Posted: May 2, 2025
Author: Paul Coccia
Publisher: Zando Young Readers
In this opposites-attract YA rom-com inspired by the period romantic comedy Emma, a failed romantic gesture puts a damper on a queer teen bookseller’s summer of book matching and matchmaking until a handsome lifeguard and romance skeptic waltzes into his bookstore. Sometimes you get a second chance at happily ever after when you least expect it.
Recommended Reading is a big-hearted rom-com about discovering love beyond what’s in the books… but hey, the perfect recommendation can get you pretty far.
Bobby Ashton is an expert on love; he knows exactly which steamy novel is the best fit for anyone, and can kindle any spark he detects between people into a burning passion. He can orchestrate the most romantic proposal. He just can’t seem to use his expertise for himself. His plans for the perfect summer evaporate when his demonstration of love for the perfect boyfriend results in his falling into a fountain and smashing the window to his favorite bookstore. With his dreams shattered, he accepts a position in a used bookstore where he earns a reputation for book recommendations and develops unlikely friendships with a grumpy coworker and an attractive boy who claims to have no interest in romance. As his friendship with the boy develops, he begins to wonder if they might be more than just friends, and if love is possible without a grand gesture.
Recommended Reading challenges the ideal of love often portrayed in contemporary culture, an ideal held by Bobby at the start of the novel. Bobby explains: “Love is for beautiful people in books and movies, not fat, bookish boys who fall into fountains and smash windows.” As Bobby’s detailed plans to find that kind of love for himself and for others collapse all around him, he comes to realize that real love is more often messy, unexpected and unceremonious. He also learns to find beauty in people (and places) who, on first appearance, seem less than glamorous and sometimes even broken – most notably as he comes to terms with his own identity and lovability as a curvaceous and gay teen. This idea is reinforced, in the background, as his mother literally turns the broken glass from Bobby’s earlier efforts at love into a beautiful statue. In Recommended Reading, Coccia masterfully combines humor with heart-touching moments of self-discovery as he shows how humor can often force us to accept ourselves and others for who we are rather than who we think we ought to be. Be prepared to burst out laughing and wipe a tear with each page turn!
– James Steeves
Humor is the toughest genre to write, so kudos to Alan Orloff for pulling it off.
Despite this novel kicking off a bit slowly (the entire, somewhat overwritten first chapter is spent establishing that main-character Nick has a mental block against swimming) and initially feeling like a middle-grade read, it soon heats up and stays gripping right to the end. Also, with Nick (age sixteen) ever hopeful for romance and his awkward sidekick Miller ever lustful for sex (an elusive goal, of course), it soon establishes itself as a teen read.
The large cast of characters – from Nick and two guy friends to three girls offering potential romance, to Nick’s hovering mother, her dirtbag boyfriend and Nick’s over-the-top colorful grandmother – are as varied in personality as you can get. Yet all come off as believable, and provide a highly entertaining support crew to Nick and his angst.
The teen jargon and joshing is spot-on, as are the background family troubles, and the pace is fun and steady.
The title overplays one small aspect of the plot (the mother’s exterminator business and Nick’s embarrassment to be seen doing driving practice in the logoed car). It just doesn’t really seem to suit the overall story theme. Likewise, his mother’s strange hobby of filling the basement with tanks of creatures distracts more than contributes.
There’s vagueness as to why Nick takes an instant dislike to his mother’s boyfriend, and vagueness as to what the boyfriend is up to, but more specifics wouldn’t have mattered much to the plot. There are two childhood traumas with which Nick is grappling, either one of which would have been enough to mess with his goal of passing the swim test, but they serve effectively to deepen the plot. Meanwhile, minor characters (including the brat Nick tutors and the little kids who put his performance to shame at the final swim exam) add color and fun. The ending is curiously abrupt, but works.
In summary, this is a lighthearted, fun read with well-drawn, engaging characters. It’s humor and romance amidst life troubles, with special appeal to teen boys.
– Pam Withers