How to Speak Boy is definitely what I've been craving in YA contemporary! Pure fun. Pure entertainment. Pure hate-to-love excellence. (Also, shout out to blogger for letting me schedule posts BUT NOT ACTUALLY POSTING THEM WHEN THEY WERE ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED?)


Quinn and Grayson have been fierce speech and debate rivals for years. They can't stand one another, either in competition or in real life.

But when their AP Government teacher returns their school assignments to the wrong cubbies, they begin exchanging anonymous notes without knowing who the other is.

Despite their differences, the two come together through their letters and find themselves unknowingly falling for the competition. Before the state tournament, the two of them need to figure out what they want out of life, or risk their own future happiness. After all, what’s the point of speech and debate if you can't say what's in your heart?


As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.

How to Speak Boy was such a wonderfully sweet surprise. The kind of surprise that I didn't know I needed in my reading life. The kind of surprise that will keep you up all night, smiling. The kind of book that sets you down a path of warm and fuzzies. The kind of book that gives you all the feels and reminds you why you read to begin with.

The first thing you should know is, Tiana Smith had me at the synopsis. No, really, the entire blurb may as well have read in bold print, "This book was written for Jessica over at Booked J. Shout out to Jessica. You go, Jessica." (To be fair, if it had started that way... none of us would be reading it, BUT, like, c'mon. It's perfect.)

I mean, the simple fact alone that this centers around two speech/debate RIVALS and anonymous note passing, should give you enough of an energy boost to pick this one up, right? Go on, pick up your phone and order yourself a copy. I was wondering what contemporary would fit into the Well Met shaped whole in my heart and here we have it: How to Speak Boy.

Give me all the banter and anonymity and coming of age angst. Give me all the bubbling feelings of youthful love and annoyance. Inject it into my veins. Or, ah, at the very least, get a screen projector and project it on my ceiling or something. There's such charm in How to Speak Boy but I think this is because I find determination, competitiveness and all that jazz to be charming in and of itself. There's a reason I love love-to-hate based relationships so much and that's because of the amount of growth it takes to get to that place of understanding sometimes life is more than just one upping each other.

(I say this from experience and also sappiness. And maybe a little exhaustion because your girl just doesn't sleep enough, apparently.)

All I know is that Tiana Smith pens a charming coming of age story. It is well-written, fast paced, smiling inducing fun. You won't want to put this one down because it's virtually impossible to do so without longing to pick it back up. Curling up in the chill of winter, surrounded by lights and a warm blanket, is always a good idea, but spending it with characters like Quinn and Grayson make it even better. How to Speak Boy is purely sweet and entertaining.

Side Note: I read this little gem of a novel so quickly. I'm pretty sure my dogs loved it too because it meant I wasn't moving for hours. And they love it when I sit still. And I don't sit still for just anything.