Checking You Out

Gr 7 Up–Chen’s book nerd romance told from the alternating perspectives of two Asian American teens is a wholesome love letter to fantasy novels and foster kittens. Lizzie is a recent high school graduate navigating her last summer with her best friends, fellow book enthusiasts who all prefer different genres. In between saving for their best friend road trip and reading fantasy novels, Lizzie volunteers at a local cat rescue where she meets Dylan, a hunky and sweet self-professed book hater. Sparks fly, but Lizzie is more interested in her secret book admirer, “Fellow Fantasy Reader,” who is sending her anonymous messages with the help of her favorite nonbinary librarian. Readers who love cats will find the passages about fostering kittens adorable, although those who are not so feline-inclined might wish for more plot and less pontificating on the cuteness of food beards. Although the ending is comfortingly predictable for a romance novel, it takes long to get there, with the usual trope of an inevitable misunderstanding seeming especially unbelievable and manufactured.