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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Grade: C-
This e-galley was provided by Simon Pulse and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
**Warning: lots of spoilers to follow**
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Ehh....this is going to be one of those reviews where I can't passionately tell you to read or not read this book. However, I think you'll see my opinion sways a little bit more to the latter. I love romantic comedies, and I love a good YA fluff romance. But, unfortunately, Galgorithm wasn't quite what I wanted.
Shane's POV was fairly (surprisingly and delightfully) clean for a book narrated by a guy. There were a few crude moments but nothing too out of hand. However, he still had a typical guy attitude, especially when it came to his feelings for his best friend, Jak (and yes, that's a girl). He couldn't believe she didn't like him back (and of course she eventually did, but he pressed the point and couldn't let her be). He also called them soulmates. Since they're only high schoolers, I think that's taking a bit too far.
The fallout when it came to Shane's "business" with the Galgorithm was great, and I think all of that plotline worked well. It really saved this book, since I didn't buy into the romance between Shane and Jak at all.
Let me talk more about Jak. She's that best friend who was sooooooo different from other girls and really only hung out with Shane (who didn't really have that many other friends either...). She didn't like hardly anything, and she was apparently so great and different, but I didn't see it. Finally, Galgorithm majorly fails the Bechdel test (which I know is really just a film thing, but still). I don't really think about it a lot, but it was glaringly obvious in this book that few girls spoke to just each other about anything other than guys. *sigh*
Some foul language and some PG-13 romance.
The Verdict: Not really worth your time.
This e-galley was provided by Simon Pulse and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
**Warning: lots of spoilers to follow**
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Ehh....this is going to be one of those reviews where I can't passionately tell you to read or not read this book. However, I think you'll see my opinion sways a little bit more to the latter. I love romantic comedies, and I love a good YA fluff romance. But, unfortunately, Galgorithm wasn't quite what I wanted.
Shane's POV was fairly (surprisingly and delightfully) clean for a book narrated by a guy. There were a few crude moments but nothing too out of hand. However, he still had a typical guy attitude, especially when it came to his feelings for his best friend, Jak (and yes, that's a girl). He couldn't believe she didn't like him back (and of course she eventually did, but he pressed the point and couldn't let her be). He also called them soulmates. Since they're only high schoolers, I think that's taking a bit too far.
The fallout when it came to Shane's "business" with the Galgorithm was great, and I think all of that plotline worked well. It really saved this book, since I didn't buy into the romance between Shane and Jak at all.
Let me talk more about Jak. She's that best friend who was sooooooo different from other girls and really only hung out with Shane (who didn't really have that many other friends either...). She didn't like hardly anything, and she was apparently so great and different, but I didn't see it. Finally, Galgorithm majorly fails the Bechdel test (which I know is really just a film thing, but still). I don't really think about it a lot, but it was glaringly obvious in this book that few girls spoke to just each other about anything other than guys. *sigh*
Some foul language and some PG-13 romance.
The Verdict: Not really worth your time.
3.5 stars. The story was funny, if not a little slow. That was not a grammatically correct sentence. I think I just didn't like the characters very much. But I normally don't like best friend to boyfriend stories, I think Shane and Jak worked. So there's that.
Before diving into Galgorithm, I wasn't familiar with Aaron Karo's writing. I had seen some clips from his stand-up shows, but all in all, I didn't know what to expect. Due to the fact that I quite often find myself struggling with YA novels exclusively from the point of view of the male character, I must admit that I wasn't going into this novel with too many expectations of actually liking it. Galgorithm proved to me how good it feels to be positively surprised once in a while.
The main character of Karo's book is called Shane. He's a high school senior and known around the school as a bit of a dating guru. Since his disastrous relationship with a girl he now calls Voldemort (not because she looked like Voldemort but because it still hurts to say her name), Shane has developed a system with which he helps the geeky guys of the school to get the girls of their dreams. The system, which he calls galgorithm (gal+algorithm) is based on observation and on the principles of being different and confident. Shane does not believe in the “out of my league” clichés and rather tries to make his “clients” see that anything is possible if they just try enough.
Though the synopsis of the novel from Goodreads and my little explanation make it sound like this novel treats girls as something that can all controlled through a formula, I want to point out that the situation is not like that at all. I was actually really pleased about how Karo writes about girls and the differences between individuals. What the galgorithm is really about is finding a connection between two people and establishing that rather than fitting a girl into a formula just so she would become a perfect match for a chosen boy. I especially loved Jak, the main female character of this novel and Shane's best friend. It was so easy to identify with Jak and her tendencies for social anxiety and jokes that always ruin the 'perfect' moment. The exchanges between Jak and Shane are hilarious and well-written.
While reading this novel, I felt like I was watching a really good teen comedy. The jokes are delivered just at the right times and the funny scenes of the novel are supported by scenes focused on family life and relationships. I really enjoyed the storyline of Shane helping his nerdy math teacher out with his crush to a fellow teacher and it instantly reminded me of the storyline from Clueless in which Cher established the connection between the two teachers. I also got vibes from Easy A with the whole helping nerds out thing and several other really good teen movies. With so many YA books being adapted to movies these days, I often feel like too much of them are already in production. But if this one were made into a film, I would definitely watch it... probably multiple times.
Galgorithm proves Karo as an extremely talented and humoristic writer. He is able to weave the jokes in at right times, his dialogue scenes are hilarious and fast-paced and the way he describes the high school and Shane's other surroundings kept me interested throughout. I simply loved the relationship between Shane and Jak and the chemistry between the two. If you love books about best friends who fall in love, this one definitely is for you. The side characters are also extremely entertaining, especially the couples Shane has brought together through the use of the galgorithm. As mentioned before, the novel reads like a really good teen romantic comedy, so if you are a fan of those, you definitely should check this one out!
I've always liked cheesy books and what have you but I've never cringed so much on a book before. I do admit it was an interesting read; I managed to read it all the way through.
Loved the dialogue in this the most. Was a bit predictable, but I loved the cheesiness of it because of how aware the narrative was of its own cheesiness. Disagree with the review that compares it to John Green since they're two very different styles of writing (this is humorous and, I'm sorry, it doesn't try to be earth shattering.)
I liked it and it was a quick, light read.
Happy reading!
I liked it and it was a quick, light read.
Happy reading!