Love, Decoded

By: Jennifer Yen

Narrated by: Annie Q

A hilarious, heartfelt rom-com about the unexpected consequences of one teen's quest to help her friends find love, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Jane Austen.

High school junior Gigi Wong strives to be the best. After all, that’s what everyone expects of her—her parents, friends, and even potential colleges. Thankfully, her best friend, Kyle, is always there to listen with a smile and a delicious bowl of ramen. Still, with her future—and her dreams—on the line, how is she to stand out when her classmates seem so perfect too?

Her answer comes in the form of an app writing contest. If Gigi can secure the nomination to represent her school, she has a chance at a prestigious tech internship. That’s sure to get her applications noticed . . . All she needs is a winning entry.

When transfer student and new friend Etta confides that she’s struggling to fit in, it gives Gigi an idea. What if she takes what she’s learned from shadowing her aunt Rose, a professional matchmaker, to create a fun friend-making app? Perfect!

When Gigi's app goes viral at school, she's the center of attention--and a major scandal. She never meant to hurt anyone, let alone Etta and Kyle. Can she save all she worked so hard for and the relationships that mean so much to her?

Critic reviews

"The warmth of friendship and family closeness shine through banter-filled dialogue and the characters’ use of food as a love language, with a touch of romance to round out the end. Effortlessly entertaining." —Kirkus Reviews

"Yen wonderfully mixes the plot of Jane Austen's Emmawith a modern heroine who loves to program. This combination creates an exceptionally blendednovel featuring romance, friendship, and computer programming that young adult readers willenjoy." —Booklist Reviews

Cute Story but Didn’t Like the Narrator

Granted it was one person making the voice for them all, but the drastic changed made the story more comical than serious at certain points. Etta sounded too high pitch and squeaky , which I know is her character but it sounded like much. Plus her talking in Tagalog (which was mispronounced) sounded more Chinese than Filipino. Joey’s voice was sooo deep, it didn’t sound real. Loved the grandma though that was great! I don’t mean to sound harsh everyone starts somewhere!