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cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
5.0
I loved McCahan's first book, and I absolutely adored this one. The main character was so real I felt I could go visit Ohio and see her. Her pithy observations were so funny I had to read them out loud to family members or underline them for future reference. But when she was hurt and confused, I felt it viscerally. And since she's only 15 and barely 16, and at that age of trying to figure out what love even means, it's ripe for confusion and momentary elation.
I love that McCahan writes about families whose members love each other deeply and get along and enjoy each other's company (but, realistically, have their disagreements and frustrations, but work through them). It's a breath of fresh air in a landscape of literature about broken families and people who can't stand each other.
Bonuses for me: set in Columbus, where my father is from. Rich use of language and plays on language, which I love. Precociously and ridiculously smart main character whose family members both encourage her in her uniqueness but help her to find ways to relate to others and be "nicer" sometimes.
This book was far too short! I wanted to spend a lot more time with Josie. But really, it was absolutely Pperfect (in Josie-speak).
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/love-foreign-words-clean-young-adult-book-review/
I love that McCahan writes about families whose members love each other deeply and get along and enjoy each other's company (but, realistically, have their disagreements and frustrations, but work through them). It's a breath of fresh air in a landscape of literature about broken families and people who can't stand each other.
Bonuses for me: set in Columbus, where my father is from. Rich use of language and plays on language, which I love. Precociously and ridiculously smart main character whose family members both encourage her in her uniqueness but help her to find ways to relate to others and be "nicer" sometimes.
This book was far too short! I wanted to spend a lot more time with Josie. But really, it was absolutely Pperfect (in Josie-speak).
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/love-foreign-words-clean-young-adult-book-review/
pocketfullofjosie's review against another edition
3.0
Personally, I only read this book because it had my name in it. XD Josie is a brilliant girl, who can speak many languages, but can't seem to speak the ones around her. Her sister Kate tells Josie she doesn't know what love is, so it drives Josie to find out. A quirky story with boyfriends, friend drama, sisters, and of course, love. I thought it was a pretty good book, and a easy read. Although, I don't think this book is like a John Green book, like the description said.
electrikreads's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
I can relate to being somewhat confused and blind to the concept of love. This book follows a girl named Josie who likes things to be mapped out and doesn't like the unpredictability that love brings. I found this book to be hilarious (the ending had me in the biggest giggle fit), charming, and just pure fun. I enjoyed myself way too much while reading this! And while, yes, some things were a bit cliche, I think we all can use a fun, cliche romance that makes us smile. I recommend if you like Kasie West or Jenny Han, who also write similar feel good YA romances.
I can relate to being somewhat confused and blind to the concept of love. This book follows a girl named Josie who likes things to be mapped out and doesn't like the unpredictability that love brings. I found this book to be hilarious (the ending had me in the biggest giggle fit), charming, and just pure fun. I enjoyed myself way too much while reading this! And while, yes, some things were a bit cliche, I think we all can use a fun, cliche romance that makes us smile. I recommend if you like Kasie West or Jenny Han, who also write similar feel good YA romances.
nzkiwishen's review against another edition
3.0
I keep switching back and forth between 2 and 3 stars. The book was cute. I just didn't really fall in love with any of the characters. At all. I can see where the book was meant to be funny and sarcastic and endearing, but it just didn't work for me. It squeaks by with 3 stars.
itclouie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
kdurham2's review against another edition
4.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Josie is in high school, but also attending college as she is quite the smarty pants! With two older sisters and a few friends, Josie is at a turning point where she must find out what characteristics she will take with her into adulthood. And learn about this love thing!
From the beginning, I loved Josie. I wanted to know everything about her and ride alongside her in her journey. Her family was perfectly executed - they were great second tier characters with enough storylines to not make Josie the entire central character, but at the same moment they did not distract. And her friends! I loved that although she may be a nerd of sorts, she still had a great group of friends who weren't all quirky and weird, but real - this book felt real which I absolutely adored.
Josie is in high school, but also attending college as she is quite the smarty pants! With two older sisters and a few friends, Josie is at a turning point where she must find out what characteristics she will take with her into adulthood. And learn about this love thing!
From the beginning, I loved Josie. I wanted to know everything about her and ride alongside her in her journey. Her family was perfectly executed - they were great second tier characters with enough storylines to not make Josie the entire central character, but at the same moment they did not distract. And her friends! I loved that although she may be a nerd of sorts, she still had a great group of friends who weren't all quirky and weird, but real - this book felt real which I absolutely adored.
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Erin McCahan's Love and Other Foreign Words is a novel I was excited to read. I had heard good things and I enjoyed most parts of her previous YA, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, particularly the writing and character development. Love and Other Foreign Words had those aspects plus a storyline I as able to love more so I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Josie is a genius but this means she is often out of the loop when it comes to how average people interact. She is incredibly gifted with all the quirks that go along with that. She especially enjoys foreign languages and studying them. She does an exercise in her head where she translates people's words into "Josie". High school speak, college speak, etc. She has particular trouble translating love though, a concept that escapes her entirely. The book chronicles several months where Josie attempts to come to terms with her sister's engagement, her love for her sister, and get her own love life. It is a book all about relationship. Sibling relationships, dating relationships, friendship, and parental relationships all play a major part in the story. That's because these are all important relationships in Josie's life. Relationships of any type experience a high frequency of change, and change is something Josie has major issues with. She is having to contend with her much loved older sister getting married to a man of whom she is not fond. In her attempts to understand love she explores dating, changing the dynamics of several of her friendships along the way. The book is so captivating because of Josie's voice, which is so well done. She is super intelligent and odd as a result, and being in her head is truly fascinating. Watching as she sorts out her feelings toward the people around her as she herself grows and changes makes for a great read.
As I said, this is a story about all sorts of relationships, but it is most particularly a sibling story. I love sibling stories and this is a good one. The relationship between Josie and her sister is wonderful. Then there are Josie's parents who are fully involved and engaged in her life. Lovely to see in a YA. I also LOVED the relationship between Josie and her best friend, Stu. Stu is a genius as well and he speaks fluent Josie even though he has a language entirely his own. The rapport between the two of them is perfect and I loved their banter. Seriously, there is some excellent banter between these two. I had a goofy grin on my face while reading them in several places. And I just adored the ending.
Love and Other Foreign Words is a book that really sticks with you. At first I just wrote a quick few word review on Goodreads, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it and felt it deserved the full treatment here on the blog. If you enjoy contemporary YA, this is not to be missed.
Erin McCahan's Love and Other Foreign Words is a novel I was excited to read. I had heard good things and I enjoyed most parts of her previous YA, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, particularly the writing and character development. Love and Other Foreign Words had those aspects plus a storyline I as able to love more so I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Josie is a genius but this means she is often out of the loop when it comes to how average people interact. She is incredibly gifted with all the quirks that go along with that. She especially enjoys foreign languages and studying them. She does an exercise in her head where she translates people's words into "Josie". High school speak, college speak, etc. She has particular trouble translating love though, a concept that escapes her entirely. The book chronicles several months where Josie attempts to come to terms with her sister's engagement, her love for her sister, and get her own love life. It is a book all about relationship. Sibling relationships, dating relationships, friendship, and parental relationships all play a major part in the story. That's because these are all important relationships in Josie's life. Relationships of any type experience a high frequency of change, and change is something Josie has major issues with. She is having to contend with her much loved older sister getting married to a man of whom she is not fond. In her attempts to understand love she explores dating, changing the dynamics of several of her friendships along the way. The book is so captivating because of Josie's voice, which is so well done. She is super intelligent and odd as a result, and being in her head is truly fascinating. Watching as she sorts out her feelings toward the people around her as she herself grows and changes makes for a great read.
As I said, this is a story about all sorts of relationships, but it is most particularly a sibling story. I love sibling stories and this is a good one. The relationship between Josie and her sister is wonderful. Then there are Josie's parents who are fully involved and engaged in her life. Lovely to see in a YA. I also LOVED the relationship between Josie and her best friend, Stu. Stu is a genius as well and he speaks fluent Josie even though he has a language entirely his own. The rapport between the two of them is perfect and I loved their banter. Seriously, there is some excellent banter between these two. I had a goofy grin on my face while reading them in several places. And I just adored the ending.
Love and Other Foreign Words is a book that really sticks with you. At first I just wrote a quick few word review on Goodreads, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it and felt it deserved the full treatment here on the blog. If you enjoy contemporary YA, this is not to be missed.
nagam's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely loved being in this world and envy the crazy family dynamics and interaction. It made me hope my girls would grow up loving each other so much and made me sentimental for the future days to come when they're going to fight and be jealous and not adjust well to changes. The book has a younger tone and is very innocent. I remember pining after older boys just like what happens here and justifying in my head the age difference and how things could really work out.
kkdemarco's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! It was equally heart-warming, romantic, and humorous (although many of the "funny" parts I actually didn't necessarily laugh because Josie's inner thoughts were so real to me; it was as if I thought them..). This book is definitely reminiscent of Holly Goldberg Sloane's Counting by 7s (Willow grew up!) and Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl (not quite Cath's age yet). Josie's somewhere in between. I especially enjoyed the sister relationships in the book, and found myself forgiving characters at the end who I thought I really disliked throughout the novel. I also liked Josie's "translations"-- how phrases like "shut up" or "love" can mean so many things at any given time in any given situation in any given social circle. Loved the dissection of language! Overall, an enjoyable read.
heyjudy's review against another edition
4.0
~3.5 Stars
(Contains light spoilers.)
This book has one of the most accurate titles I've seen in a while. Josie is extremely smart for her age, is already in college, but she doesn't know what love is. One day, she decides that she needs to understand it. Her sister is engaged to a guy she absolutely refuses to accept, and she can't comprehend why her sister thinks she loves him. So starts her quest to understand love.
Josie goes through a bit of a journey in this book. She starts a relationship with a previous school-dance date, whom likes her a lot, and whom she tries to love back. Then there's her young college professor, who she's convinced she feels love at first sight with. And during all of this, she's fighting with her sister, and her best friend Stu is always there.
I really enjoyed Josie's voice. She's odd, possibly a little autistic, but generally on a different level than everyone else. She can only take so much socialization, she likes things a certain way, and she looks at every interaction with people in a different way. I feel like the real romance took a long time to actually show up, as Josie was so distracted for so long and Stu was just letting her do her thing until she was ready. I also found that really sweet, though, and thought that the ending was really good. The way things wrap up with not only Stu, but also with her sister and her sisters fiance, was really nice. And I really liked her family; they're all very close, and they're always around and doing things together. It was really sweet, but also a lot of fun. The banter was great.
This book was a little slow in its pace, but Josie needed to contemplate and process everything, and she needed to take her time getting to the end. I really enjoyed the characters, though, and it was a lot of fun to read.
(Contains light spoilers.)
This book has one of the most accurate titles I've seen in a while. Josie is extremely smart for her age, is already in college, but she doesn't know what love is. One day, she decides that she needs to understand it. Her sister is engaged to a guy she absolutely refuses to accept, and she can't comprehend why her sister thinks she loves him. So starts her quest to understand love.
Josie goes through a bit of a journey in this book. She starts a relationship with a previous school-dance date, whom likes her a lot, and whom she tries to love back. Then there's her young college professor, who she's convinced she feels love at first sight with. And during all of this, she's fighting with her sister, and her best friend Stu is always there.
I really enjoyed Josie's voice. She's odd, possibly a little autistic, but generally on a different level than everyone else. She can only take so much socialization, she likes things a certain way, and she looks at every interaction with people in a different way. I feel like the real romance took a long time to actually show up, as Josie was so distracted for so long and Stu was just letting her do her thing until she was ready. I also found that really sweet, though, and thought that the ending was really good. The way things wrap up with not only Stu, but also with her sister and her sisters fiance, was really nice. And I really liked her family; they're all very close, and they're always around and doing things together. It was really sweet, but also a lot of fun. The banter was great.
This book was a little slow in its pace, but Josie needed to contemplate and process everything, and she needed to take her time getting to the end. I really enjoyed the characters, though, and it was a lot of fun to read.