Dylan Lin loves reading, secretly anyway. Ever since a bullying incident at his last school, he’s hidden his love of fantasy novels, instead leaning into his jock persona. Now he's the tennis team captain, runs every day, and actively avoids reading. So, when he decides to start volunteering at a kitten nursery, and his super cute co-volunteer Lizzie asks if he likes reading, he says no. He never expects the look of complete and utter disappointment on Lizzie’s face.
Lizzie is certain her secret crush isn’t Dylan. It can’t be! But when he accidentally makes an obscure reference to her favorite book during their volunteer shift, she’s not so sure anymore. Can Lizzie forgive Dylan for lying? And can Dylan be brave enough to be himself?
Jennifer Chen’s Checking You Out is a contemporary romance about being true to yourself and celebrating what you love, because you just might find the perfect person to share it with. (Pub Date: )
Lizzie has had enough bad experiences to know that she can't date someone who doesn't read books. So even after she meets Dylan, the new guy she's been training at the cat nursery where they volunteer, the way he stares blankly at books already tells her it won't work out. So maybe she should concentrate on Henry, who is a great reader even if he doesn't really value her favorite genre—fantasy—or even the anonymous reader she's been exchanging notes with, who is a lover of the fantasy genre.
The book is told from dual points of view, alternating between Lizzie's and Dylan's. Thanks to that, we learn that because of bullying, Dylan stopped letting people know his true self and now presents himself as a jock, when he's actually a big fan of fantasy and happens to be the one exchanging letters with Lizzie.
The dual point of view is an okay device, widely used in romance and not uncommon in YA either. I prefer when books don't use it, but I'm used to it by now. What bothered me was how often the switches happened—at some points with every single line. I have yet to read a book that needs you to know what the other character is thinking so urgently that it's worth sacrificing your connection to the other narrator, and this book was no exception. On the other hand, you do get used to it, and there's even a funny effect that comes from this overuse.
The other problem was that I couldn't believe their conflicts, despite the fact that they were more serious than in most YAs. Nevertheless, they still felt fabricated. For example, Dylan's big conflict was how bullying made him start masking. This is completely relatable, a very serious issue, made even more so by the fact that it started back in middle school. But if things only got really bad years and years later, why did he have to move to another school just half a year before graduation? That didn't make sense to me, and it softened the impact of his whole dilemma about being himself. That's the biggest example, but Lizzie's thing about not dating someone who doesn't read felt even more superficial, even if it's easy to see where she's coming from. That shallowness made it hard to relate to her, and so I didn't feel like cheering her on. On top of that, she's not an easy character to like; her voice felt almost robotic to me. Insert female main character who needs everything to go her way. Insert friends. Insert parents. Her life just didn't feel alive.
There are good moments, though. I'm not a fan of fantasy, but the way the two characters would go on about their favorite books and the plots of those stories was lovely. I could feel the writer's passion for stories that don't even exist in real life (or maybe they do, on a hard drive somewhere, because their plots feel very real). The biggest highlight, though, was the part with the kittens. I had no idea there were places dedicated to sheltering kittens, and even if it's evidently hard work, I too wish I could volunteer at one. This was my favorite thing in the whole book.
Overall, it's a cute romance. Even though I had issues with this or that in the story, the couple itself is cute. I can see why so many people enjoyed it and even gave this book the full five stars. It's not some fast-food plot—it's got soul (main character excluded, sorry, I really couldn't like Lizzie much).
This was my second book by this author, and looking back, she's improved a lot with pacing and focus, and even the romantic interest (Dylan is so much better!) I look forward to reading more of her releases!
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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