Synopsis:
Everyone at Ryder High knows what it means to have a teal envelope taped to their locker on the first of the month.
This month is different.
This month belongs to Max Newman. Prankster, jokester, overall funny guy. And the first student to ever receive a teal envelope from a girl.
The Secret Admirers organization switched things up. They allowed a girl to be the admirer, and Max is about to make history.
One problem—he only has three weeks to complete an entire bingo board. Some of the things on it are out of his control. Some things are right up his alley, though, like serenading the principal and pranking his best friend.
Will Max finish the bingo board and get the reveal location?
Or will he become the first guy at Ryder High to fail his challenge?
Review:
Dear Max is the Love Notes instalment I’ve been looking forward to the most. The very first book mentions that boys can also receive envelopes, but from other boys, so this instalment having a girl sending the envelope had me excited. Sadly, this wasn’t my favourite, but I did enjoy the bingo card for getting clues.
This part in particular annoyed me a little “Things have changed. And if they’re going to let girls be the secret admirers, then what magic does it really hold? How can it make the girls feel special now?” It’s so weird that girls aren’t (usually) allowed to be admirers, what about girls that like girls? I think the previous instalment, which had two admirers, would have been so much more interesting if she received an envelope from a boy and a girl. Think about the journey the main character could have gone on if they didn’t realise they liked girls to begin with.
Anyway, back to Max. He’s been a fairly large part of this series so far so it’s really fun to get him as the main character. Max has always been a shining point of this series and his sparkle did not dull in his own instalment. If anything his personality became even bigger. I love how secure he is within his masculinity. Most teen boys wouldn’t be caught dead as the centre point of a flash mob or pretend flirting with their boy friends, but Max is purely himself and it’s great. “Fine. Be that way. But I know how you feel and I’ll carry it in my heart forever.” I batted my eyelashes at him, placing a hand on my chest”. It’s so refreshing to see teen boy characters act like this.
This is a completely random quote to mention but I loved the Home Alone reference that began one of the chapters. “Marv to Harry, we are a go. I repeat, we are a go.” I think this was the start of the flash mob, but I can’t remember now as it’s been a few weeks since I finished Dear Max.
Another great reference was “Max, you can’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” When starting Dear Max, I did not expect to see a reference to A Cinderella Story. I’m assuming it’s referencing the film and not Babe Ruth who originally said this (I’m basing this on the other film references throughout the book).
Part way through it becomes very clear who Max’s secret admirer is. It took me a while to remember who she is and her relevance to Max but it’s quite sweet. I won’t give too much away but if you like a second chance romance, you’ll enjoy Dear Max.
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