like something every woman would be interested in and I couldn’t wait to read it to see one, how it happened and two, what the issues arising might be. I wasn’t disappointed. It is a short book but one which the reader will fly through as it keeps you engaged, from start to finish. While it addresses somewhat similar issues to contemporary YA novels, it adds an extra element by having a character developed out of basically nothing. It was interesting seeing the dynamic between the characters change once this addition was introduced and how Katie and her friends attempted to hide him from their families (quite unsuccessfully!)

The characters in this book each differed significantly and their own traits were very distinct unlike some other YA reads. I liked how Katie and her friends were not part of the popular clique and were the ones trying their hardest to fit in as we got to witness their struggles and later, triumphs. Theo was probably my favourite character in the book; he remained the realist throughout and just wanted to help Katie, Libby and Guy rather than trying to shift the focus to himself. He is so selfless despite losing him mum previously to illness and being a bit of a forgotten soul in his family. Guy was one character that I struggled to get into. He was essentially a long lost Hemsworth brother as described by Katie and as he was ‘perfect’, had very robotic tendencies. He wanted to be everything Katie was, hanging out with her 24/7. I feel he may have needed some more depth but I think the author was going for these characteristics to make him appear needy so Katie would realise that being perfect, isn’t actually a reality. It also allowed her to eventually see that her crush at high school, Declan Bell-Jones, was an absolute waste of time!

One thing I did find I struggled with was some of the writing. The writing felt quite juvenile, aimed at characters aged in their early teens rather than late teens. This was evident as main character Katie appeared overly dramatic which seems to be a characteristic of younger protagonists. She was referring to kissing a boy as being a milestone moment for her whilst many other young adult books grapple with other issues at this age. I was intrigued that within scenes similar to this that there would be a random outburst regarding sex or something more mature, which seemed out of place considering the rest of the plot. The characters just needed to appear a bit older than they were portrayed to make it seem more realistic for the age group.

A real stand out and the focus of the book would be the themes which were addressed throughout. The overarching theme was that being perfect isn’t really all that it’s perked up to be and friendships trump relationships every time! I applaud the author for also including a diversity including a Filipina-Australian, referencing asexual and aromantic and also considering characters who were not the stereotypical size small. These are things which are starting to be more commonly found in young adult books and it is great to see more people being represented!

Overall, I found this a great, easy read which read quite similarly to a rom-com. It was fun, had a wide cast of characters who you either loved or hated and kept me turning the page to see what happened next! I’d highly recommend to anyone wanting something lighter to read to raise their spirits.

3 and a half stars

Thank you to MacMillan for providing me with a copy for review

You Were Made For Me by Jenna Guillaume is released in Australia on the 11^th of August!

Music From Another World review

Welcome to July and to another book review from me! 

Music from Another World is a beautifully written and heartfelt novel which deals with some diverse issues in a different time period. While it is ultimately classed as YA historical fiction, it feels more like a contemporary novel which delves into 1970s America and follows the two protagonists as they fight for causes close to their hearts. At times it made me smile, laugh and cry all in one!

The book follows Tammy, a closeted lesbian from Orange County and Sharon, a girl just trying to find her place in a hyped up San Francisco and their journey as pen pals over a year long period. Both girls attend highly religious Christian schools and are working towards supporting the LGBTQI scene, but attempting to conceal it so that they are not punished by their families. At this time, the LGBTQI scene was only starting to emerge and this is evident throughout the book as the girls come to terms with what it means to support the cause and how it may impact their lives forever.

First up, I need to rave about how this book was formatted. It was written as a series of letters, between both Tammy and Sharon and their own personal letters that they wrote in their diaries. It gives the story a personal touch as you get an insight into how they were feeling and wanted to approach different situations they were confronted with. In these letters, they also went into detail about things that they were doing and how they unfolded which other books written in this way tend to neglect. I also liked how there were gaps of time in the plot. While there were a couple of months missing at various points, the narrative still plodded along and it was easy to decipher what had happened during this time without missing knowledge.  

Another aspect of the book that I really enjoyed were the characters. While the plot of the book was extremely engaging, the characters really made this book. I loved reading from the perspectives of both Tammy and Sharon: Tammy who wanted to reveal herself to her family but was too afraid of how they would judge her and Sharon who wanted all LGBTQI people to be equally treated and respected within society. Both of these girls were genuine, had flaws and faced issues which were representative of the time in history. Despite the hardships that they faced, I loved how they remained true to themselves right the way through. Another character that really made the book was Tammy’s aunt. While depicted as the ‘villain’, I felt that Aunt Mandy added an extra element to the book. She was nasty, she was manipulative while putting on a façade and having her as a close contact as Tammy made it even more realistic- I am sure that there were situations like this that have arisen throughout history as families attempt to oust family members because they may not conform. Sharon’s brother was also a favourite as he was the only one that she could rely on to be honest with her.

The diversity in this book is what made it such a great read for me. While I have read a number of books with gay main characters (namely Simon Vs, Autoboyography), I had never read a book featuring lesbian main characters. I feel like there may not be as many books featuring female-female relationships but am hopeful that more will be featured/more well known in times to come! I also really enjoyed the contrast between the Christian characters and those hoping to break free from the constraints.

Overall, a very informative and enjoyable read with some strong themes throughout! I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting a quick read with a strong message at the forefront.

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Harlequin for providing me with a copy of the book for review. Music from another world is available for purchase in Australia now!