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5th out of 37 books
—
9 voters
The Girl Who Invented Romance
How can a girl have fun with a game if she's only watching from the sidelines? That's what sixteen-year-old Kelly Williams wonders when her best friend, Faith, complains that it's time to stop pretending and find real romance. As Kelly sees her friends, her older brother and even her parents knowingly and unknowingly play at romance, she decides to create a real game - a b...more
Paperback, Updated Edition, Book and Game, 182 pages
Published
December 28th 2004
by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
(first published March 1st 1988)
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Dec 29, 2009
Lucy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Pre-teen or early teen girls
Shelves:
pink-books
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Though it was hard to really get into, this was a really cute book. The characters were all diverse and enjoyable, the plots and issues flowed together really well, and the humor will have you giggling on every page.
I like how nothing ended up how it started. Towards the beginning, there was a lot of foreshadowing when it came to the relationship of certain characters, but it switches up and for that, I was very thankful. There isn’t too much to the plot, so you end up depending on the character...more
I like how nothing ended up how it started. Towards the beginning, there was a lot of foreshadowing when it came to the relationship of certain characters, but it switches up and for that, I was very thankful. There isn’t too much to the plot, so you end up depending on the character...more
Plot Summary
Kelly Williams is a young girl who is looking for love in her life. She goes to school with a lot of students who fit in many categories such as Jocks, Popular, Nerds, etc., etc. She lives with her parents who have a great relationship, along with her brother. Kelly's sociology teacher assigned each class member to create some question that they could get a statistic. They could chose any topic. This works great for Kelly because is tired of being alone and decides to create the "Rom...more
Kelly Williams is a young girl who is looking for love in her life. She goes to school with a lot of students who fit in many categories such as Jocks, Popular, Nerds, etc., etc. She lives with her parents who have a great relationship, along with her brother. Kelly's sociology teacher assigned each class member to create some question that they could get a statistic. They could chose any topic. This works great for Kelly because is tired of being alone and decides to create the "Rom...more
Honestly, I thought the book itself was ok, but I felt the main character learned nothing throughout the entire book. She was really all about falling in love and she seriously didnt care who fell in love with her as long as they loved her. I was a bit shocked at how naive and ignorant this character was and was so hoping that she would learn something or grow as a character, but she most certainly did not learn anything. Of course the book IS about Romance and not love, but I was still dissapoi...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I think this book is fantastic. From the very beginning, I thought it was very interesting. The book was a very easy read. I would recommend this to all my friends. Okay, so Kelly is tired of watching everyone in her life experience romance. She wants some of her own, so she invents a romance game. They start out by picking guys from their sociology class by random. As the book progresses, Kelly discovers that romance can't always be a fairytale and that not everyone reaches "Happily Ever After"...more
This was a really cute read. I was looking for books for my teen daughter (thanks for the recommendation, Sheila!) and read this before handing it over. I expected mostly fluff - which there was some of - but it also had some unexpected depth. It got me thinking about the difference between love and romance and how much of one is in the other. I love a book that has me still thinking about things the next day! It also made me giggle out loud, and that is always a big plus!
OK, so before you look at my star rating and think I'm silly (well I am), let me explain. I currently still have Norma's copy of this book that I read at least 15 years ago if not more (I just felt really old saying that...) and loved. Obviously a YA novel, geared towards the fairer sex, about a girl who invents a board game and calls it Romance. What other name would be so perfect? Very cute, very fun, and I still pick it up every once in a while. :)
Apr 15, 2012
Mandi Ellsworth
added it
This is a short story about a girl who can't get any guy interested in her, and therefore is very interested in romance in all its aspects. The characters are cute. The story is cute. The game is cute. It doesn't take long to read, but a lot of the narrative is taken up by the details of the "game of romance" as it's being created. I just wasn't terribly interested in the details of the game. I wanted her to get back to the story.
Not my favorite romance book. It was not interesting and it was not fun. It was hard to relate to because it seemed that what was happening in her novel was unlikely in real life. I would not recommend this book to boys for sure, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone...
Very cute idea for a book. A girl in highschool does a sociology project on a board-game she invents to try and stimulate a dating life for herself. A quick read, clean, no steamy/intense scenes. Great for younger readers and adults who just want a little break for romance.
this book was amazing well in my opinion. the author really seemed to grasp the truth about how some girls feel and this book shows that in life there are happy endings only that we have make them happen.
Dec 15, 2012
Szimoneta Malomsoky
is currently reading it
i think the book is awsome !!!!! i need to finish my book report on this book by monday so i have to read it in 2 days and om the 14 pg yet soo yee i like it soo far :D :D
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I absolutely loved this book. It all ties in together and had me laughing and hurting with Kelly the entire way through. And yes, at 16 I was just as desperate.
Came across this when I was looking for something else and was intrigued by the title. The reviews on this site mostly say it's a cute, fun read.
This was one of the best books I've read in a while. I read it last summer. Its about how Kelly makes a board game about ROMANCE.
Jun 07, 2009
Catherine Mustread
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens
Sixteen-year-old Kelly invents a board game called Romance based on her observations while waiting for her own romance. Grades 4+
Just goes to show...can't remember them all! I'll always be grateful I kept a handwritten list before the internet came along.
A fun and interesting story about the difference between romance and love as revealed through a social studies project.
The book was okay. But my favourite part of this book as a kid was playing Romance with my friends at sleepovers.
i really love this book really cute and the fun part was the game in the back of the book
I actually read this 4 years ago. I don't even remember it...
I l loved that book!!!!!!!! i read it in like 5 days!
Jun 01, 2013
Sharkbelly112
added it
It was a cute book, prefect for young teenagers.
It was very fast and I really enjoyed it.
LOVED> LOVED < LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Must read!
the end was cut too short
Nice easy fun book.
Light and fluffy.
Part of my young adult fiction kick. This was one of my favorite books when I was in middle/high school. The plot follows a junior, Kelly, who is obsessed with romance -- her parents' relationship, her brother's relationship, and her lack of relationship. I rooted for Kelly throughout her journey towards figuring it out and getting her very first boyfriend. The author captures teenage girls' hopes, fears, and dreams perfectly, which makes for a very relatable book!
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Caroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with rem...more
More about Caroline B. Cooney...
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with rem...more
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“I wonder why we always deny love. I remember in middle school, if you were accused of the crime of loving, you screamed denials constantly and stopped ever even looking at the boy you were accused of liking. The boys could destroy each other by yodeling, "An-drew lo-oves Jen-nie," and both Andrew and Jennie would flinch and blush. Love is this great thing that most songs and books and poems and lives are all about. So the minute we actually think there might be love around, we start laughing and pretending and hiding from it.”
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