Sunday 12 January 2020

Lucky Caller by Emma Mills

Nothing is easy in this teen romcom featuring radio shows, real and fake celebrities and childhood friends turned strangers. (MINOR SPOILER IN THE REVIEW)

Nina's life is pretty complicated. Her mother is marrying her boyfriend, her father hasn't been around in a while, and she's just been put in a group with the boy she grew up with but hasn't talked to in years for a school project. The project is to run the school radio station for a couple of hours a week, which should be easy; her absent father is a relatively well known DJ. Unfortunately, though, their DJ can't vamp, the equipment malfunctions, and interpersonal tensions rear their heads. The group will have to pull together to save their grade, and maybe in doing so Nina can sort out the rest of her life.

I'm not really a romcom kind of person. I like them well enough, nothing wrong with them, but I don't usually feel the need to hurry and find out what's going to happen next. This one, I desperately didn't want to put down. Something about the tone, the banter, the family dynamics - I don't know. I just know I loved it and I'll be watching eagerly for more by Emma Mills.

My only very small complaint is a hurried spot near the ending. Nina's sister is in a musical, and there's a couple of pages where everyone is going, and sitting down, ready to watch. Two lines later it's over and everyone's praising the amazing performance. I'd have liked to have seen the performance, or at least part of it. But that's the only problem I had.

If you're looking for a nice, light romcom that still deals with some serious topics, you can't do better than this one.




When Nina decides to take a radio broadcasting class her senior year, she expects it to be a walk in the park. Instead, it’s a complete disaster.

The members of Nina's haphazardly formed radio team have approximately nothing in common. And to maximize the awkwardness her group includes Jamie, a childhood friend she'd hoped to basically avoid for the rest of her life.

The show is a mess, internet rumors threaten to bring the wrath of two fandoms down on their heads, and to top it all off Nina's family is on the brink of some major upheaval.

Everything feels like it's spiraling out of control―but maybe control is overrated?

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