Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Summary:
After the grand explosion of her relationship, seventeen-year-old Max Scott developed what every girl in the history of the world has been waiting for: a way to get over being dumped. Now Max is the go-to guru for heartbroken high-school girls all over NYC. But when her ex unexpectedly shows up in her neighborhood, Max’s carefully controlled world starts to unravel. With her clients’ hearts hanging in the balance, Max will have to do the seemingly impossible: get over him once and for all.

Brilliant at bringing humor to the trials and tribulations of the lovestruck, #1 New York Times bestselling authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have crafted a tale that will resonate with any girl who has ever been in love or had her heart broken. It brims with smart observations, features a pitch-perfect teen voice, and will attract fans of Jenny Han, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Barnholdt. Readers are sure to fall head-over-heels for this sharp spin on breaking up, making up, and getting even. (from GoodReads)

Review:
The premise of Over You was confusing at first, but once I got into the story, I enjoyed this book immensely. It was even hard to put down! I haven't read anything by these authors before (though I have seen The Nanny Diaries movie) so I'm looking forward to reading more of their work.

What I didn't understand when I first started Over You is that Max runs a business in which she helps heartbroken girls get over their ex-boyfriends. It's pretty legitimate: she uses the basement of her apartment as an office and has two assistants. She gets referrals from previous clients and uses a step-by-step process to help these teens. It's ingenious and I just loved how smart Max is. The fact that she set this whole thing up is pretty awesome. She spends a lot of money, which seems unrealistic until you realize she got a grant from a wealthy client (it must have been one huge check).

Max set up Ex, Inc in order to get over her own ex-boyfriend and when he decides to attend college in New York, her world is thrown upside down. But at the same time, Max meets cute Ben, who she has a growing attraction to. I'm sure you can guess how this pans out but I still loved every minute of it. Max begins acting like all the girls who need her assistance but ultimately gets through it.

Unfortunately there were some flaws in Over You. I already addressed the one about the money. First, the book switches POV between several characters and doesn't indicate the change and since it's in third person I would get confused easily. It doesn't help that two characters (Max and Taylor) have names that are androgynous so I was get even more confused. Also, I didn't like that Max dropped out of school and was just planning on getting her GED. I don't know any parents who would let their child do that and still expect them to go to college. Max was applying to schools like NYU, which definitely wouldn't take someone with a GED. She had a connection with one of the professors but I honestly don't know if that would be enough. She should have just been "homeschooled" by her parents and got a diploma from the public school.

Regardless of the above, I still really enjoyed Over You and I recommend it to anyone who likes romance and intelligent heroines.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from the library.

2012/Harper Teen/304 pages.