The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Isabella | Howell High School, Grade 10

Rating: ****

Lucy, sweet, fun, at times a pushover, is loved by everyone in the office. Everyone except Joshua. She is certain he hates her therefore she hates him. With everything she has. They are both assistants to their bosses, who had just merged their companies meaning they are trapped in a shared office together 5 days a week. Soon they make up these games, these competitions like the Staring Game, the Mirror Game, the HR Game, and Lucy has to win, especially when there is a new promotion up for grabs. And this new promotion is the final winner-determining game. If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. Winning this game means everything, and to win she has to hate Josh, but what if she doesn’t. Everything changes after a game-changing elevator kiss making Lucy rethink everything. Maybe Joshua doesn’t hate Lucy or is it another game.

I loved this book. Lucy and Josh are a slow burn relationship, enemies to friends to more than friends, the epitome of enemies to lovers. Thorne perfectly writes each of the characters and unfolds their relationship from Lucy and Josh’s chemistry to their banter to Josh’s charms to their little game schtick, everything so cleverly incorporated. I love that I get to know Lucy, and as she gets to know more about Joshua, I the reader start to understand him with her. The only thing I would say I didn’t like about the book was that all Lucy could talk about was Joshua, whether she hated or liked him. The whole book she only talked about Joshua, and I didn’t love that, but that’s just me nitpicking, and I definitely recommend this book!