Blog Tour: Recommended For You

Author: Laura Silverman

Genre: YA Contemporary

Release Date: 09.01.20

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Publisher

My Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis: ” To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets You’ve Got Mail in this charming and hilarious rom-com following two teen booksellers whose rivalry is taken to the next level as they compete for the top bookseller bonus.

Shoshanna Greenberg loves working at Once Upon, her favorite local bookstore. And with her moms fighting at home and her beloved car teetering on the brink of death, the store has become a welcome escape.

When her boss announces a holiday bonus to the person who sells the most books, Shoshanna sees an opportunity to at least fix her car, if none of her other problems. The only person standing in her way? New hire Jake Kaplan.

Jake is an affront to everything Shoshanna stands for. He doesn’t even read! But somehow his sales start to rival hers. Jake may be cute (really cute), and he may be an eligible Jewish single (hard to find south of Atlanta), but he’s also the enemy, and Shoshanna is ready to take him down.

But as the competition intensifies, Jake and Shoshanna grow closer and realize they might be more on the same page than either expects… ”

Laura Silverman is an author and editor currently living in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her MFA in
writing for children at the New School. Her books include Girl Out of Water, You Asked for Perfect, It’s a
Whole Spiel, and Recommended for You. Girl Out of Water was a Junior Library Guild Selection. You can
contact Laura on Twitter @LJSilverman1 or through her website LauraSilvermanWrites.com.

Review

Recommended For You is the perfect fluffy book to pick up this Winter! It’s loaded with energy, fluff, adorable romance, and amazing representation. The story is a quick read that I finished in two sittings and seriously enjoyed. It was cute and perfect for fans of younger YA contemporary.

One of my favorite elements of this book was that is features an Indie Bookstore! It served for such an amazing story focus and the author did a great job creating an atmospheric feeling. The world building made everything feel cozy and helped make the story come off the page. Once Upon, the indie bookstore featured, was amazing and I totally wish I had a place like that near me! I loved the discussion of the importance of indie bookstores and the overall feeling of Once Upon. I am more than a little jealous that Shoshanna gets to work at such an amazing place!

And speaking of Shoshanna, she was the cutest protagonist! She was a sweetheart and brought light to the page. Her narrative was sweet and I feel like younger YA readers would easily connect to her. I enjoyed her character development through the story, she made mistakes and learned from them, which was enjoyable to see. I also really enjoyed the side characters. Her love interest was adorable, her best friends were fantastic, and I adored her moms!

If you’re looking for a book with great rep, look no further! The representation in the cast of characters was incredible. This book features a Jewish family and has lots of LGBTQ+ rep. I loved seeing these elements in Recommended For You!

Lastly, I was impressed with the issues and conversations presented in this book. For a younger YA reader I feel like it would be very important to read about these topics. For example, this story covers issues in friendships and how to handle them in a healthy and productive way. It also discusses parents fighting and the feelings that come with that. I thought both of these topics were well handled.

Overall I really enjoyed this read! It was fast paced while also including a lot of important conversations and diversity. The romance was adorable and the entire story was very atmospheric. The writing made it a quick read that was impossible to put down! I’d highly recommend this book for fans of Indie bookstores, fluffy romances, and Winter time shenanigans!