Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall

Published by Pan Macmillan on October 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, General, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Goodreads


Click here to buy the book from Amazon •Booktopia • Book Depository • Angus and Robertson

Jane, a superstitious fangirl, takes an anonymous babysitting job to avoid an unpaid internship with her college-obsessed mom. The only problem? She’s babysitting the siblings of her childhood friend and new crush, Teo.

Teo doesn’t dislike Jane, but his best friend Ravi hates her, and is determined to keep them apart. So Teo’s pretty sure his plans for a peaceful summer are shot. His only hope is that his intermittent search for his birth father will finally pan out and he’ll find a new, less awkward home. Meanwhile, at Jane’s house, her sister Margo wants to come out as bisexual, but she’s terrified of how her parents will react.

In a summer filled with secrets and questions, even Jane’s Magic 8 ball can’t give them clear answers, but Signs Point to Yes.

Signs Point to Yes is a book about Jane, a fangirl who would rather spend her summer writing about The Doctor and Jo March (I never even knew Doctor Who/Little Women fanfiction existed!) than spend time in the real world. When given the choice between an unpaid internship working for her mother or getting a job, Jane chooses babysitting for three rambunctious little girls next door. Complications arise when Jane finds herself having complicated feelings for her charges’ older brother, Teo. Teo has problems of his own. His best friend Ravi can’t stand Jane and makes things on the home front uncomfortable. Relationships at home a further strained by Teo feeling his stepfather is overstepping his bounds. When Ravi has to go overseas for the summer, Jane and Teo find themselves getting closer. With their families causing all sorts of drama and their feelings getting more complex by the moment, Jane turns to her trusty magic eight ball for the answers.

The relationships in this book are wonderfully complicated. Jane has an awkward bond with her parents and her associations with her older sister are strained at best. Teo feels out of place at home. Neither feel they really belong in their families and have very different ways of dealing with it. When Jane finds out Teo is searching for his bio-dad, she tries to help him the best way she knows how.

I think if I were to describe this book in a single world it would be adorkable. Jane is just awkward, nerdy and cute for lack of a better word. She’s in touch with her fandoms but so out of place in her own life. I loved the way she would interact with those she would come in contact with and how she grows throughout the book. The way Jane and Margo (Jane’s sister) interacted was nice too. So often you see sisters portrayed as either best friends or worst enemies and I liked that Jane and Margo fell somewhere in between which I think is true for so many sister relationships.

And then there’s Teo. He’s one of those characters I would consider to be a book boyfriend. The way his relationship with Jane grew over the course of the novel was beautiful. There was fluff and romance and also conflict and complication. It was lovely to read.

The action is fun with these characters not always doing what is expected but acting in a way which felt true to who they were. There’s action and adventure as well as self-discovery.

Signs Point to Yes is an adorable read about decisions, love and responsibility – and a good example of why people should never use magic 8 balls when it comes to life’s messy decisions.

Signs Point to Yes in less than ten words: Adorable, funny, sweet, and just a little dorky.