The Oracle Rebounds by Allison van Diepen

[Kate]

 

This review does contain spoilers!!!

Addition: Review e-book

 

 

Genre: Female, young adult

 

Rating: 4/5

 

Synopsis:

 

As the “oracle of dating,” Kayla is supposed to have all the answers about love and relationships. She’s supposed to have the perfect relationship. But now that Jared is “taking a step back,” Kayla feels like a total fraud.

So the expert on dating starts taking her own rebound advice—and some from her friends—and stops moping around. Yeah, there are other possibilities out there—including the beyond-cute French foreign exchange student she’s showing around town. But when controversy erupts about the Oracle’s advice, Kayla is sent reeling once again. Will anything work out for her this year? Yet when her friends start seriously needing the Oracle, Kayla begins to focus on what really matters: Viv, Sharese, Amy and Ryan, her trueblue buds. And suddenly, everything starts making sense again…

 

This is the sequel to The Oracle of Dating, and I was excited when I saw this book because I really enjoyed the first one. I received this book from netGallery.

 

 

This is a book about a girl called Kayla, who is sixteen and writes a blog all about relationships. She has currently been dating the guy of her dreams, Jared. However, he doesn't get the art scholarship he is desperate for and believes that it is because his focus has been on Kayla and not art. Therefore, he dumps her. The Oracle is now heartbroken, which on the bright side gives her something new to write about. As does the fling she has with the gorgeous French student who comes to stay at her home on an exchange visit. Things are good again until she realises that the fling was just that - two weeks of fun, and when her blog is attacked. Her attentions turn, her life gets hard, and she finally relies on her friends. Her life gets better, her blog gets more hits, and her love life could be turning itself around once more when Jared starts finding reasons to see her again.

 

This book was fairly predictable. The ending did not come as a shock but I was glad that Jared came to his senses and pursued Kayla again - and that she followed her heart and they got back together. I felt sorry for Kayla when out of the blue Jared ended the relationship; and to be honest I wasn't happy with his reason. I really felt for her and her pain. I can't help but like Kayla, although sometimes I found the storyline a little unbelievable. It was a bit too convenient that just after she was dumped her mother organised for a hot French student to come and stay. You could tell that he was only interested in a two week romance but I still found myself feeling sorry for Kayla when again she got dumped.

 

I thought it was interesting that van Diepen chose to write that Kayla's blog faced some harsh criticism. I guess that would be the case if you were to advertise, and I think the way Kayla dealt with the situation was well written. I do find it hard to believe that a teenage girl who had only one boyfriend would be quite so knowledgeable about love and heartbreak - and also that she would be giving out advice to her older sister and her friend - both of whom were in the their twenties. However, none of these criticisms spoilt the book.

 

I liked the characters. Like I said, I found Kayla enchanting and really felt for her when she got her heartbroken. I loved how her friends acted and rallied around her. They seemed realistic and well written. The storyline is easy to follow and it did not take long to read this book. I was entertained and I enjoyed this book a lot. This would be a good comfort read for any female, whether in their teens or not. Although I was not surprised with the outcome, I liked it and I really enjoyed this book. I was hooked, however predictable. This is very readable and I recommend it.