As with L.T. Smith's See Right Through Me, Puppy Love is full of humor, love and lots of strong writing. The humor can go from sweet and vulnerable ("My heart banged dramatically inside my chest, as if it was auditioning for a new play called Hope.") to downright I-really-shouldn't-laugh-but-how-can-I-not? ("I know, I'm up and down like a prostitute's underwear about how I wanted our relationship to pan out.")
One reason I love L.T. Smith's books so much is that she creates characters who may need a little kick in the pants sometimes (the kind of people who need runway clearance and big, flashing lights before they realize someone likes them) but are nonetheless incredibly endearing and cute for being so clueless in all matters relating to love and relationships. Anyone who may find this frustrating has clearly never suffered from doubts when meeting someone she really likes and wants to have her like her back.
When Ellie and Emma, the two very likable leads in Puppy Love, first meet there is an actual spark between them. This happens along the way while they are getting to know each other and in its initial appearances, Ellie wonders if her "time with power tools made me electric."
It's stuff like this, along with genuine chemistry, down-to-earth people, a terrific dog named Charlie and Ellie's heartbreakingly and all-too-realistic abandonment by her homophobic parents that make Puppy Love such a soulful, warm and wonderful read! My only complaint, as with all truly terrific reads, is that finishing books like this make returning to your own world very hard. :)
