Despite a Predictable Main Plot, What I Like about You Has Subplots That Shine

Simon & Schuster

Social media has changed the way we connect with the world, especially our relationships with others. I will forever be grateful for the role it has played in allowing me to interact with some of my favorite authors on Twitter, and for giving me a way to communicate with my long-distance boyfriend when we’re not together. Marisa Kanter’s debut novel, What I Like about You, takes a look at how social media can be used as an effective marketing tool and a unifier for book lovers—and how it can take over someone’s life in the worst possible way.

Halle Levitt has risen to internet stardom by running her wildly successful book blog One True Pastry, baking cupcakes to match the books she reviews. Due to her late grandmother being famous in the world of publishing, Halle uses an alias, Kels, to interact with her friends and followers online while remaining separate from that legacy. After moving in with her grandfather for the school year, Halle realizes that her best friend from the internet, Nash, lives in the same town, and she can finally get to know him “IRL.” The only problem is that he only knows her as Kels, and Halle is reluctant to tell him who she really is. This, of course, causes trouble for her down the line.

I think the strongest aspects of this book deal with the lingering grief Halle and her family are still feeling over her grandmother’s passing. Halle’s grandfather has relocated all of her grandmother’s things to boxes in the garage and is triggered when he catches Halle baking cupcakes with his late wife’s cooking utensils. Halle’s relationship with him is not great in the beginning, but after confronting him about her own feelings of loss, they slowly start to reconcile, and while their grief is still present at the end of the book, it’s clear they’ve made progress in coming to terms with their sadness. I was impressed that Kanter tackled this about a third of the way through the book instead of leaving it for the very end, which is what I was expecting. Halle’s grandfather becomes one of her biggest supporters, and I liked that their relationship, while still not perfect, was allowed gradual development.

Kanter also addresses the ongoing issue of YA literature being seen as “less than,” a debate Halle finds herself caught in the middle of when one of her favorite authors admits she doesn’t want her writing to be labeled as young adult. Halle-as-Kels has made it no secret that she loves this author’s work, but she feels conflicted and hurt by the stigma that YA books aren’t considered “real” literature. I admit that I feel self-conscious sometimes when talking about my favorite books because they’re young-adult novels and I don’t want to be judged on my reading preferences, but Kanter makes it clear that the label is not something that should be looked down upon. While hesitant to speak up at first, Halle ultimately decides to share her opinion on her blog: she can still like the author’s books while not condoning her hurtful words.

Unfortunately, while these subplots are well done and interesting, I did not enjoy the main plot. Halle tries to ice out Nash in an attempt to avoid telling him about Kels, but when that proves too difficult, she tries to find the perfect moment to reveal who she is. The problem with this is that there never is a perfect moment, and the predictable Liar Revealed trope plays out much as I was dreading it would. I wanted to give Halle the benefit of the doubt for making such terrible decisions about this, especially because I related to her anxiety and fear of being judged, but with her brother Ollie constantly pointing out how irrational she’s being, it was impossible for me to sympathize. Nash is very clearly in love with Kels, and Halle’s developing crush on Nash doesn’t help matters when the two start dating. I always get second-hand embarrassment when this type of plot is used in stories, but the fact that it was the driving force behind the entire thing made it so much worse for me. It could have been avoided easily, and I would have preferred it if weren’t there at all.

What I Like about You does so many things right, and overall it’s a very sweet YA novel. Aside from her insistence on keeping Nash completely in the dark about her online alias, I liked seeing Halle gain confidence in her work and realize she’s good at what she does. However, it was difficult to focus on the positives when the main plot utilizes a clichéd device that makes me grind my teeth every time I encounter it. The book is worth the read for the portrayal of grief and Halle’s personal arc—but only if you can handle the ticking time bomb that inevitably goes off in the last third of the book.

What I Like about You is out now wherever books are sold.