The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

“Falling in love beats recycling. At least, I would guess, since I’ve never been in love but I’ve recycled my whole life and it’s pretty boring.”

When math genius Emma and her coding club co-president, George, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born.
George disapproves of Emma’s idea of creating a matchmaking app, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.
Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other, and Emma’s own feelings defy any algorithm?

This retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma was such a sweet little bundle of fluff! Though I haven’t read the original, I really enjoyed this. This is the kind of book that actually makes you excited for school, because Emma is one of those people who enjoys doing her calculus homework and doesn’t need to study before finals because she actually pays attention in class. After reading this book, I was totally prepared to pop off in senior year, until I remembered that I’m literally graduating (?) in two weeks :))
Anyway, the characters in this book completely steal the show. Emma herself is a standard YA nerd, but her emotions are well fleshed out. Even when she makes mistakes, the reader can understand why she acted that way. She’s very closed off, but she really loves her friends and family. She’s a bit of a control freak and a perfectionist, but she always puts her people first. She grows a lot through the novel; even if a lot of it is very stereotypical (nerd who realizes that not everything follows a formula, falls in love etc.) it is well done and feels comforting instead of boring. George, of course, is a scene-stealer from the very beginning. He’s just as smart as Emma, and he’s a swimmer! He’s also far better at socializing than Emma, even if he prefers not to. All of the other characters, from Emma’s fellow coders to her sister, are well fleshed out. Everyone adds to the story, and no one acts irrationally. The story avoids dramatizing people and lets them be.
While the story moves along in a relatively predictable manner, there are a few heavier topics sprinkled in, which helps anchor the story to reality. These are, however, used effectively and sparingly. It served to humanize the characters, rather than having them live in a parallel fantasy world where a coding competition is their one and only problem in life.
Though The Code of Love and Heartbreak was extremely predictable, it’s sweetness provided a nice respite from the harshness of reality.