Checking You Out
by Jennifer Chen
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Pub Date Jun 23 2026 | Archive Date Jul 07 2026
St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books
Description
XO, Kitty meets Dash & Lily in this rom com about two teens falling in love via letters left in their favorite library books - even if in real life they think they have nothing in common.
Lizzie Wei is a huge book nerd, and proud of it. And when she realizes there is a mysterious reader who has been checking out all of her favorite books from the library, she can’t help but get a crush on someone she’s never even met. Her friends make it their mission to find Lizzie’s long lost book soulmate and convince her to leave notes for her crush. But what if the person Lizzie is looking for, isn’t at all what she expects?
Dylan Lin loves reading, secretly anyway. Ever since a bullying incident at his last school, he’s hidden his love of fantasy novels, instead leaning into his jock persona. Now he's the tennis team captain, runs every day, and actively avoids reading. So, when he decides to start volunteering at a kitten nursery, and his super cute co-volunteer Lizzie asks if he likes reading, he says no. He never expects the look of complete and utter disappointment on Lizzie’s face.
Lizzie is certain her secret crush isn’t Dylan. It can’t be! But when he accidentally makes an obscure reference to her favorite book during their volunteer shift, she’s not so sure anymore. Can Lizzie forgive Dylan for lying? And can Dylan be brave enough to be himself?
Jennifer Chen’s Checking You Out is a contemporary romance about being true to yourself and celebrating what you love, because you just might find the perfect person to share it with.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781250396129 |
| PRICE | $15.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 320 |
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 90 members
Featured Reviews
bella w, Reviewer
𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓼𝓲𝓻𝓲 ~ 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝔂 𝓑𝓪𝓫𝔂 𝓘'𝓶 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼 𝓫𝔂 𝓐𝓻𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓬 𝓜𝓸𝓷𝓴𝓮𝔂𝓼
oh em gee!!!! This book was so good!! You know it was good if you can read it in one sitting..
This book definitely reminds me of XO Kitty (one of my all-time favorite shows). I loved that a majority of this book talked about cats, so it was like romance<cats, but I thought them taking care of the cats was the sweetest thing to read about. I enjoyed reading the mystery letters back and forth and trying to figure out who the other writer was; it was actually kinda fun to do. I LOVED how Lizzie started anonymously writing in the books
Dylan: I LOVED Dylan from the beginning. I enjoyed reading his pov of Lizzie and other things. I also enjoyed learning about Dylan's backstory and figuring out what he is coming from. he is super mysterious at first (well, in my pov), but more during the book. It was nice learning about him.
Lizzie: I wanna live this girl's life.. she is so determined, and I love that about her. She knows what she wants in life, or does she? But I like that she is figuring herself out throughout this book. also i LOVEDDDD Lizzie's friends and how they were always together for each other. I love friends like that.
I know for sure when this book comes out its gonna be a hit. I also love how Jennifer brings fantasy into a romance novel. To be so for real, I barely even know what a "fantasy" book is, but after reading this, it has been added to my vocabulary lol.
This was my first ever Jennifer Chen book I have read, and I can guarantee you, THIS WILL NOT BE THE LASTT!!
I was hooked from the first page and was engaged with the characters during this book. It had that romantic comedy that I was looking for, and enjoyed that the teens connected from their favorite books. It uses the concept perfectly and that the characters were everything that I wanted, and worked well in the storyline. I was glad it was so well written and wanted to read more from Jennifer Chen.
Checking You Out is every book lover's dream Meet-Cute! Lizzie and her friends are preparing for their big road trip before they go off to different colleges. In the mean time, there's lots of time for reading, eating and taking care of adorable "bottle-feeders". Lizzie spends every minute she's not with her friends volunteering at the LA Best Friends, bottle feeding kittens and encouraging adopters. Not looking for love, but willing to act on a crush or two, Lizzie finds herself finally asking the literature loving Henry out on a date. Her feelings for Henry are complicated when she begins a relationship via letters left in books at the library with "Fantasy Friend". These letters take her on a journey to find her soulmate. She takes a slight detour, however, as she begins a working relationship with the cute new volunteer at Best Friends, Dylan. He is completely wrong for her. He is a tennis jock who enjoys hiking and hates books! Throughout the summer Lizzie learns that looks can be deceiving and that leaving yourself open to new things can lead to your dreams coming true.
This YA novel is full of joy, books and kittens. I highly recommend it for 14-16 year olds.
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