Promposal by RaeChell Garrett
Releasing April 4, 2023, from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: Poppy; 368 pages
About the Author: “RaeChell Garrett has written everything from marketing plans to health insurance benefit schedules, but she much prefers writing novels about the ups and downs of carefree girls finding their way in the world. She lives in Michigan where she’s likely to be found trying a new recipe, talking sports with her husband or philosophizing on life with her two teenagers. Promposal is her debut” (Bio from the author’s website).
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After winning a competitive scholarship to the Mercer School of Business, Autumn assumes the contingency on acceptance is only a formality. Mercer is Autumn’s dream school, offering a prestigious entrepreneurship program that will set her up for success. But her future comes to a crashing halt when she is waitlisted; disbelief takes over as it sinks in that she banked everything on Mercer. In addition, a bad breakup leaves her feeling average and unsure of what she can do in the next six weeks to prove herself to Mercer. Her counselor pulls strings for her to join the Young Black Entrepreneurs, and things really get complicated when, despite their intricate romantic past, Mekhi offers to help her turn her skill of crafting enchanting promposals into a business. Can Autumn, voted most likely to brighten someone’s day, build her new business, find love, and regain her confidence when everything seems to be disintegrating around her?
Promposal will appeal to readers interested in entrepreneurship and messy almost-enemies to lovers with compelling witty banter. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story was not predictable. Little details were effectively revealed throughout that kept me engrossed in Autumn’s personal growth. The realistic portrayal of the promposal theme was refreshing compared to other young adult rom-coms that do not consider the delicate emotions surrounding teenage love. Plus, is there anything sweeter than watching two people come together in a special way? Promposal also included some of the finer details regarding starting a company, creating a business plan, and hitting on profitability. Being from southeastern Michigan, the novel setting was dead on, including wearing coats and gloves during class. Every side character had an important role to play in Autumn’s self-growth journey. I also found Autumn’s parents to be refreshing for a young adult novel because they did not smother Autumn or overtly fault her for her mistakes.
Promposal captures the joy of the end of senior year and the excitement ahead without overshadowing the accompanying fear and doubt to create a refreshing read about learning to believe in yourself.
(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and RaeChell Garrett’s publicist Shivani Annirood and agent Natalie Lakosil for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.)
PRR Writer and Editor, Emilee Ceuninck
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