Review: Recommended For You

Today I am sharing my review of Recommended for you by Laura Silverman. Another holiday book recommendation if you’re still looking for a cute holiday read.

Synopsis

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets You’ve Got Mail in this charming and hilarious rom-com following two teen booksellers whose rivalry is taken to the next level as they compete for the top bookseller bonus.

Shoshanna Greenberg loves working at Once Upon, her favorite local bookstore. And with her moms fighting at home and her beloved car teetering on the brink of death, the store has become a welcome escape.

When her boss announces a holiday bonus to the person who sells the most books, Shoshanna sees an opportunity to at least fix her car, if none of her other problems. The only person standing in her way? New hire Jake Kaplan.

Jake is an affront to everything Shoshanna stands for. He doesn’t even read! But somehow his sales start to rival hers. Jake may be cute (really cute), and he may be an eligible Jewish single (hard to find south of Atlanta), but he’s also the enemy, and Shoshanna is ready to take him down.

But as the competition intensifies, Jake and Shoshanna grow closer and realize they might be more on the same page than either expects…

Why I Decided to Read this Book

This book was recommended by Annie B. Jones the owner of The Bookshelf (a bookstore in Thomasville, GA) and host of the podcast From the Front Porch. I love her recommendations and it sounded like a cute holiday book.

Rating

3.5 Stars (I liked it!)

My Thoughts

This is a cute holiday book set in a bookstore during Hanukkah/Christmas time. I loved the setting and the characters. I read this book in a day which is impressive for me because I am a slow reader but it was an easy and quick read. The writing is very easy to digest, its funny and there’s lots of great references to books and pop culture.

This is a true Young Adult book and focuses on the relationship and problems of high schoolers. I was in the mood for something light and cute so this worked for me when I read it. I loved that it was set in a bookstore and all the book references and I enjoyed that it covered both Hanukkah and Christmas which you don’t see often in holiday books.

I wished there was a little bit more depth to the relationship between the two booksellers Shoshanna and Jake. I won’t get into details to not spoil it but I wanted a little more from them. They were adorable, funny and dorky.

Overall, I loved how adorable this book is, the Jewish representation and the diversity of the characters.

Content Warnings

Parents fights, mention of divorce, absentee parent

Who I Recommend this Book to

I recommend this book to teenagers, young adults its the true audience for this book. However, adults looking for something light and cute would enjoy it as well.

Get the Book!

Did this review of Recommended For You convince you to read it? You can get the book from Bookshop.org here. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering. If you’ve read this book let me know your thoughts in the comments!