Title: Dating Makes Perfect
Author: Pintip Dunn
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’m a huge Pintip Dunn fan, and it doesn’t matter if she’s writing sci-fi or contemporary YA I adore the stories she writes. If there is one thing, Pintip Dunn gets its conveying teen temptation in a repressed and traditional Asian community, and I always appreciate the diversity of her characters. This book is a fantastic introduction to her books if you’ve not read her before!
Dating Makes Perfect characters Winnie and Mat remind me of Alice and Bandit from Malice, but this story has zero sci-fi elements. Like Alice and Bandit, Winnie and Mat are a contentious pair, and Winnie, of course, thinks Mat is the entire problem when the actual issue is Winnie’s arrogance. These two are one of my favorite YA pairs of 2020. Mat is just the sort of book boyfriend you want for your sister, and I say that as a Bunny.
Another thing I loved about this book, Pintip Dunn did an incredible job building Winnie’s family. Bunny and Ari are the best sorts of sisters, supportive and protective. I found myself smiling at her dad with every new research article he read and applied. And Dr. Pat is the kind of mother that you might not know where you stand with, but she would be the first to stand in front of a train for you. I want a Dr. Pat.
When Winnie’s mother finds that Bunny and Ari are making excuses for not exploring an MRS degree first thing in college because they couldn’t date in high school, Dr. Pat decides Winnie must start practice-dating before she too is a lost cause. The drawback, her mom picks her nemesis and ex-best friend to be her experimental ‘datee.’
Her parents’ theory is that there is no one better for practicing than the boy who isn’t tempting to her, but that is a proven fallacy because when they aren’t fighting, Winnie remembers all the things she misses most of her lost friendship with Mat. And when he’s not needling her, he’s saying things that aren’t at all mean in any way, leaving Winnie feeling like it’s her job to keep the animosity alive.
These two are mixed signals all over the place, and I love this story. I enjoy the culture that Pintip Dunn brings to her books and that she steeps readers in her characters’ lives. I would really like to know what chib-peng means, though.
Highly recommend this book, and while you are at it, read Malice.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary advance copy of this book.
About Pintip Dunn:
Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B., and received her J.D. at Yale Law School.
Pintip’s novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA® for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance. In addition, her books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the Tome Society It list; the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award; and a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of the Year. Her other novels include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, STAR-CROSSED, and MALICE.
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