After Reading: 25 ROSES by Stephanie Faris

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

Mia moves from the shadows to the spotlight when her matchmaking plans go awry in this contemporary M!X novel from the author of 30 Days of No Gossip.

Mia is used to feeling overlooked: her perfect older sister gets all the attention at home, and the popular clique at school are basically experts at ignoring her. So when it’s time for the annual Student Council chocolate rose sale, Mia is prepared to feel even worse. Because even though anyone can buy and send roses to their crushes and friends, the same (popular) people always end up with roses while everyone else gets left out.

Except a twist of fate puts Mia in charge of selling the roses this year—and that means things are going to change. With a little creativity, Mia makes sure the kids who usually leave empty-handed suddenly find themselves the object of someone’s affection. But her scheme starts to unravel when she realizes that being a secret matchmaker isn’t easy—and neither is being in the spotlight. (Goodreads)

Stephanie is an awesome blogger and I was so excited to win a copy of this! I haven't read a tween novel is way, way too long and loved the sweetness of it. Mia is incredibly identifiable, especially in how she thinks about sending roses to those who don't normally get them. I could completely understand her motivation, and panic at getting in over her head. And after being one of those people who never got a rose/carnation/candy or whatever else they sold in middle and high school, it made total sense to me what she did. It am also so grateful to no longer be in middle school and dealing with that kind of drama ;) The cast of characters were great and felt incredibly authentic, and the little bit of romance was just adorable. I also enjoyed Mia's family and older sister--I liked that they were normal and even if her sister was popular, she wasn't mean to Mia. Bratty older sibs is something that I see a little too often and a healthy sibling relationship was refreshing. Overall, this was a quick and very fun read and I loved it!