The Espressologist by Krisitina Springer

Title: The Espressologist
Author: Kristina Springer
Pages: 192
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: October 27, 2009

***Note: This is the ARC cover =)***

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?

While Jane's busy skipping school and going to work at Wired Joe's, the café. But it's not all lost, she's working on something called Espressology. One of her first experiments is on her best friend Em. She matches her up with Cam, a sweet guy from her class, based on their drinks. Em and him seem happy together and Em tells Derek, her manager, about Espressology. Soon, Derekis interested in hosting it for a shop promotion. She matches more and more couples and the business is blooming; even a talkshow wants to feature Jane's Espressology. Everything is perfect...but why is she feeling not so sure about matching Cam and Em? Em is her best friend; Jane should be happy for them...right?

Light, sweet, and frothy, The Espressologist is a cute, quick read about a girl trying to find her match. Jane is a fun protagonist and her narrative is quirky and hilarious. The novel mostly focused on Jane, but the rest of the characters are funny and original. The only problem is that the other characters aren't emphasized as much as they should be.

The premise of this book is what caught my eye. The idea of Espressology itself is romantic and charming...just like the book! Springer's writing style is authentic and as quirky as a teenager's. The whole atmosphere of the book is captured perfectly by her writing style.

The cover's catch-line "Get a little love with your latte" completely matches the whole book. Overall, The Espressologist is a cleverly creative debut! Kristina Springer shows the world that debut authors have more originality than meets the eye! My favorite drink is a small, decaf, upside down caramel macchiatto. I'm wondering who my match is... A+ =)

The Bottom Line: Loved it! This book is going to be like my favorite cup of coffee; just the way I like it!

---Report Card---
Originality: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 10/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 10/10
Theme: 10/10
Imagery: 9/10
Setting: 5/5
Voice: 5/5
Style: 5/5
Tone: 5/5
Cover: 10/10
Total Score: 97/100 (A+)