The Shippers – 3.5/5 ✩
The Shippers by Katherine Center follows JoJo as she tries to follow through on a plan to get her childhood crush to fall in love with her. What she doesn’t anticipate is her childhood best friend to help her on the journey… Or, does he actually hinder her?
JoJo is such a fun protagonist and as an avid cruiser, I loved reading a novel set on a cruise ship.
Something that I think is so special about this book is the family dynamics that are at play.
JoJo’s relationship with her relatives is critical to the novel. Her relationships highlight who she is as a person, her flaws, and her growth as a young woman. What also stands out is how the presence of her found family, her childhood neighbors, helps to juxtapose the child she once was with the woman that she’s become.
I also think Katherine Center wrote such a strong male lead. The way that Cooper, JoJo’s childhood best friend, talks to her and about her is something some people can only dream of. While their relationship is filled with miscommunication, its chaos and maturation is a joy on the page.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital galley in exchange for an honest review!
Anchored Musings 