36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You

August 28, 2017
What if there were a scientific way to kick-start romance? A psychological study done in the 1990s (with the mood-killing title “The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness”) is the jumping-off point for this rom-com, inspired by a writer who used the study’s 36 increasingly personal questions to find love. (Her essay appeared in the “Modern Love” column in the New York Times and went viral.) Grant’s romantic leads are stereotypical: Hildy is studious and clumsy, and Paul is a bad boy with a teardrop tattoo on his cheek. The novel begins with a researcher explaining that the study is being updated for the digital age, and Hildy and Paul go through the questions, which range from silly to sober, over several days instead of a single session. The story is written mostly in dialogue conveyed via text messages, emails, and images (not seen by PW), making for a fast-paced read. The mutual probing unearths some secrets and painful history, but the takeaway is a meet-cute story that offers lots of laughs and a message about looking past appearances to make a connection. Ages 13–up. Agent: Fiona Kenshole, Transatlantic Agency.

September 1, 2017
Two strangers take part in a psychological experiment on intimacy in the era of social media. Hildy and Paul are total strangers who both happen to take part in a local university study for the princely sum of $40. The study centers on the titular 36 questions, a series of (real-life) inquiries that are designed to engineer affection between two partners. Circumstances prevent the pair from finishing the assignment in one sitting, but over the course of several days, the two straight, white teens engage in an online back and forth that eventually completes the questionnaire. The questions chip away at Paul's and Hildy's reservations, and the two eventually reveal home lives fraught with emotional abandonment and dishonesty. The concept of the 36 questions is a clever enough line to hang the burgeoning romance upon, but the novel is far too long. There's a lot of repetition here, and while Hildy and Paul feel real enough to fall for each other and engage readers, they lack the full three dimensions this book's length needs to work. The story also suffers from late reveals that are telegraphed and hinted at and drawn out so extensively that any emotional effect these reveals have is long gone. The secondary characters are well-conceived, Hildy's parents and friends thematically and structurally underlining the primary romantic argument for honesty and emotional availability. A good concept with smart characterization that can't sustain its page count. (Fiction. 14-17)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-What do you do when you need money or you are simply looking for love? Join a college Psych survey and see firsthand if love can be engineered! Hildy and Paul, aka Betty and Bob, come from two different worlds with secrets they haven't shared with anyone. The undergrads sign up and get paid $40 by their local university for completeing a 36-question quiz to see if they will fall in love. Will "The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness" in the Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin bring them together? Hildy is an idealistic romantic and Paul is the jaded skeptic. The two college students attempt to answer the questionnaire via text, IM, email, and old-fashioned face-to-face Q&A. Yet family, snowstorms, and communication breakdowns could prevent this relationship from taking off. The novel implores readers to think about their own truths and uncover what really gets in the way of our own romances. This would make a great choice for teens seeking romance titles, or reluctant readers who are drawn to the novel's unique format. VERDICT A fun selection for romance fans that could find a place in most large YA collections.-Laura Dooley-Taylor, Lake Zurich Middle School North, IL

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.