The Calculation of You and Me: A Novel by Serena Kaylor
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Web ID: 18496972romance novels are important
Marlowe 's boyfriend just broke up with her. And her brain is not just able to take it. She wants to get him back, even if it takes asking the gloomy goth lead singer to become his romance tutor. Ash thinks it's a bad idea.However, Marlowe just offered to make sure that his band will get the attention they need. This title is everything to me. I'm a STEM girl myself and I'm all over this. But I am saying this now, I wish there was more Math! I know it's not the point, but I just wish there was more nerdy things included. But, not gonna lie, I did like them bonding over mushrooms. Anyway, I'm already in love with Ash. More sensitive goths/emo love interests please! You just don't see it often anymore, which is fine. But I just loved the personality differences. Marlowe was also an excellent main character. I love her thoughts and what more can I say about her character development. I love the perception of self love on here. It is so organic and natural. I truly enjoyed this book and I love that it show cases how important romance novels are. It's like an homage to romance novels and how it's not only entertaining but how it may also be life-changing. This is the first book I read from this author, and her debut book is already in my to-read list. I really enjoyed this book. *I received an eARC of this book
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Excellent YA Neurodivergence Rep
When Marlowe Meadows is dumped by her boyfriend at the beginning of senior year, she doesn’t understand what has gone wrong. She feels like she has somehow missed the rules of how relationships are supposed to go, and she seeks help from an unlikely source to learn how to win back her boyfriend. Goth guy Ash is the opposite of popular boy Josh in practically every way, but as Marlowe learns when she’s partnered with him for a class project, one thing Ash does understand is romance. She proposes that he teach her about romance in exchange for her helping him with the website and social media presence for his band. With Ash’s help, Marlowe wants to pull a Cyrano on Josh to get him to give her another chance, but Ash has a different idea: he can help her learn about romance through romance novels and their own set of lessons. Marlowe thought Josh was the right person for her, but as things turn out, someone better has been in the background the whole time. Honestly, I absolutely adored this one. Read it for - The portrayal of romance as a genre (Ash works at a romance-only bookstore.) - The neurodivergent friend group trying to muddle their way through high school social dynamics together - The autism rep (Seriously, Kaylor is fantastic at depicting the experience and feelings of neurodivergent teens. Check out Long Story Short, too, if you haven’t read it already.) - The queer and ACE rep - Ash - And Marlowe’s assorted mushroom facts I received an advance copy of the book from Wednesday Books and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Perfect for Fans of John Green & Sarah Dessen
ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞! 𝐈 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐘𝐀 𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐜𝐨𝐦. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐲! 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒆 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭, 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧. 𝐈𝐧 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒆, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫-𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐏 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒮𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓃𝒶 𝒦𝒶𝓎𝓁𝑜𝓇, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃'𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Refreshing and fun!
Serena Kaylor’s latest young adult romance The Calculation of You and Me is just the sweet, fun, and refreshing read I hoped it would be! After a string of adult fiction, I didn’t know how I’d feel picking up a young adult romance, especially since sometimes YA can be too dramatic, too silly, or too cringe for me. But I had no reason to worry. Kaylor manages to deliver a story that kept me turning pages and characters I became invested in. Marlowe Meadows is neurodivergent. She’s aware of her differences, mostly able to blend in. For the past two years she’s dated Josh, the golden-boy-jock at her school. Thanks to his attention, she’s been welcomed into the popular crowd, attending parties, safely accepted as Josh’s plus one. But when Josh told her they needed a break the summer before their senior year—because he didn’t know if she really loved him—Marlowe was shocked and unprepared. Now summer is over, and Marlowe has been dwelling on Josh’s choice of word “break”, hoping he’s ready to pick up where they left off. But on the first day of school, before the first class, she gets an icy reception from Josh and all his friends. After confronting him about it, she realizes his idea of a “break” is a “break-up”. But she doesn’t understand why. She followed all the rules, followed his lead, she thought she’d been the perfect girlfriend. She doesn’t consider herself someone who quits, so she’s determined to win him back, restore her life back to something she recognizes. When she’s paired with Ash, a surly, all black-wearing musician, for an English project, she discovers his hidden romantic side and convinces him to help her. While there are several aspects of this story that are unrealistic and highly unlikely to actually happen in the real world, I didn’t care. I was along for the ride, cheering Marlowe on, even when she exasperated me by making poor choices. She was open to learning and growing, and that made her journey inspiring. The book is told solely from Marlowe’s point of view, and it works perfectly here, giving the reader a sort of tunnel vision. We discover truths just as Marlowe does. I adored Kaylor’s debut Long Story Short, and I’m happy to say her follow-up is just as good, if not better. The Calculation of You and Me warmed my heart and left me smiling.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Very Cute YA Romance
This book was adorable. Although it frustrated me at times (literally just on behalf of Ash) it was great representation all around and it was wonderful to see the little book nerd that Marlowe grew into.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Absolutely Loved It
The Calculation of You and Me is the story of Marlowe, a girl who is determined to win back her ex at any cost. When she is dumped for not being romantic enough, Marlowe tries to think of answers. Being paired for a class project with new student Ash completely throws her out of her routine, but she soon realizes that Ash understands romance. As Ash begrudgingly teaches Marlowe about romance, Marlowe starts to re-examine her past relationship. I absolutely loved this book! The Calculation of You and Me is filled with so many great tropes and fantastic moments. Serena Kaylor creates such a realistic and lovable character in Marlowe. I loved how Ash and Marlowe connected and became so close. They had some lovely “fieldwork” dates including laser tag, a fall festival, and sharing book recs. Marlowe also has loving friends and family who are always there for her. Kaylor’s writing is laugh out loud funny, with lots of quick wit and banter. I loved the autistic and bi rep in this book. I also loved the realizations Marlowe has about what it means to be in love vs feeling comfortable with someone in knowing what to expect. Josh (Marlowe’s ex) was the actual worst and without giving away spoilers, the ending was very satisfying. If you romanced Sebastian in Stardew Valley, check this out! Readers who enjoy lovable characters, neurodivergent rep, classic romance tropes, and hilarious dialogue should read The Calculation of You and Me.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fantastic Novel
An absolutely fantastic teens in love story. It reminded me of how I adore stories of teens figuring out their problems and reacting to dilemmas that arise in the halls of high school. Add in an autistic girl trying to win back her ex-boyfriend and the goth boy who is helping her and the plot to a neat story begins. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
overall cute YA contemporary romance
THE CALCULATION OF YOU AND ME is an overall cute YA contemporary romance. After her boyfriend of two years dumps her for not being romantic enough, Marlowe feels set adrift, but she knows she must put in the work to get him back. After she is paired with Ash for an English project and realizes he might know something about romance, she decides to ask him for his help - he will teach her how to be more romantic and she will help him promote his band online. However, as they spend time together, Marlowe begins to ask herself more frequently what she really wants - and the answer may not be what she had thought it would be. What I loved: This was an overall cute book with characters that were easy to like. Marlowe is confused about her life and love, and she has an idea of her family and her parents' former marriage that helps to convince her that maybe her ex was right. As the book continues, Marlowe does learn about romance and love, but it was not what she originally thought. I appreciated that some of the key lessons come from characters who are not just Ash, as they give their insights on Marlowe's perceptions/misconceptions. In particular, her parents and BFF's have some key insights that help to bring some epiphanies. The dating was very cute, although couched as lessons. Ash was very sweet as well, and it was easy to like him and to like him for Marlowe. Themes around self-worth, the power of a good romance novel, and what love really is were all really great. The representation was great as well, with several characters having autism and side characters on the LGBT+ spectrum. What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the middle of the book felt pretty repetitive as Marlowe gets stuck in between what she thought she wanted and what she cannot yet admit to herself that she does want. There were a few scenes that felt like they repeated, likely due to her personal confusion. The end did finish strong. Final verdict: THE CALCULATION OF ME AND YOU is an overall very cute YA contemporary romance about love and finding your own way. Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com