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Review: Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

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Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

Bingsu for Two
Sujin Witherspoon
Union & Co.
Published January 7, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Bingsu for Two

This outrageously charming and infuriatingly adorable enemies-to-lovers coffee shop romance is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Better Than the Movies.

Meet River Langston-Lee. In the past 24 hours, he’s dumped his girlfriend, walked out of his SATs, and quit his job at his parents’ cafe in spectacularly disastrous fashion—even for him.

Somehow, he manages to talk his way into a gig at a failing Korean cafe, Bingsu for Two, which is his lucky break until he meets short, grumpy, and goth: Sarang Cho. She’s his new no-BS co-worker who’s as determined to make River’s life hell as she is to save her family’s cafe.

After River accidentally uploads a video of his chaotic co-workers to his popular fandom account, they strike viral fame. The kicker? Their new fans ship River and Sarang big-time. In order to keep the Internet’s attention—and the cafe’s new paying customers—River and Sarang must pretend that the tension between them is definitely of the romantic variety, not the considering the best way to kill you and hide your body variety.

But when Bingsu for Two’s newfound success catches the attention of River’s ex and his parents’ cafe around the corner, he faces a choice: keep letting others control his life or stand up for the place that’s become home. And a green-haired girl who’s not as heartless as he originally thought . . .

My Review

In her debut young adult contemporary romance novel, Sujin Witherspoon makes the unorthodox decision to tell the entire story from a boy’s point of view. At first, I wasn’t sure how this would feel, since the more common approach is to either alternate points of view or tell the story from the girl’s perspective, if the story is a M/F romance. In fact, for the first several pages, I wasn’t sure of the gender identity of the main character.

River is a bit of a cinnamon roll character. He reads the room, tries to anticipate problems before they arise to avoid conflict as much as possible. When we get introduced to his family, we learn why this feels like a good strategy to him. It makes sense, and it makes his jump to working at Bingsu for Two, which is the first place where he has the freedom to be himself without his parents or his girlfriend looking over his shoulder, evaluating his choices.

The narrative thoughtfully explores River’s avoidance behavior and how his new job affects him. I liked that the changes in his life happen gradually, sometimes deliberately. At other times, he shifts his behavior in response to the new environment and only realizes on reflection that he likes the new behavior patterns better.

That sounds like a very clinical analysis, but the book has a lot of fun, goofball moments, too. The cast of characters working at Bingsu for Two banter back and forth and mess around the way that friends do in several scenes. I enjoyed seeing the relationships grow and the sweet way that River and Sarang’s relationship develops.

I think readers who enjoy stories with an inclusive cast of characters with fun and a few sparks will definitely enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
River and his family and Sarang and her family are Korean American. Two girls are in a romantic relationship. Two boys were in a romantic relationship. Sarang references having crushes on boys and girls in the past.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs and some profanity used moderately.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
River and Sarang get into a physical altercation in which she dumps a cup of coffee over his head. He retaliates by dumping a bag of coffee beans down her shirt. A boy kisses another boy without consent.

Someone spreads a rumor that a boy harassed a girl online, asking her to send nude photos of herself.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Misdirection of Fault Lines by Anna Gracia

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The Misdirection of Fault Lines
Anna Gracia
Peachtree Teen
Published April 2, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Misdirection of Fault Lines

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants goes to the US Open in an emotionally honest and openhearted novel for fans of Yamile Saied Méndez and Jenny Han.

Three teen girls compete at an elite tennis tournament for a shot at their dreams—if only they knew what their dreams were.

Alice doesn’t belong at the Bastille Invitational Tennis Tournament. She needed a sponsorship to attend. She only has a few wins on the junior circuit. And now, she has no coach. Tennis was a dream she shared with Ba. After his death, her family insisted she compete anyway. But does tennis even fit into her life without him?

Violetta is Bastille’s darling. Social media influencer, coach’s pet, and daughter of a former tennis star who fell from grace. Bastille is her chance to reclaim the future her mother gave up to raise her. But is that the future she wants for herself?

Leylah has to win. After a forced two-year hiatus, Bastille is her last chance to prove professional tennis isn’t just a viable career, it’s what she was built for. She can’t afford distractions. Not in the form of her ex-best friend and especially not by getting DQ-ed for her “attitude” before she even sets foot on the court. If she doesn’t win, what future does she have left?

One week at the Bastille Invitational Tennis Tournament will decide their fates. If only the competition between them stayed on the court.

THE MISDIRECTION OF FAULT LINES is an incisive coming-of-age story infused with wit and wisdom, about three Asian American teen girls who find their ways forward, backward, and in some cases, back to each other again. Anna Gracia, acclaimed author of BOYS I KNOW, delivers with a refreshingly true-to-life teen voice that perfectly captures the messiness, awkwardness, and confusion of adolescence.

My Review

I read and enjoyed Gracia’s debut, BOYS I KNOW, last year, so when I saw this book coming out this year, I knew I needed to read it. I love the frankness in the way this author writes. It makes her characters seem so real.

In this book, the story follows three separate points of view: Alice, Violetta, and Leylah. All three girls have come to the Bastille Invitational Tennis Tournament with different baggage, and they’re not all even sure they want to win. They wind up as roommates and unlikely friends as the competition heats up, and they each face unexpected challenges and truths they weren’t ready to admit.

I am not at all familiar with tennis as a sport, so there were some spots where the jargon went over my head. I don’t understand the points system or some of the rules of the game, so I didn’t always follow what was going on with those elements. However, it didn’t hinder my ability to enjoy the book. If there had been a glossary of sports terms or an explanation of the points system, I would have checked it out, but I wasn’t confused enough even to internet search beyond a couple of things. For the most part, it was fine.

My favorite part was the way the girls’ friendships developed. Because they’re there to compete with one another, they’re not immediately inclined to become friends. In fact, Violetta and Leylah have some unresolved, painful history. But as the girls do get to know one another and realize how lonely they are, they begin to form tenuous connections with one another that could become the kinds of friendships that change lives, if the girls can learn to be vulnerable again.

In some ways, this is a story that wrestles with different kinds of grief. The grief of loneliness, loss, failure, and letting go. It’s also about the triumph of finding true friendship, what it truly means to win, and finally speaking up for yourself.

Fans of sports books and books celebrating friendship need to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The three main characters are Asian American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl.

Some grooming behaviors by an adult male coach toward a teenage girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A couple of people get injured playing or practicing tennis. There are some racist comments or implied racist statements made against the main characters. One character purposefully knocks into two people after the’ve made racist insinuations about another character. One character eats and purges several times. She resists recognizing this as disordered eating.

Drug Content
One character smokes pot a lot. Others do it infrequently. In one scene, a girl gets very high and behaves in ways she feels embarrassed about later.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.