Description:
When it comes to matters of the heart, Joy Cooper is beginning to believe she's cursed. After participating in the Match Quiz, a personality test that pairs students up with members of the opposite sex, Joy is disgusted to discover she's too shy to call most of the matches on her list. To make matters worse, Joy's outgoing friend Maple finds her soul mate with the very first phone call. Joy's salvation appears in the unlikely form of her great-uncle Max. Uncle Max, who has moved in with Joy's family temporarily, is a born matchmaker, and before Joy knows it he has taken control, brokering dates left and right--some tolerable and some terrible. When Joy protests, Uncle Max says, "It's just my nature... I'm what they call a facilitator... I'm used to being the guy who makes things happen." Nevertheless, Joy isn't too thrilled with her uncle's efforts, so she decides to make her own match--between Max and Rose Naussbaum, a widow who lives in his building. Soon, the race is on to see who will find love first, making for a hilarious, romantic ride to the finish line in which everyone ends up winning. Like her fellow young adult author Joan Bauer, Lucy Frank is adept at showing the lighter side of sensitive issues--like self-esteem and first love--while still maintaining a deep respect for young people and their feelings. Teens who delight in Joy's rocky road to love will also enjoy reading about the adventures of Frank's other quirky heroine, Sarah, whose adventures are chronicled in I Am an Artichoke and Will You Be My Brussels Sprout? (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert
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