Love and Other Foreign Words

Starred review from March 10, 2014
Fifteen-year-old Josie Sheridan may have a genius-level IQ, but that doesn’t mean she understands everything. One concept she has trouble grasping is romantic love, especially when it comes to her older sister Kate’s inexplicable attraction to her nerdy librarian fiancé, Geoff. Josie is sure that Geoff is completely wrong for Kate, but persuading her sister of this truth before the wedding is proving a tall order. Meanwhile, Josie is sorting out her own relationships with the opposite sex, including her prom date, Stefan, who thinks he “could fall in love” with her; her 26-year-old sociolinguistics instructor, Ethan, on whom she has an enormous crush; and her best friend Stu, who perhaps understands her better than anyone. McCahan’s (I Now Pronounce You Someone Else) sharp-witted first-person narrative will keep readers laughing as they get acquainted with Josie, a self-proclaimed “inveterate” over-thinker. Josie’s analytical mind, singular perspective, and numerous idiosyncrasies (like her anxiety over a loose thread: “What if it doesn’t come out in one try but gets longer? What if it puckers?”) are both endearing and representative of her deeper worries. Ages 12–up. Agent: Faye Bender, Faye Bender Literary Agency.

April 1, 2014
Narrator Josie, 15, is a bossy, Styx-loving, gifted eccentric and happy to stay that way, but the family status quo--her loving parents and older sisters--is about to be shaken up. Not only does Josie detest her sister Kate's fiance, she misses Kate, who's changed. Josie tries to enlist her parents and equally gifted best friend, Stu, in her crusade against catastrophe. While they agree with her that Geoff's hard to like, they're willing to try since Kate chose him. However, romantic love's a language Josie hasn't learned. Her campaign to stop the wedding alienates Kate and annoys her parents. Josie's efforts to speak this foreign language herself aren't going well, either. Classmate Stefan wants to be loved, not liked. She crushes on Ethan, then discovers he's teaching her sociolinguistics class at the college she and Stu attend part-time. Beneath Josie's buoyant exterior, anxieties work their way to the surface--accepting the inevitable isn't her strong suit. Pushed, Kate proves to have sharp edges. She ridicules Josie's appearance, demanding she get contact lenses and a push-up bra for the wedding. Josie's a rarity in teen literature, a genuine original. Being gifted sets her apart. Armored by arch mannerisms, trying to control what can't be controlled, wanting and fearing love, she's one of us. Lively characters and a satisfying plot foil reader expectations in the best possible way. (Fiction. 12-18)

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April 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Josie Sheridan, 15.4 years old, knows a lot about social language. With a schedule that involves both high school and college courses, she has learned to adapt her communication style in order to fit in with both groups. However, Josie can't seem to wrap her head around the language of Love. To the precocious teen, all-consuming love is scientifically impossible. Her best friend, Stu, is the "love 'em and leave 'em" type, and her school friends make lists of the guys for which they could fall. When her older sister Kate gets engaged, it only furthers her misunderstanding of the matter. The protagonist finds Kate's fiance to be intolerable and makes it her mission to break them up. Meanwhile, Josie attempts to decode the meaning of love for herself and see just what all the fuss is about. At times, the narrator can be pedantic, stubborn, and borderline unlikable. Despite that, readers who persevere will find that underneath that serious exterior is a regular teen muddling her way through finding her first love. Kate, the persistent romantic, is on the warpath to foist her ideals of wedded bliss onto her younger sister who staunchly defies her at every turn. What follows is an all-out war of words where the only solution is for the siblings to find some sort of common ground. These coming-of-age moments add a nice bit of heart to Josie's journey. Give this to cerebral teens who want a quirky love story.-Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Hudson Library & Historical Society, OH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 It's refreshing to meet a character so cracklingly smart that you wish you could actually buy her a coffee and just hear her jabber. That's Josie, the main gal in the latest from Cahan (I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, 2010). Josie loves languageslearning actual ones as well deciphering the lingo she hears bantered among other 16-year-olds at her high school and the community college where she and her best friend (and fellow smartie) Stu take classes. For Josie, understanding nuances in how people communicate is an obsession, though she's still mastering the skill. For example, she can't comprehend what her beloved sister, Kate, sees in her zero of a fianc' or how to find a common tongue with her fetching linguistics professor, and she feels stifled speaking to the nearly mute guy she's seeing. With impeccable clarityand hilarityJosie explores how magical things left unsaid can be and how even a native tongue can be full of meaning and surprises. This clever read will satisfy fans of Rainbow Rowell, John Green, and Stephanie Perkins.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)