THE MAKE UP-TEST
by Jenny L. Howe
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St. Martin's Griffin
9/13/22
Fiction / Romance
Paperback, 336 pages
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"Original, clever, sizzling...the grad school, rivals-to-lover book of my wildest, sexiest dreams! I’ll read anything Jenny Howe writes!”
–Ali Hazelwood
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In this rom-com debut, two college exes find themselves battling against each other—and their unresolved feelings.
Allison Avery loves to win. After acing every academic challenge she’s come up against, beginning her dream Ph.D. program, studying medieval literature under a professor she’s admired for years. Grad school isn’t easy—the classes are intense, her best friend is drifting away, and being a teaching assistant is demanding—but she’s got this. Until she discovers her ex-boyfriend has also been accepted to the same program. Colin Benjamin might be the only person who loves winning more than Allison does, and when they're assigned to serve as teaching assistants for the same professor, the game is on.
What starts as a personal battle of wits (and lit) turns into an all-out war when their professor announces a career-changing research trip opportunity—with one spot to fill. Competing with Colin is as natural as breathing, and after he shattered her heart two years ago, Allison refuses to let him come out on top. But when a family emergency and a late night road trip—plus a very sexy game of Scrabble—throw them together for a weekend, she starts to wonder if they could be stronger on the same team. And if they fall for each other all over again, Allison will have to choose between a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and what could be a twice-in-a-lifetime love.
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Dear Reader,
The Make-Up Test was born of many things: my love of medieval literature, my time in graduate school, my affinity for second-chance romance, and academic rival tropes. But most importantly, it is the book I needed most of my life—that, many days even now, I still need. The main character, Allison Avery, is a fat woman, but the size of her body is not her story. Allison’s journey is about embracing change and learning to trust herself to love again. It’s about going after the things she wants with every bit of energy she has and knowing she can achieve them.
I believe that stories are such a crucial first step to changing our understanding of the word “fat.” Fat people are more than their bodies. We deserve happily-ever-afters, both romantic and otherwise. I’m so thrilled that I get to give Allison one.
xoxo,
Jenny L. Howe
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THE MAKE UP-TEST
Book Club Menu
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In The Make-Up Test, a conversation pivotal to the relationship between Allison and Colin happens around a box of late-night donuts. In fact, Colin might end up wearing one of them…because…well…that’s their relationship.
Donuts have found their way into some of my own favorite memories, so it seemed only natural to add them to Allison’s story. As a child, my grandfather used to bring donuts to our house every Saturday morning, and my older brother and I would feast on chocolate-frosted ones (with sprinkles!) while arguing over what morning cartoons to watch. In grad school, nothing brought my cohort and me together for a late-night writing session or early-morning lecture like a big box of donuts.
Whether it was class notes glazed with spots of sweet vanilla icing, or my five-year-old fingers sticky with gooey chocolate frosting, I can’t bite into the soft, pillowy goodness of a donut without being instantly transported to another time and place. I like to think that, after that donut-filled car ride, Allison feels the same.
Jenny L. Howe
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