The Dating Debate by Chris Cannon Review

Title: The Dating Debate
Author: Chris Cannon
Publication Date: 2018
Genres: YA, Romance, Contemporary
Number of pages: 242

The Dating Debate follows two teenage perspectives; Nina and West. Nina is an argumentative bookworm and West is the attractive, mysterious boy next door. I was not sure what I would think of this book but let me tell you, I absolutely loved it. Here’s why:

1. Nina was an interesting, yet familiar protagonist: Nina was a likeable character with a love of books and chocolate. She had a good relationship with her mother, brother, dog and best friend. She was a funny, strong and confident female character who was not perfect (she had her insecurities) which was excellent because human beings are not perfect. Additionally, I loved reading the banter between her and West.

2. West seemed like a realistic male character: He was constructed as a three-dimensional character, one who felt constricted by not only his mother’s hoarding mental illness but his father’s behaviour too. He had what seemed like realistic male thoughts and he was a genuinely good person deep down.

3. The book featured a variety of relationships: different familial set-ups, male and female friendships and different romantic relationships.

4. The book featured mental illness: both hoarding, which is not normally represented in books and OCD tendencies.

5. The chapters were short and concise, it did not feel like the book was dragging on and I read it all in one day.

Overall, I cannot really think of anything negative to say, this book was an excellent contemporary and I’m just sad that it is over. Chris Cannon, please write a sequel with these characters, please.

Rating: 5/5 stars

*An advanced copy of this book was kindly sent to me to review, however, all opinions are my own.