Signs Point to Yes
Sandy Hall
By trying frantically to avoid going to work with her mother all summer, Jane finds herself looking after the three kid sisters of her mortal enemy’s best friend – Tao. Who happens to have some issues of his own, but it’ll all be sorted by summer’s end. Won’t it?
I kept putting off reading this novel for a very long time. The colour of the cover didn’t speak to me, the blurb put me right off… and it the end, it was 3 stars. It passed GO, but it certainly wasn’t any sort of master piece.
What is which that freaking Magic 8 ball? She doesn’t even need it! Honestly, even though it was obviously included in order to provide a title for the novel, it wasn’t really adding anything.
This was too light. Compared to all the other wonderful YA fiction I have been reading lately that tend to explore deeper issues than just cute ol’ love, this one is nothing special. It’s ticking boxes of being modern (gay character? working mom? check. check.) yet not giving anything new or exciting to the reader.
I can see a target audience for this – teenage girls who want a nice simple romance with not too much thinking required. That sounds so uncharitable of me doesn’t it? There is attempts to add depth and variety – Ravi hating Jane, Jane’s sister Margo, Jane’s college decisions – but overall it’s just about Jane and Teo’s cute little crush on each other.
I’d rather re-read Girls Love Travis Walker – also a light fiction romance but so much better written and with characters that make me want to come back for more. 3 stars from me.
