"You Started It" by Jackie Khalilieh

Review by jjj000yyy

Thank you to the publisher for providing the advanced reader copy. All opinions are mine and mine alone.

It's such a cute teen romcom taking place in the heart of Downtown Toronto. Being a Toronto native, it was so interesting to read so many iconic landmarks and be able to recognize what the characters were talking about. I was squealing like a kid again reading the story and think this book would be best read for 14 to 15 year olds who want a cute fun romance with some mature topics when it comes to relationships but not going into anything explicit. All the characters are lovable and they feel grounded and real as they aren't just one dimensional and have complexity with some of their own struggles. Ben was a very frustrating character to read but written in a good way where you see it's a lost teenager who doesn't really know how to navigate relationships and life. Also, the main character feels very autistic coded which I have no clue if the author was aiming for that but it was a nice to see. I know the author's other titles includes autistic representation which are pulled from her own experiences which may explain why the main character feels like they could be from that experience as well. Overall, a very cute and fun read.