The Oracle of Dating by Allison Van Diepen

Description: (goodreads)

No one at Kayla’s school knows she’s the famous Oracle of Dating—the anonymous queen of dating advice, given through her own Web site. Kayla doesn’t even have a boyfriend. Two relationship disasters were enough to make her focus on everyone else’s love life. But then her advice backfires on her own best friend. And Kayla starts to seriously obsess about Jared Stewart—the very cute, very mysterious new guy in school. Suddenly, the teen queen of advice needs her own oracle of dating--and she knows just where to find one...

Epic Wins:

• Super fast pace- seriously it was like a freight train strait on.
• A cute romance- an adorable love story
•  It’s about a blogger (YAY!) Kayla shows incredible passion for her blog if fact when she shuts it down she becomes really bummed and irritable. Life just isn’t the same without her giving advice to people about relationships.
• A hint of hilarity
• Something sucks you in… like a drug it holds you in. I picked it up to start reading it at like ten-thirty; I figured oh I’ll read for an hour or two. Alas I was wrong, I read until I finished it and when I looked up it was four-seventeen. I don’t know what happened but I got really attached to the story and the characters.
• Now on to boys… don’t we all get a kick from them? I hope I’m not alone on this. In this book there was just one boy but he was enough :). Jared- dark hair, blue eyes, artist, and musician (guitar). He has scars, being stuck with in the foster care system and having to visit his drug-addicted mother twice a year.
• I love her blogger moments where she thinks I need to do a post about this. :D
• The pure electricity between Kayla and Jared. It’s so thick you can feel it through the pages and the words.
• Kayla knows herself- she is confident of herself and her abilities.
• Kayla’s friends- They are truly amazing, even when she screws up they are there and make it seem like what happened would have happened anyway. The group is a hodgepodge of kids who aren’t in rank with the popular kids or play chess with the nerd, the normal in between. The support they give Kayla is a huge reason why she is so confident (well I think it is). Needless to say these are the type of friends you need to have in your life.

Epic Fails:

• Though there was a pleasant lack of sex there was plenty of talk of it. Anywhere from sexual tension to the fact that she knows her mom and step dad (The Swede) get it on while she out with her friends (awkward!!!)
• Her and her friends love to drink. They make excuses to drink, but may I be clear that she drank with responsibility (which isn’t normal when teens drink, in books anyway).
• Clubs- The manage to sneak into a club or two and have make out sessions with random strangers
• The doubt that Kayla holds of whether Jared likes her, it’s out of her character but I guess we all doubt sometimes.
• She has a rule, no boyfriends till college. It’s stupid and she knows it, she openly admits that the rule was silly and useless and in the end makes her break her heart anyways.

(Best for fifteen or older)


Overall:


This book was quick and cute. The way the author wrote allows you to devour it in one sitting (props to the author). Sure there was no action or adventure but it was so good I really didn’t mind. In my opinion it is a romantic comedy to be reckoned with, to be sure. Watch out it will blow your mind! *shakes head* Still trying to shake the high from the book :)


just sayin,
-Kare