All's fair in love and ... Twitter wars? Emma Lord's debut YA novel Tweet Cute is an adorable rom-com romp that pits a wildly successful restaurant franchise against a mom and pop deli, and get this ... the battle is being waged by ... who else? Teens on Twitter!
Pepper's parents started Big League Burger in Nashville when she was just a child. Fast forward several years, and Big League Burger is now a massive money-making franchise, Pepper's parents have split up, and she is living with her mom in NYC while attending a highly competitive prep school - not to mention the fact that Pepper has to practically do the job of Big League Burger's social media manager for her since she is just so out of touch with the snarky tweeting style that is making waves on the web these days.
Jack is the "loser twin;" living in the shadow of his brother Ethan, and destined to someday take over the family business - a deli called Girl Cheesing - ... a job, he can say, he definitely doesn't want. And while Jack isn't quite passionate about his work at Girl Cheesing, he can't help but feel incensed when he discovers that Big League Burger has stolen his family's grilled cheese recipe, and is not only selling it as its own, but is even calling it by the same name - Grandma's Special. Jack takes to Twitter on Girl Cheesing's account to call out Big League Burger and unwittingly starts an all-out war that goes viral, much to his shock and dismay.
You can see where this is going, right? With Pepper punching the keys and creating the quips for Big League Burger and Jack dishing the dirt on their copycat ways for Girl Cheesing, these two classmates have no idea that it is actually each other they are attacking on Twitter. Things get even more complicated when Pepper and Jack unknowingly begin to fall for each other on an anonymous dating app that Jack created for their school. Will knowing the truth change everything?
One pit that contemporary YA novels can fall into is being boringly predictable, but that is not the case with Tweet Cute. Emma Lord manages to keep things fresh, even providing plot twists that I did not see coming up until the very end of the book. This novel is cute, funny, engaging, and overall, a delight.
To its credit, Tweet Cute's modern, many-layered plot has much substance, and slowly builds throughout the course of the novel, as do the characters, evolving and growing as this all-out Twitter war comes to a head. These characters have spunk and personality, and are a lot of fun to get to know. Told in alternating viewpoints between Pepper and Jack, Tweet Cute gives readers much to ponder about, and even might encourage them to pick a side! Do you support the small business, or do you believe that anything goes in corporate America? Do you "ship" Pepper and Jack as a couple, or would you rather see them end up with anyone besides each other?
For fans of contemporary YA, Tweet Cute is a must-read - this book is solid and so much fun! Millennials looking to love a "You've Got Mail-esque" novel for the modern age will also immensely enjoy this book.
Availability: Book; eBook in cloudLibrary
Rating: ***** Stars (I loved it)
Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! Tweet Cute
GENRE: Multiple Perspectives; Romantic Comedies; Teen Chick Lit THEMES: Hating to Dating (There is a thin line between love and hate in these stories where the characters start out as adversaries but end up romantically attached.); Love in Disguise (Can love blossom even though one or both of these characters is not who they seem?)
WRITING STYLE: Engaging
TONE: Amusing; Feel-Good; Romantic
LOCATION: New York City
SUBJECT: Business Competition; Families; Family Problems; Fast Food Restaurants; High School Students; Loyalty; Secret Identity; Social Media; Teenage Boy/Girl Relations; Teenagers
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