The Set-Up Girl by Sasha Vey

Title: The Set-Up Girl

Author: Sasha Vey

Genre: Contemporary YA

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 29^th July 2025

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: The only thing worse than having a secret crush on the hottest boy in class? Setting him up with your best friend! A fresh and contemporary romantic comedy for fans of Alice Oseman, Tobias Madden and Sophie Gonzales.

Amalia’s life runs like clockwork: school, family book club, hanging out with her best (and only) friend Mae. It’s comfortable in its predictability.

So when Mae announces she’s ready to start dating – against the wishes of her strict parents – Amalia’s world is thrown into chaos. Forever the dutiful friend, she agrees to help set Mae up with the hottest boy in class: Kasun. The only problem? He’s Amalia’s secret crush.

Adopting the role of wingwoman, Amalia does her best to navigate an unfamiliar world of parties and romantic drama. Meanwhile, she grows closer to Kasun’s best mates, Jake and Laeli, who frustrate and intrigue her in equal measure.

When misunderstandings (and secret kisses) threaten to derail relationships, Amalia is left more confused than ever. Who does she really want to be with? Can the set-up girl ever become the main character of the story?

A feel-good romantic comedy of errors, where the road to love rarely runs straight!

~*~

Amalia lives a pretty predictable life in her Catholic Slovenian family. She goes to school and is trying to get to the end of year twelve, takes part in her family book club with her mum, her aunts, her cousins and her sister, and hangs out with her only friend, Mae. It’s predictable and comfortable. It has clear rules and expectations from family, religion and culture, and she feels like nothing can shake her world. Not so much,

One day, Mae announces she wants to date – even though her strict parents have forbidden it whilst she lives at home. And so, chaos is set to enter Amalia’s world. She’s the dutiful friend, the one who sets her feelings aside when Mae decides she wants to date the cutest boy in school, Kasun. Amalia’s secret crush. Mae’s determination and pushing wins out, and Amalia becomes Mae’s wingwoman, setting her friend up with Kasun, acting as her alibi and cover story for dates, and is drawn into a world of parties and drama. She has to hide it from her parents, and like many young people, is conflicted throughout as she navigates pleasing her friend, pleasing her family and being true to who she is, and who she wants to be.

After she is pulled into Mae’s dating debacles, she meets Kasun’s friends Jacob and Laeli. They frustrate her and fascinate her equally – she’s never sure how she feels about them, how they feel about her or what their relationships are. And she’s also working out who she is as well. Who is she attracted to? Can she be honest with her friends and family about who she likes and who she wants to be with? Like anyone, Amalia is afraid of judgement, being cast aside by friends and family, and almost afraid of being honest. Jake is fascinated by her book club, which forms quite an interesting aspect of the novel. The book club shows the familial connection well, and I felt was a great aspect of the novel. It got people away from a reliance on technology without being over the top. It capture the confusion of being a teenager, caught between family expectations, the role of culture and religion, and how they inform these expectations, and needing to please friends and fit in with a modern culture. It’s a lot of pressure for Amalia, who doesn’t want to disappoint anyone. She also wants to be honest with herself and those around her, yet it felt like all the social pressures she was facing made this very hard for her. It would probably be hard for anyone.

It grapples with family, friends, school and the confusing teen world of romance where you’re never sure who you might be attracted to. Never sure who she wants to be with, or who is interested in her. The clues might be there, but it is understandable that Amalia might miss something here and there. Of course, nothing will always go to plan, will it? It’s filled with conflict at all times, distractions and rules – obeying them and breaking them. Teens need novels like this, because they can speak to their experiences or feelings, and might help them understand more about themselves. Might help themselves be seen in some way through the diverse characters. Things build slowly and evolve as the story moves along slowly. It’s honest, allowing the queer characters to exist and work out who they are and where they fit in. But it also celebrates friendship and honesty, being true to yourself and admitting to your faults, flaws, mistakes and misunderstandings. It reflects a reality that many people experience in their relationships and coming to terms with their identities or learning to understand what a loved one’s identity is and accepting it. It’s queer characters will make kids with queer identities feel seen. I liked it’s honesty and acceptance and the conflict between friends. I felt this was an important thing to see in fiction, because often, the conflicts we see in relationships are romantic ones. Acknowledging that a conflict in a friendship has just as big an impact on someone is important. It needs to be seen, and I felt it was done well in this book.

It’s a fun read, and I’m sure it will find its audience.