As far back as he can remember, Chance has been “caught between genders.” (It’s quite a touchy subject; so don’t ask him about it.) However, he does not question his sexual orientation. Chance has no doubt about his gayness—he is very much out of the closet at his rural New Hampshire high school, where the other students avoid the kid they refer to as “girl-boy.”
But at the local Harvest Moon Festival, when Chance, the Pumpkin Pageant Queen, meets Jasper Donahue, the Pumpkin Carving King, sparks fly. So Chance sets out, with the help of his BFF, Emily, to make “Jazz” Donahue his man.
An article in an online women’s magazine, Ten Scientifically Proven Ways to Make a Man Fall in Love with You (with a bonus love spell thrown in for good measure), becomes the basis of their strategy to capture Jazz’s heart.
Quirky, comical, definitely flamboyant, and with an inner core of poignancy, Love Spell celebrates the diversity of a gender-fluid teen.
Love Spell is a super fun, young adult novel with a great message.
Chance can't help but be himself. He's bullied and tortured for it, but he still puts himself out there regardless of the ridicule. I have to just love and admire him for all his strength. Lord knows, I would not be that brave.
During the Harvest Moon Festival he meets Jasper. A cute boy he's never noticed before (*gasp*). He also notices that the interest is reciprocated. Jasper's got his eye on Chance and Chance is going to make sure he gets the guy.
With the help of his best friend, Chance finds a list of ways to make a man fall in love with you from a women's magazine. He uses this as his guide to getting Jasper. There's all kinds of silly advice in this list that leads to some humorous situations. It was cute and funny, but I was exhausted with Chance by the end.
No, I was exhausted with him by the middle.
The book was told in a very personable, first person style from Chance's POV. There were hashtags, abbreviated words and made up words all over the place. Yes, he's a teenager and the tone was set, but it was too much. All of that mixed in with the silly schemes to win Jasper over... it felt overdone.
But Jasper? Oh, I loved Jasper. He was honest, down to earth and sweet. He was caring and selfless. I wish Chance would have woken up sooner so they could have had more couple time.
But amongst the quirky storyline there was a really solid and positive message. Mia does this so well. She intertwines these fun stories with serious issues that, I think, really speak to readers. Chance is uncertain of his gender. He doesn't fit into any particular label, and he wants a label so badly. He doesn't care what the label is in particular, just that he wants one. He wants to fit somewhere. I love how this was portrayed and how it was written into the book.
Very sweet and cute romance between Chance and Jasper, with an important and timely message.
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