Reviews

I thought I was going to wholly adore this book, I mean look at the premise! - Girl goes to California to work on her AI app at a school full of fellow nerds. But there were SO many signs that Xia was overlooking when it came to ObjectPermanence and her company. She gets caught up in the glitz and glamour of the Silicon Valley and I can't blame her for that, she's 16. But god did I just want her to open her eyes to what was happening! But I was still so invested in the story, so I gotta give credit where credit is due.

*Thank you to Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review*

elyssam's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’ve been talking to people recently about how I used to just browse the library and bookstores for things that caught my eye rather than looked to the internet for book recommendations. I liked those books so much and they felt like mine. They were weird and like nothing I had read before. And If You, Then Me gave that feeling back to me in some ways.
This book was a trip (iykyk). It was weird. It kept me on my toes. I was constantly worried or suffering from second-hand embarrassment. I enjoyed it, I really did.

The downfall for me was in the emphasis on the romance. There was a point about halfway through where a certain romantic interest was buried deep in the sub-plot zone then all of a sudden made a return in the biggest moment of the book.

Also, the ending. I wanted more. Not an epilogue or anything, but just a sentence knowing things other than the romance we’re going to be okay.

I don’t know. It felt like a warm hug in a bad way. An indie movie that played at the tiny theatre in town, one night only. A song that was produced in a teenage basement. It was good. It was weird. I obviously have a lot of thoughts.

britterization's review against another edition

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3.0

If You, Then Me follows Xia Chen as she is accepted into a school for exceptional programmers/developers and moves her life to California. While that's her literal dream, when she gets to school, she finds that expectation does not always match reality and that the people you meet online are not always who you think they are.

I did a bad job of explaining that this is a rom com, but it is, and it's a cute one! The comparisons to When Dimple Met Rishi are apt, although Xia doesn't have Dimple's moxie or self-confidence. Xia, for all her very avoidable mistakes, is very relatable in her multiple insecurities. This is a fairly standard teen romantic comedy with a diverse main and supporting cast, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the genre! This book was a little bit too predictable for me, but that's more of a personal qualm with the genre than anything specific to this book. There are no surprises here, and I like to be surprised.

Anyway, this is a good entry into the ever growing teen rom com genre. I liked it, and I'll be recommending it to teens who also enjoy the genre. 3 stars on Goodreads - I liked it.