Began reading: 31.1.2016
Completed reading: 3.2.2016
Overall rating: 4 stars
If only Jane’s Magic 8 Ball could tell her how to get through the summer. With her “perfect” sister, Margo, home for her “perfect” internship, Jane is not going to be able to spend the summer writing fan fiction, as she had planned. And her emergency babysitting job requires Jane to spend the whole summer in awkward proximity to her new crush, Teo, a nerdy-hot lifeguard with problems of his own. With his best friend out of town, Teo finds himself without anyone to confide in… except Jane. Will Jane and Teo be able to salvage each other’s summer? Even the Magic 8 Ball doesn’t have an answer… but sings point to yes.
Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall is a contemporary realistic fiction novel, incorporating romance that is suitable for young adults. Following A Little Something Different, I was not looking forward to reading this book. I was pleasantly surprised! I could tell that Hall had improved her writing for this novel. Overall, I really enjoyed the book.
The book was well-written, with no grammatical or spelling errors. Also, literary techniques were used to described characters and situations, which was great. There were also some great quotes, such as:
‘Dude, chill out,’ he said.
‘I’m perfectly chill, thank you,’ Jane said said. Ravi’s response was a really good example of why she hated confrontation. The way the other person could so quickly take the upper hand, no matter how righteous you felt about the situation, made her so angry (pp. 56-57).
Jane peeked out the window and watched him walk home. He glanced up and caught her there, peering out at him, and he waved.
Normally she would have been embarrassed, but right now she was happy that he was the kind of guy who looked back one more time (p. 91).
Lying isn’t wrong if you’re doing it to help someone else… (p. 132).
Margo: ‘What are you going to do?’
Jane: ‘Wander around the grocery store and pretend I don’t know you while actually watching your interaction from every possible angle’ (p. 149).
Humour was used throughout the novel, which I loved. I’m a big fan of humour in novels and I was pleased to see that Hall included more than enough humour. For example:
Jane: ‘You sound like my grandmother.’
Teo: ‘She’s a lovely woman. How is she these days?’
Jane: ‘She died three years ago’ (p. 162).
Jane rolled her eyes. ‘The problem is that now he’s talking about not coming home. And I need your help,’ Jane said, addressing Margo.
‘I’ll do anything,’ Ravi said.
‘I don’t really need your help.’
‘I volunteer as tribute!’ he said, standing up (p. 213).
As I mentioned in the review for A Little Something Different, I really enjoy humour in books, as it keeps me turning the page. I find that humour also helps with making the plot and characters more memorable, as I am more likely to remember a character’s joke than the plot.
I found the characters to be relatable, and I found myself identifying particular characteristics that I possess in each of the characters. For example, Jane was quirky, Teo was irrational, Margo was trustworthy and Ravi was fluent in sarcasm. I enjoy a book more when characters are relatable, as it is easier to connect and imagine a similar experience occurring to myself.
The structure of the book was clearly defined. While the structure in A Little Something Different was pretty much non-existent, I could easily identify the complication and resolution. Again, this makes the book more interesting, and improves the flow of the story. I’m really glad that Hall took the times to define the novel’s structure this time ‘round.
In regards to the plot, I found it somewhat predictable. I was able to predict what was going to happen fairly early in the novel. *WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER* For example, when Jane came up with the idea to find Teo’s biological dad:
She knew exactly how she could help Teo — she would find his dad for him (p. 71).
I’m sorry, but when is an idea like this ever a good idea? It irritated me that I knew what was coming; however, there were a couple of plot twists that I obviously didn’t see coming. *WARNING: SPOILER* Learning that Teo’s dad was completely unexpected, as was Ravi’s fondness for Jane. Such plot twists were unexpected, but were beneficial to the plot. I enjoyed these twists because they were different, and creative. I thought that Teo meeting his uncle was a great idea, and was very creative.
My favourite character was Ravi, as I found him hilarious and relatable. He was sassy, sarcastic and extremely funny. Although he was a secondary character, I found that I wanted him to make a bigger appearance. I was excited when he decided to go on the road trip. In the beginning of the book, I thought he would be a pain throughout the entire novel, but I was happy to see that he had a softer side hidden away. I secretly hoped he and Margo would get together, but oh well…
As I progressed through the book, I thought that Jane became increasingly annoying. I found her to be clingy, neurotic, nosey, and a little immature. It also bothered me when she admitted that she was a bit of a pushover:
It was obvious to Jane that part of it was Teo’s nature: He hated being alone. So, sure, maybe he was using her, but Jane didn’t mind (p. 145).
Despite this, Jane was also relatable, as her lack of concern for college was something that I experienced at her age:
‘I’m not lazy,’ Jane frowned. ‘Well, I am lazy, but it’s not laziness that’s keeping me from wanting to go to college. Maybe a little, but not about the work — about the getting there. The applications and the SATs. It’s all really scary. It all seems like so much effort when I don’t even know if it’ll work out’ (p. 128-129).
I have a few favourite parts in the book, including Jane’s babysitting, Claudia’s party, Jane and Teo’s date and the road trip. Firstly, I enjoyed Jane’s babysitting because I was able to see how she interacted with Teo’s little sisters. I thought those three were absolutely adorable! I enjoyed the part about Claudia’s party because we got to see Teo’s drunken side and his hilarious fail at kissing Jane. Jane and Teo’s date to the cinema was creative because they watched a random film that turned out to be inappropriate for a first date, haha! After the movie, they went for Fro-Yo, which left me craving Fro-Yo. Finally, the road trip was hilarious, as Ravi tagged along and I was able to get a better idea of how he and Jane got along when Teo wasn’t around.
Recommendation time! If you like Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall, Unbecoming by Jenny Downer and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Mystic Pizza, The Sound of Music, and Bound + Babysitting, you will love this book.
Happy reading!
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