She Drives Me Crazy Review
By Nic Daniels
Happy summer, audacious readers! As the world turns, seemingly backwards now, we are striving and taking a break from the darkness this month by looking forward. Last month, we explored the journey of love with Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon. As we round out Pride Month, we’re celebrating a rom com that’s deserves a good film adaptation (Netflix don’t play with me) with She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen.
Scottie Zajack is flying high as the star player on her high school basketball team with her partner on and off the court, Tally. But when her first love suddenly breaks up with her and switches to the rival high school’s team, Scottie is thrown for a loop. To make matters worse, Tally gets into a fender-bender with her archenemy, Irene.
What starts as a reluctant carpool quickly turns into a fake dating scheme when they both receive the attention they want—Irene being respected as an athlete and Scottie making Tally jealous. However, as Irene and Scottie learn more about each other, feelings start to develop, and Scottie becomes conflicted. Moving on wasn’t part of Scottie’s plan but it may be her best option.
Irene and Scottie are a very easy couple to root for. Beyond their fiery dynamic and how easily they can read each other, I enjoy that when they start developing feelings it’s rooted in respect. Irene knows Scottie is talented and appreciates that she doesn’t necessarily care about everyone’s perception of what she likes or who she loves. Meanwhile, Scottie is surprised by Irene’s determination and dedication to her goals. It makes sense why they would clash but also why they fall for each other.
I also enjoy the way Tally lingers for Scottie because it’s different from a lot of stories with similar tropes. In most fake dating stories, the ex is clearly a bad choice. They usually treat the main characters terribly, have cheated, etc. With Tally, she wasn’t necessarily a bad person. She was ambitious and petty but the biggest issue with her is how Scottie allowed her to take over their relationship. Scottie lost her sense of self in the relationship, which is why it was so devastating when it was over. And despite friends and family pointing this out, it wasn’t until she was “dating” Irene, did she realize how much of herself she gave up.
However, the best part of this story was the fact that Scottie had to take some time to herself to figure herself out. I’ve seen this in recent YA and romance novels, and I really appreciate this new story element. It is so important to figure your own mess out before you try to build something with someone else! While it’s great to build a friendship and understanding, bringing your issues and hang ups and feelings for someone else to shoulder is unfair. I love that Scottie realized this and didn’t take shortcuts with Irene because healing mattered that much to her. I hope this stays in romance because it is desperately needed. Healing sucks but it is necessary, especially for people who love you first and foremost.
What did you think about She Drives Me Crazy? Who did you root for? What was your favorite part of the story? Let me know all the things and don’t forget to join the book club IG live, coming soon.
Until next time, don’t forget to read audaciously!
