Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall

Title: Signs Point to Yes
Author: Sandy Hall
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: October 20 2015
Source: BEA15

Summary from Goodreads:

The author of A Little Something Different brings you the most adorkable romance ever.

Jane, a superstitious fangirl, takes an anonymous babysitting job to avoid an unpaid internship with her college-obsessed mom. The only problem? She’s babysitting the siblings of her childhood friend and new crush, Teo. 

Teo doesn’t dislike Jane, but his best friend Ravi hates her, and is determined to keep them apart. So Teo’s pretty sure his plans for a peaceful summer are shot. His only hope is that his intermittent search for his birth father will finally pan out and he’ll find a new, less awkward home. Meanwhile, at Jane’s house, her sister Margo wants to come out as bisexual, but she’s terrified of how her parents will react.

In a summer filled with secrets and questions, even Jane’s Magic 8 ball can’t give them clear answers, but Signs Point to Yes.

Review

Well, color me surprised. I don't think I could have had a more opposite reaction to two works by the same author. Having LOVED A Little Something Different, I went into Signs Point to Yes with eagerness and an expectation to finish this book feeling just as smitten. However, as you can tell by my rating, that is not what happened.

Signs Point to Yes was, sadly, not what I would consider a strong contemporary. The story itself - the search for Teo's father being a central theme - erred on the side of predictability and even ridiculousness to such an extent that I am actually shocked that I read what I did. As for the characters, they were very much one-dimensional and unmemorable. I found it a little disconcerting that Jane was considered an idiot by almost everyone around her, including herself, and that her character arc involved several moments of "see, you are smart after all!". And when it came to the dialogue, it was in large part, tiresome and uninteresting. The amount of time these characters spent thanking each other is akin to the amount of staring that happens in the Twilight movies.

There were a few cute moments here and there and a small amount of swoons but overall, I was just not impressed by this story. I wasn't really feeling the romance. I thought the overabundance of Magic 8 ball usage was a little childish and outdated. And I was troubled by Jane's relationship with her mother without really getting resolution there. I DID, however, enjoy Jane's relationship with her sister, but even that was not executed to its full potential.

I don't know what happened with this one. I am befuddled and sad. I can see a MUCH younger audience having more success with this one but I don't know how much.

But hugs to Danielle @ Love At First Page for buddy reading this one with me!

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

Title: A Little Something Different
Author: Sandy Hall
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: August 26, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:
The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

Review

I found A Little Something Different to be all kinds of adorable, just like the masses promised. I found Gabe and Lea’s inability to form a relationship, when they so obviously liked each other, to be somewhat endearing, albeit a little exasperating. I loved how invested everyone was in them getting together even if I don’t believe there are that many people who actually behave like that; like match-makers all up in other people’s business. And I ended up loving the way it was written – using everyone’s perspective but Gabe and Lea’s. When I heard it was written this way, I wasn’t sure how I would take to it and I was skeptical over its execution, but I was pleasantly surprised by the result. Although, I could have probably done without the perspectives of the bench and squirrel, which were a little odd.

Since this book has many prominent secondary (or are they primary?) characters, I feel as if they are worth mentioning. As a whole, they were a pretty diversified bunch. I enjoyed the array of personalities displayed and found most of them to be pretty interesting and just as likable as Gabe and Lea. I liked the little glimpses into their lives and the bit of growth some of them had in the end. Inga was definitely my favorite and left me wishing that I had a teacher as cool as that.

Overall, this was a quick and wonderful read that has definitely left an impression on me. It made me smile, it made me laugh, it made me reminisce over all those awkward girl-boy encounters that everyone goes through (that I still go through), and it made me hope. I loved it.