A good story but there was quite a bit of language ( )

Emerick, focused on helping out financially at home, won’t graduate from school unless he agrees to anonymously pen the new advice column in the school newspaper, meanwhile, Nora is in need of sound advice as she juggles her own responsibilities at home while trying to maintain the facade of being the perfect daughter/student and deals with a lingering ex-boyfriend.

Dear Adam was a little predictable here and there, however there is suspense thanks to the You’ve Got Mail/Shop Around The Corner aspect of the story. Emerick and Nora truly bond via their anonymous correspondence yet in person things are initially contentious with snap judgments galore and so there is suspense in wondering when the identity reveals will happen and how each will handle the truth.

I didn’t feel that much of a romantic spark between Nora and Emerick, I did very much like them as friends though, despite their different statuses at school and financially, it was easy to buy into a supportive friendship with long term potential when they have something as big in common as their devotion to their families and an issue or two with their parents’ choices.

I thought the advice column came a little too easily to Emerick, like maybe it would have been a bit more realistic had he struggled with how to answer the first few emails or if at least one of his answers turned out to be not so helpful. I also would have loved to see Emerick interact with his mom more, really get a stronger sense of how much he loves her since his love for her is what has him believing he has only one option for his future, it’s arguably his most important relationship yet isn’t delved into as much as it maybe could have been, though I get the decision not to do that, with YA the assumption probably is that teen readers (which I am not) mostly wants the focus on teens.

Throughout the book Nora is constantly criticized by a certain character and also learns a painful truth about that character. It disappointed me that we never really see her confront that person in what surely would have been one of the most emotionally gratifying moments of the story, but the scene in the kitchen with her mom did stand out for it’s disheartening honesty.

There were certainly times where I thought this book maybe could have gone a bit deeper, but it’s still a fairly entertaining read if you’re looking for a fast paced contemporary. ( )

Dear Adam is a YA novel about two seniors in high school from two different backgrounds. Emerick/Adam is writing an anonymous advice column for the school newspaper and Nora is dealing with a lot of issues at home as is Emerick. Nora writes to "Dear Adam" and they begin emailing back and forth.

This is a cute idea for a story and enjoyed it. Both Nora and Emerick learn a lot about themselves and find out what it means to look at a person without assuming that they know everything about them just by what they see from the outside.

The only thing I wished was that there would have been more of a resolution with the situation with Nora's dad. It just kind of ended without him having to account for his actions. I wasn't a fan of Nora's mom reasoning that sometimes you have to overlook flaws in someone for the sake of the family. Maybe this storyline will resolve in another book in the series.
4 stars due to this otherwise I loved it. ( )