You Had Me at Hello World by Rona Wang - OPTIONAL

You Had Me at Hello World by Rona Wang, 307 pages. Simon and Schuster, 2025. $20

Language: R (61 swears, 4 ‘f'); Mature Content:  PG-13 (underage drinking, making out, intense kissing, some crude talk, cyber sex, not descriptive, off page sex); Violence: PG (mild family conflicts and verbal abuse)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SOME

16yo Char feels her life is out of control.  Her mom is working a lot of hours so she never sees her, and she knows her stepdad has PTSD from his time in the military, but he is so mean and he took all the money she had been saving for herself to "help out with the family bills"  It's so infuriating because he spends all his time and money gambling.  With no money, college is out and she can't see any other way out of her small Oregon town.  Her school counselor suggests she apply to a prestigious computer summer camp and reminds her that she has been running the school's website for over a year.  Char doesn't think she will be accepted, but much to her surprise she makes it, and is off to MIT for the summer.  Camp is filled with so many students from all over that are far more qualified than she is, but Char is determined not to get distracted, even when she meets Khoi, a cute boy from another school.  Now she is torn between wanting to do well on her project and wanting to get to know Khoi better.  Can she do both?    

Take a typical romance with a nice guy, a good mom, and tech camp, combine it with a cute cover, and you have a story that may appeal to readers looking for a light summer read.  On the other hand, Char is hard to like, the endless pop culture references, which can be clever, were too much and calling out everyone for sexism, racism, privilege, etc. without any character development reduced almost everyone to a stereotype and discerning readers will notice.  I would have liked to see Char mature, and a little more depth to the story, but it didn't deliver and I lost interest.  

Char is Chinese American. Her best friend, Lola is a lesbian. Other characters are from different backgrounds, ethnicities and orientations.

Rebel B - librarian