Title: The Code for Love and Heartbreak
Author: Jillian Cantor
Publication: October 6, 2020
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Genre: Teen & YA Fiction, Romance
Pages: 304
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma’s sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers…those you can count on. (No pun intended.)
Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.
Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
This was another book that came to me in a big email of fall books to review. My editor and I received the same email so we picked and choose what we wanted to do and that was one that I knew I had to read. When I saw that it was a modern-day spin on Jane Austen’s classic Emma I was gone. I grew up watching Emma and Pride and Prejudice with my mother every winter. I was never a huge Sense and Sensibility fan. I was excited to read it.
Emma is a senior in High School. She is the co-president of the coding club with her best friend George. Numbers rule her world. Math never lies. She is navigating her life without her older sister who has gone off to college across the country. Her mom died when she was young and her sister was always there. So for coding class for their coding competiton she comes up with on her own a matching app that mathmatically matches people together. The other people in the club are not convinced. Will this idea work or will everything implode? This book was absolutly adorable. I read it fairly quickly and enjoyed every minute of it. At times the teenage angst did get annoying but it wasn’t to bad.
In this certain book Emma is my spirit animal in high school…heck even today. I never had a close knit group of friends. Even today I have a select few that i converse with on a regular basis, and those friends I am sure know way to much TMI. What is ridiculous is the book literally made me cry. When Emma was so upset about what was happening with the app and with her friends, I felt that pain. I also felt the pain of the older sister making sure that her younger sister is doing good and the guilt of being so far away. I feel at times that issue. I currently live 3 hrs from my family and don’t see them often as I would wish too. This book is an excellent YA romance book for those kids who want a romance but want something sweet and clean and no over the top like romances can be now. I will certainly be checking out more books by this author in the future.
STAR RATING: 4/5
Pick up your copy of The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and check your local bookstore. Also make sure to add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. Check out more from author Jillian Cantor on her website HERE.
