[Review] Seven Minutes in Candyland - Brian Wasson

Summary: Sophomore Kalvin Shmelton has finally perfected his underground candy-selling hustle at school. He keeps his prices reasonable, his inventory fresh, and himself out of the drama. But when a heartbroken Sterling Glistern—Kal’s longtime crush—barges into the storage closet where he keeps his candy supply, a new source of income unexpectedly presents itself: relationship therapist. He only meant to help Sterling realize she’s dating a jerk—and maybe win her over—but news spreads fast that Kalvin’s not just the master of sweets…but hearts, too! And as the son of two famous therapists, he leans into this newfound reputation and the money that comes with it.

The truth, however, is that Kalvin’s parents’ “perfect” marriage is crumbling. He was supposed to woo the girl of his dreams, fix his parents’ relationship, and lend a listening ear to a school full of heartbroken teens. But a jealous boyfriend, a vengeful competitor, and Kalvin’s own growing ego threaten those plans, forcing Kal to rethink all he thought he knew about friendship, family, and love. (Pub Date: Dec 12 2023)

 

Son of therapists, famous couple who hosts a podcast about relationships, all Kalvin wants is for his parents to go back to really be the perfect couple they pretend to be to their followers. For that, he's been selling candies at school so he'll get enough money to buy them a special trip to Hawaii. But his deadline is coming, their marriage is falling apart, and Kalvin is still short of his goal. That's when he starts helping students for a fee, using all the advice he's heard his whole life as a therapist's son. 

 3+!

There are great things about this story. Not only representation, not only good jokes, I like where Kalvin's arc takes him. I was sure I knew where we'd get, but it actually surprised. Not that it's an unbelievable climax, but the author chose a more difficult route but one that prompts the reader to think. 

However, the story is still bland. There wasn't one time I got the book to continue because I really wanted to know what was going to happen. Kalvin... isn't a bad guy, but he's not my favorite person. I'm not sure how he managed to get such nice friends being such a pain. The romance had so many complications, including that Sterling has a boyfriend, that I wasn't really cheering for them. And what the character wanted, as I said I didn't even care for Kalvin to care for what he wanted, but I've read enough books to know where that would go for me to expect any different. I should note the author treated this very well, but it doesn't change that it was hard to hope for Kalvin to get what he wanted. 

I imagine younger readers, the actual target audience, won't have read as many books to have the same feeling of "been here, read that" that I had, and I do remember being much less bothered with characters like Kalvin when I was younger, so this is probably a 4-star to them.

To me however, it was just slightly above average because at least I felt I could trust this author, and he proved my feeling was right. There are important points that will regenerate reflection, and I feel they were well explored as well. It's not a bad book, and I would like to read more from Brian Wasson. The story just didn't marvel me.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 3 out of 5.