“Heartwarming, endearing, and sure to leave you swooning… This story is as sweet as the cupcakes you’ll be craving by the end!” –Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times bestselling author Can a love triangle have only two people in it? Online, it can…but in the real world, its more complicated. In this debut novel that’s perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Morgan Matson, Marisa Kanter … Matson, Marisa Kanter hilariously and poignantly explores what happens when internet friends turn into IRL crushes.
Is it still a love triangle if there are only two people in it?
There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.
He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…
Except who she really is.
Because online, Halle isn’t Halle–she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.
That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes–in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.
Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.
If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels.
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This is the debut novel by Marisa Kanter. Fans of young adult/teen fiction will enjoy this! The main character Halle Levitt likes a lot of things about her best friend Nash. The tricky thing is they have never met in person and only know each other online. Not only that, but Nash knows her as Kels, the teen book blogger and creator of One True Pastry. When another move brings Halle (Kels) face to face with Nash- how will she reveal who she really is and will he still like her? Great story and like-able characters.
This is definitely a YA book meant for teens. I never rate a book low for the reason that, heaven forbid, a YA book be meant for YA readers.
I’ve always been an advocate that reading doesn’t have an age limit. A book may be be marketed as YA, but that doesn’t mean ONLY YA can read it. It just means that YA CAN read it.
The reason why I would say adult YA readers may not want to pick this up, is the constant (and I mean constant), bashing of adult YA readers. It wasn’t necessary and it felt insulting. An author can target a teen audience and still be happy that adults get to enjoy their books too.
On a personal note, I am a woman in my thirties. I’ve been a reader since childhood, and one of the greatest joys in my life has been buddy reading books with my mom. Or just having us recommend books to each other. So if I was a teen while reading this, I would be heartbroken if I had chosen this to be a buddy read with my mom. She should never have to read a story that is full on insulting her because the author decided to push that only teens should read and review YA. So as an adult myself now, this really didn’t sit well with me. Every time it was mentioned it was a slap in the face.
It’s not a good thing to teach YA readers either. Basically it’s saying, “you have a small window in your life where you’re allowed to enjoy my books”, and then “see ya! Never read my books again.” It’s like because you’re not on the lowest side of the age spectrum of readers, your opinions are no longer valid.
Anyway. Moving on to the actual story. If that whole rant had been my only issue with this book, I would have rated it a four. Because as I said, I’m not going to fault a YA book for being written for YA readers.
This just got so repetitive. The kind of identity crisis she was having “am I Halle, am I Kels?” it got exhausting. There were a lot of other repetitive points as well. I just think they could have been handled better.
The main character was also not enjoyable. The whole story felt a bit superficial, and Halle just wasn’t a likeable narrator and a fair bit selfish.
If you are a teen reader who wants a book with Jewish rep, you might enjoy this.