You Were Made For Me Review: When Your Perfect Guy Comes to Life

August 6, 2020 by Jenna | 3 stars, Books, Reviews

You Were Made For Me Review: When Your Perfect Guy Comes to LifeYou Were Made For Me by Jenna Guillaume
Published by Pan Australia on August 11, 2020
Source: Publisher
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Amazon | Book Depository | Publisher | Angus & Robertson | Booktopia
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The day I created a boy started out like any other.
Katie didn't mean to create a boy. A boy like a long-lost Hemsworth brother: six-foot tall with floppy hair and eyes like the sky on a clear summer's day; whose lips taste like cookie-dough and whose skin smells like springtime.
A boy who is completely devoted to Katie.
He was meant to be perfect.
But he was never meant to exist.
Praise for What I Like About Me
'Funny and heartfelt. I loved it.' Melina Marchetta
'Teens are going to LOVE this book. Such a sweet coming of age tale.' Clementine Ford, bestselling author of Fight Like a Girl
'Heartfelt and unexpectedly deep under its sparkling exterior, this novel features an authentic teen voice, a diverse cast of genuinely likeable characters, a distinctly (and refreshingly) Australian ambience, and a charming protagonist.'

I really enjoyed Jenna Guillaume’s debut novel What I Like About Me last year and was extremely excited to read You Were Made For Me, especially because the premise is straight up my alley. I’m sure we all had an idea of who our perfect guy/girl/person was growing up, but have never thought about what would happen if they actually came to life. You Were Made For Me explores exactly this in a really fun way!

Katie has always wanted her first kiss to be perfect and she knows exactly who her perfect guy is. She just never imagined that the little clay sculpture she created, along with a few drops of her friend Libby’s pretend “potion/formula”, would create an actual person who suddenly appears in her bed the same night. Now that Katie’s got her real life perfect guy who only has eyes for her, she begins to question if perfection is what she really wants.

I’ll have to admit that I had a little bit of a hard time with the first half of this book, and ultimately had really mixed feelings about the novel. It took me a little while to get used to the format of the book since it was written sort of as a manuscript that included both Katie and Libby’s commentary/narration throughout. It made it super fun to read and would be the kind of thing that other readers might love, but it didn’t really work for me. I felt like it disrupted the flow of the book a bit because it allowed the narrators to pick and choose what they wanted the reader to know and it just wasn’t for me – though it did make the reading experience really light and easy. It’s easily a book that you can binge in one or two sittings.

The plot of the book was really fun and relaxed and didn’t really focus too much on the details, which I simultaneously liked and disliked. I really enjoyed that it didn’t take itself too seriously and the themes and messages in the book were around growth and figuring out who you are when you’re a teen, rather than trying to explain all the mechanics around this weird magical thing that has happened. At the same time, it bothered me a bit that there really was no explanation for why an imaginary guy has shown up from out of nowhere and what happens to him afterwards? Maybe it’s just the scientist in me, but I just kind of had a hard time not knowing… which I know takes the fun out of it but I can’t help myself! The plot in general was quite predictable but I think with this kind of story and concept it’s supposed to be tropey, so I didn’t mind it. I was just left a little disappointed with some aspects of the story that weren’t explained properly, including why the school bully was such a bully and the motivations behind everything that happened.

I loved the exploration of family and friendship in the novel and really enjoyed Libby and Theo as side characters. Theo, especially, was the perfect example of a non-toxic relationship that was full of support and love. I didn’t love everything that went down between Katie and Libby because I’m a little over the trope where a character abandons their friends once they enter into a relationship, but I liked how it was resolved in the end. Katie’s family played a decently sized role in the novel and I also love when YA characters actually have families, but it was slightly weird and uncomfortable that Katie was still able to hide an entire real life guy from them for a really long time. It’s just something that I can’t wrap my head around but I loved the relationship that Katie had with her family members, especially her mum.

Overall, You Were Made For Me was an extremely fun and light novel. I’m on the fence about a few things but this is a book that I can see a lot of people enjoying, especially for those who are looking for a quick and uplifting read.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia for sending a review copy of the book.

You Were Made For Me is available on 11th August at Australian retailers for $17.99 RRP.

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Jenna is an Aussie blogger and reader who loves to indulge in great books and great food. She is a doctor (of philosophy) and can usually be found fangirling about something, devouring delicious food, or taking a nap. You can find her on Twitter @readwithjenna and on Instagram @readingwithjenna.

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3 responses to “You Were Made For Me Review: When Your Perfect Guy Comes to Life

  1. Bec

    This concept sounds like so much fun! But now I’m hesitating because the abandoning friends once they get into a relationship is a really big pet peeve of mine. It’s such a rude thing to do.

    Shame you didn’t enjoy it as much as you hoped but I’m glad it was fun at least!

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