Hello there fellow readers! I apologize for my leave of absence, I assumed I'd post MORE during quarantine rather than leaving a dry streak. This past weekend I read Adorkable by O'Gorman and the title is ever so accurate for my feelings about this novel. The characters were so cute and flawlessly written, with irresistible names! - C'mon, Sally Sue Spitz and Baldwin Eugene Charles "Becks" Kent? Best friends since ever! Simply charming. I also loved the clever word play through BFF characterization - the matchmaking best friend with the last name/nickname of "Hooker"- who's teamed up with Sally's mother the wedding planner to send Sally on countless blind dates with the hopes of finding her the man of her dreams.
I really enjoyed the plot of this novel, it created a wholesome type of suspenseful reading experience, and had me jumping for joy and pausing in frustration at all the right moments. I'm a sucker for everything this book brought - best friends turned lovers, fake relationship into real relationship, nerd girl and jock guy, WOO my heart! Loved it. I think my favorite part about the way that O'Gorman created her own unique ending to this common story plot is how the love confession was played out very uniquely to the characters and wasn't super textbook cheesy. There was a bit of this present, but it definitely didn't hurt ;) And ok I loved it.
Now, there were a few minor details that I would change about 'Adorkable', the first of which is how the title isn't incorporated into the story itself. While this can be common among YA novels, I think it would've really added to the story if the phrase "Adorkable" was something that Becks said in reference to Sally, as possibly a fond connection or inside joke between the two. Other than that, I'd maybe include a German to English translation reference in the back? It's equally tiring to either pretend I can read German, or copy the entire statement into Google translate to help a girl out. Besides these, the book was a total home run, I've already recommended it to some fellow book lovers, and it's very deserving of a 5 star rating.
Ps. A little comment - the version I read was from Target, and included some bonus content that made my book worm heart so happy!! Poems that young Becks wrote to Sally, an excursion of the ending from his point of view, and even an Adorkable Book Playlist! I was in love. Cookie O'Gorman, wherever you are, you're doing awesome. Keep it up :)