The Oracle of Dating by Allison van Diepen

Kayla considers herself somewhat of an expert on relationships. So what if she’s only been in two, if you could even call them that. She’s learned from her mistakes and the mistakes of others around her, and now she can tell you whether a guy likes you or not, how to get his attention, and much more—for a small fee of five dollars, of course. Though only a couple of people know, Kayla is the Oracle of Dating, somewhat of an online dating advice sensation. But when some of the Oracle’s advice backfires on one of Kayla’s close friends, Kayla starts to doubt her abilities. And then there’s Jared Stewart, who Kayla can’t figure out at all. It seems like the Oracle needs to seek out some advice for herself!

The Oracle of Dating is an adorable story of mostly high school romance. The story is not great in and of itself. The plot is slightly predictable but enjoyable, the characters, while not superbly developed, also are not unrealistic, and the writing is passable. This novel has its merits in other areas. For example, I loved the concept of the Oracle. It was a lot fun to read all of Kayla’s dating and relationship advice. In addition, I thought it was interesting that van Diepen included Kayla’s older sister Tracey’s relationship woes in the story. This really expanded the story, especially by showing that relationship and dating problems are universal. Other than that, there wasn’t anything else about The Oracle of Dating that really stood out to me. The story is entertaining at best but average when compared to other YA novels of this sort.

The Oracle of Dating may be enjoyed by fans of Miss Match by Wendy Toliver and The Espressologist by Kristina Springer.

Rating: 3.0

Review copy from NetGalley