The Replacement Crush

Viv Galdi has had her heart broken by Jake, a boy who hooked up with her for a week over the summer only to ignore her once school started up. To get over Jake, the high school junior decides to crush on someone with less “zing” to protect her heart, devising a list of mediocre crush candidates—careful to avoid including Dallas, an attractive “McNerd” who’s new at school. Roberts (Playing the Player) hits all the expected notes in this straightforward romance: Viv and Dallas resist and misunderstand each other for the bulk of the novel, even as they flirt and as Viv tests the waters with her crush candidates—with advice from Dallas. Avid readers will appreciate the many literary threads Roberts weaves into the story: she gives Viv and Dallas jobs in Viv’s mother’s independent bookstore, her mother writes “a semi-famous series of mystery novels” under a pseudonym, and Viv is a book blogger and runs a romance book club. Though the novel sticks to a fairly predictable course, it’s upbeat and entertaining throughout. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency. (Sept.) [/em]