A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker

[description from goodreads]

When the principal announces that every senior must participate in a mandatory year-long Marriage Education program, Fiona Sheehan believes that her life can’t get any worse. Then she marries her “husband”: Jerky jock Todd, whose cheerleader girlfriend, Amanda, has had it in for Fiona since day one of second grade. Even worse? Amanda is paired with Fiona’s long-term crush, Gabe. At least Fiona is doing better than her best friend, Marcie, who is paired up with the very quiet, very mysterious Johnny Mercer. Pranks, fights, misunderstandings, and reconciliations ensue in an almost Shakespearean comedy of errors about mistaken first impressions, convoluted coupling, and hidden crushes.

Review:

I'm honestly surprised that this is the first book I've read that includes the fake-marriage plot. It seems like there are a bunch of TV episodes and movies where this idea is included, and yet I can't name any other books it shows up in. And really, I hope it doesn't show up in any other books because they probably wouldn't top A Match Made in High School.

This book reminds me more of teen movies (think Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller, etc) in that it's a bit over the top, there's some predictable moments, but it's still sweet, hilarious, and very entertaining. I loved that the school announces the new program early on in the book because it allowed no time to be wasted in getting to the really good stuff. Once the kids are "married" there's non-stop action in the form of pranks, fights, and all sorts of other craziness. There's never a dull moment, and I always wanted to know what silly things were going to happen next, even if some of them seemed a bit unbelievable.

A Match Made in High School also reminds me of favorite teen movies because it has a big cast of seemingly cliche characters, but as the book goes on things are revealed about them that make them seem much less stereotypical. Todd is not only a jock, Amanda is not just a mean cheerleader, Marcie is not only a supportive best friend, Gabe is not just the perfect guy, and Johnny is not just the quiet weirdo. As the fake-marriage thing gets worse, more is revealed about what these characters are really like, making them much more three-dimensional than anticipated. (Plus, their secrets make for some very interesting plot twists.) Similarly, Fiona, our slightly obnoxious heroine, becomes much more developed as the book goes on. At first she seems like the not-really-a-loser who I should root for, but when she got more annoying and oblivious, it showed that she wasn't just the person I should feel sorry for.

A Match Made in High School is a non-stop fun, hilarious read, and I can't wait for more books from Kristin, because if her future books are even half as good as this one, they are still sure to be awesome.

Book details: Razorbill/Paperback/$9.99

Links: Kristin's website, blog, and twitter. (: