Words on Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan

Contemporary romance
Mar 3, 2015
2 min read

Josie is a genius. She has a staggering IQ, and even though she's only a junior at her high school, she's also taking classes at the local college, alongside her best friend, Stu. However, for all her skills, one thing continues to evade Josie: love.

Josie loves languages. Not just things like French, Spanish, Greek, etc., but also the ones that aren't as obvious. For example, the language of different people. Someone's personal language can be hard to understand. There's more to understanding Josie than speaking English. You also have to learn the language of Josie.

Is that to hard to understand? Sorry. Um... Okay, so it's like saying I speak Shady and Suzie speaks Suzie. It's kind of hard to explain.

Anyways, Josie has no experience of the language Love, and it shows. She can't understand what her sister sees in the man she's determined to marry. Josie doesn't get what her friends on the high school volleyball team see in their boyfriends. Josie doesn't know how to act when she does get a boyfriend, or when her friend confesses his love for her. Even Ethan, one of the only people Josie feels like she can really relate to, seems out of her reach. Josie is determined to stop her sister from getting married, convinced it will be a huge mistake. But how can she avert a crisis if she doesn't know how to speak the language that the happy couple does?

I liked Josie as a main character. I feel like this was a book where the fact that it was in 1st person was crucial, because without seeing the inside of Josie's head and how she thinks, I think it would be hard to understand her. She's smart, of course, but also relatable and quirky as the girl who has absolutely no experience in relationships, let alone love.

Josie's family was also really sweet. I liked Josie's father the most, I think. He's a psychologist, so he not only uses Josie sometimes, but he's also fun and supportive as a parent. Josie's best friend, Stu, is one of the only people who really gets her, since he's pretty uch alomst as smart as she is. They have a unique bond, and they can always lean of each other.

I chose to read this boom because I decided I needed more contemp. romance in my diet, and I'm glad I decided to start with this one! It was funny and sweet, but also had some bittersweet moments and was very touching. I liked the plot and all the characters. The ending wrapped everything up nicely, and I would say that this is a must-read for romance fans. 4/5 stars!