Sandy Rideout

Zahra is a fresh-faced ingenue for the modern world, as she tries to navigate the murky waters of romance and culture clash (her parents are Palestinian and Scottish) while dealing with her parents' separation. When she and her friends learn that they are all dating the same man, they form an impromptu company offering romantic services: matchmaking, counselling--and sweet revenge. "Love" avoids the rote pitfalls of some teen books where "the misunderstanding" nearly destroys the perfect show more couple--indeed, Zahra tries to overcome her trust issues with several different boys, before settling on an unlikely candidate. Her war against her Muslim grandparents (whom she blames for ruining her dad's marriage) is colorful, and rarely realized in teen literature. show less

Zahra's stuck between splitting parents. That's bad enough, but her Pakistani grandparents have arrived for an extended stay and are driving her crazy as they turn her mom into some sort of squishy religious stranger. To add insult to injury, she's been sentenced to group therapy because her estranged parents can't communicate with her and think that therapy will fix, by proxy, the mess they created and can't deal with.
The group is a mix of boys and girls, all of whom have unstable and/or show more divorcing parents.
There's cynicism aplenty and at first, very little mutual support. When Zahra, Kali and Syd all realize they've been dating the same guy, they suddenly have a target to focus all their anger and frustration. Eric, aka Rico, aka Rick loves his fancy rebuilt car, so the girls hatch a plot to trash and befoul Miss Daisy as he calls his ride. Their scheme is not only well done, but the description as they complete it is funny as heck.
Word gets around and it isn't long before the three girls realize there's plenty of money to be made exacting revenge for other kids, but why stop there. It doesn't take long for them to start taking on spying assignments for other teens who suspect their significant other is cheating on them. It's just a skip and a hop from this to facilitating breakups and finding the perfect match for teens floundering in the dating pool.
Too bad Zahra can't find her own hottie, even though a perfect match is right under her nose. Toss in more and more stress from her grandparents, worry over what's happening to her younger sister, some jobs that go too well and a few that go bad, plus a dog in desperate need of a pacemaker and you have one great read. Teens who like a smart, sassy and funny romance will eat this book up in a couple sessions. It's definitely one to add to any library that likes to provide teens with good reading material. show less

Imagine finding out that your boyfriend, Rico, not only has one other girlfriend - but two. Syd is dating “Eric”, Kali goes out with “Rick" but in the end, they are all Zahra's Rico. What I found funny about the whole thing was how eclectic Rico's tastes were. Each girl was the total opposite of each other, yet somehow they strike a friendship and create Love, Inc.

I think the Collins / Rideout team did a fabulous job in Zahra (our narrator). She's down to earth, smart, funny and her show more friends Syd and Kali are just as likeable. The way they handle their peers' love troubles are witty and clever and more than once had me laughing out loud. Aside from the lighter feel to the story, there were also some serious topics that were touched upon like growing up with divorced parents, the importance of friendships, accepting oneself, etc.

All in all, this was a very charming, fun and satisfying read. show less

Mim is a single mother, raising a teenage son, working as a nurse in the local hospital, and also as a visiting nurse to earn some extra money. Mim and her son Kyle have a dog, George, from a local breeder of 'doodles, her friend Arianna, or Ari. Dorset Hills, a.k.a. "Dog Town," is a wonderful place for dog lovers to live--or should be. The local government is very into promoting it as a tourist destination; that's part of why they promote the "Dog Town" image. However, they also promote the show more town for Christmas, and have very strict guidelines for decorations that can be seen from the street, anywhere, under any circumstances. And they don't like negative news.

When George is stolen from Mim's back yard, the police initially have no desire to take it seriously, at all. They insist that George most likely just "wandered off"--out of a yard with a substantial fence and a locked gate. And having wandered off, he'll wander back, right? They really don't want a "dog stolen in Dog Town" story breaking right before Christmas, and it's at this point that I start to wonder how much Dog Town really loves dogs.

The evidence of a man's dropped glove, and footprints too large to be either Mim's or Kyle's, sways them not at all. Mim, Kyle, and Ari are on their own, looking for George.

Or, they're on their own until Ari starts rousing the neighbors, and then calls in the "rescue Mafia,", a group of women who, in addition to one of them running the local shelter, are experienced and skilled at tracking lost dogs. Meanwhile, Mim is finding out that her beloved but largely untrained George has fewer fans in the area than she thought. In fact, a few people really seriously object to his barking and his tendency to express his friendliness by jumping on people. One of those people, her very handsome neighbor over the back fence, Carver, really seriously dislikes George.

When more evidence starts to accumulate, though, that something is seriously wrong with George's disappearance, Mim starts to get more support--even as one of her home nursing clients first persistently flirts with her, and then accuses her of leading him on, while another bitterly objects to her insistence on giving him the shots his doctor has prescribed.

When someone breaks into her house and steals George's things a long with some of her underwear, and other creep events start happening, things go from stressful to terrifying. Along the way, Mim starts to get to know more of her neighbors, and things she never suspected about Dog Town.

The story has its weaknesses, but it's light, fun reading, and no, George isn't the only dog whose antics we get to enjoy.

I bought this book. show less