Book Review: The Oracle of Dating

The Oracle of Dating

Author: Allison van Diepen

Publish Date: May 2010

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

No one at Kayla's school knows she's the famous Oracle of Dating--the anonymous queen of dating advice. But then her advice backfires on her own best friend, and Kayla starts to seriously obsess about Jared Stewart--the very cute, very mysterious new guy in school. (Goodreads)

When I picked up the book I was slightly skeptical. How exactly did the Oracle work? Was she like come turban wearing, crystal ball staring teenager? It didn’t sound like much of a premise for a story, but I read it anyway and I'm not disappointed I did.

Most of our time is spent in school or at home. There are a few outings that we get glimpses of the subway and a little of the city but it’s not really relevant (too much) to the story that the lack of multiple environments is really noticeable.

Kayla is awesome. I would love to have her as a best friend. She’s skeptical and cynical or maybe one or the other at a master’s level. She has a deep well of advice that most kids her age would never have. Except I understand her as an observer and since she watches everything it only makes sense that she learns and picks up from that.

I read the story in one sitting. Not only is it relatively short, but it moves from one place to the next without wasting space or words. There’s nothing more frustrating than a chapter related to nothing at all, so it was a relief there are no fillers in this book. The author knew what she wanted and carefully crafted it along such a tight line that it’s a very wonderful read. It's nothing over the top and rather simplistic, but at the same time it is attention grabbing in a big way. I will be reading the second book just to see if it keeps pace with the first. 

My Rating: