How to Hook a Hottie

April 1, 2008
Gr 7-10-After Brandon asks 17-year-old Kate, the Future Business Leaders of America copresident, to be his date at the sports banquet, she enjoys popularity and notoriety. Surprised that she could land the school's most eligible bachelor, and certain that she has some kind of trade secret for scoring dates, her classmates begin asking her for advice. Sensing a business opportunity, Kate and her friend Jason launch a matchmaking service based on what Kate terms a "Six Point Plan: A Hexagon for Hooking Hotties." Ferraro's novel is a romance in the style of the offerings from Smoochya and "Simon Romantic Comedies." Secondary plots involve Kate's dream of becoming a millionaire by age 20, her relationship with her estranged mother, and her concern for the girl she babysits, who has problems with her own family. While these add variety to the story, the emphasis is on the dating business, and Kate's growing feelings for Jason. The first-person narrative moves quickly though superficially; the secondary plots are never explored in any great depth, making the conclusionin which all of these narrative strands are resolvedfeel a bit too pat. Still, romance novels are inherently fantasies of a sort and, as such, Ferraro's book is satisfying."Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston"

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