On her first day at a new job, highschooler Bailey is surprised to discover that one of her new coworkers is Charlie, a stranger whom she has shared a few negative chance encounters with. Despite being total opposites, Bailey and Charlie end up becoming friendly and, after Charlie shares his belief that people of the opposite sex can’t stay friends, make a bet about whether two of their fellow coworkers, who appear to be flirting even though one of them is already in a relationship, will be able to stay in the friend zone. Whilst trying to fight their own growing feelings towards each other, Bailey and Charlie decide to start fake dating to try to cause friction between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend (who happens to dislike Charlie). Bailey and Charlie, who are both familiar with divorce, must eventually decide whether to remain friendly coworkers or act on their romantic feelings towards each other and risk heartbreak.
Betting On You is a YA romantic comedy perfect for fans of books like Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter, or The Upside of Falling by Alex Light. Themes or topics present include life after divorce, dealing with change, anxiety, germaphobia, love and heartbreak, growing up, loneliness and isolation, family, and companionship. Betting On You is a cute and cozy teen/ YA romance with some light spice and quite a few swoon-worthy moments; there were even some adorably cute and swoony moments involving a rescue cat! This book was clearly written with Swifties in mind; not only was there a ton of low-key Taylor Swift references there was also a love interest that is secretly a Swiftie and an impromptu sing-along to the 10-minute version of All Too Well. The plot of Betting On You has similar vibes and many of the same tropes as Painter’s beloved YA romance Better Than the Movies including enemies to friends to lovers, fake dating, and forced proximity; so fans of Better Than the Movies should definitely pick-up a copy of Betting On You! Throughout Betting On You, the main character, Bailey, deals with a lot of anxiety as a result of current and impending big changes in her life; I thought that this was very relatable and relevant as I feel like most people, including myself, have also had anxiety about a big change happening at some point in their lives. On the downside, I wasn’t sure that all the backstory at the beginning of the novel, detailing Bailey’s first meetings with Charlie, was entirely necessary. This preamble also meant that it took longer to get to the main action of the book, which makes it harder for me to get invested in the plot. Even though both main characters were struggling with anxiety throughout the novel, it seemed like Charlie was the one who was constantly trying to ease Bailey’s anxieties while Charlie’s worries were almost ignored, which seemed unfair.
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February 2024
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