Vicki Grant

Inspired by the real psychology study popularized by the New York Times and its "Modern Love" column, this contemporary YA is perfect for fans of Eleanor and Park. Two random strangers. Two secrets. Thirty-six questions to make them fall in love. Hildy and Paul each have their own reasons for joining the university psychology study that asks the simple question: Can love be engineered? The study consists of 36 questions, ranging from "What is your most terrible memory?" to "When did you last sing to yourself?" By the time Hildy and Paul have made it to the end of the questionnaire, they've laughed and cried and lied and thrown things and run away and come back and driven each other almost crazy. They've also each discovered the painful secret the other was trying so hard to hide. But have they fallen in love? Told in the language of modern romance--texting, Q&A, IM--and punctuated by Paul's sketches, this clever high-concept YA is full of humor and heart. As soon as you've finished reading, you'll be searching for your own stranger to ask the 36 questions. Maybe you'll even fall in love.

36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You

Sophie Elaina 

This book was very interesting, especially in terms of the concept. To think just answering a few questions could lead to a proper relationship and completely change what you think about a person is almost unthinkable. But the progression of the book really showed how feelings can just pop up out of the blue and how certain interactions can lead to more.

The book mainly follows Hildy and Paul, when they both decide to take part in a university psychology study, in which the main focus is to see whether love can be engineered. Both of them have completely different reasons to why they agree to answer questions and join the study; Hildy actually knowing what the study is about and deciding to push herself out of her comfort zone and Paul only focused on the $40 he will make after taking part. However they are then paired together to answer the 36 questions. 

This was much more exciting and funny than I thought it would be. To be honest I was expecting a fluffy, only partially believable romance with not much depth but I didn't get that at all. It was interestingly different in terms of the way it is written, both in terms of the points of perspective and the structure in which the book is written. There was a lot of depth to the characters separately and they definitely stood apart from characters in other books. Often its hard to find authors whose protagonists really bring something different to the table but more recently I have been surprised by the character development and the progression of the romantic relationships in the contemporary genre. This book was no exception to that. 

I found Hildy very relatable and the author really did a great job painting a picture of her life without blurting everything out at the beginning of the book. Information was slowly uncovered throughout and I think that it worked well. That said, I did have a problem with certain family relationships not being explored more. I feel as though it could have added a lot of depth to the story and possibly given the plot what it was lacking and even upped it to a five star read. My main problem with the book was that it was too short. Some things only scratched the surface and I wanted to dive into that drama. I needed more interactions between Hildy and her family and friends. We didn't really get to see how everything was resolved. However I do give praise to the ending. I very much enjoyed the way it came to a close and it really made me smile.

Back to the writing. The way in which it is written is a little jarring and took a bit to get used to in the beginning, however I don't feel like that was a bad thing; because I quickly got used to it and it was a great reading experience. I loved the humour, some of the dialog was really hilarious, I was in a literal fit of giggles at one point. I just couldn't believe the author had actually written some of the things she had. It was unfiltered, yet not too much so and the innuendos were fabulous.

I however do wish we could have got more from the psychologist Jeff's perpective, perhaps after the end of the study, it would have been interesting to read. Although at the same time I feel like if we had, it would have made the relationship in which the protagonists had built seem a little less real and kind of cheep so I think I am kind of glad we didn't at the same time. 

Overall I thought the format was pretty weird however I really liked it at the same time and found it really quick to read. I enjoyed the way the idea was executed. The plot was very fast moving and the characters were well fleshed out, which made the progression of the relationship very exciting to read. It was a very enjoyable read and would definitely recommend picking it up and giving it a go.

Thank you to Running Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Aleeya Metro

celene

Ana Hein

36 questions guaranteed to make two strangers fall head over heels in love with each other? What's not to like. A clever, wry, funny, rom-com for fans of The Rosie Project.

36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You

Reviews