Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, I will be focusing on family and romantic love in this cute, cliche YA novel that I read back in my junior year of high school. It is the type of cozy read that you like, especially since many of the tropes are ubiquitous and comforting to the typical female college student.
The book is called Magnolia by Kristi Cook, which I linked here. I thought about revisiting it after I thought about the funniest love-hate tropes in books. I especially liked this book because although it does focus on how a romantic relationship develops between two people, it also focuses on how their parents’ undying love for their children has caused them to ship their children together since birth. This is what contributes to the internal conflict that both Ryder Marsden and Jemma Cafferty have about each other and their meddling parents.
The reason why the title of the book is Magnolia is not just because of how this flower has a romantic symbolism, but because Magnolia Branch, Mississippi is the small town (~2000 people) where both Ryder and Jemma grew up in. It represents their inner strength, and Jemma mentions how this represents her sister, Nan, rather than herself. This small town is a close-knit community that makes both of them feel trapped in their town and seek to venture new opportunities after graduating from high school.
Caption: This is the official book cover, which gives readers more of the context of the story’s setting and overall vibes. The source is from the Goodreads page.
Ryder Marsden and Jemma Cafferty feel annoyed about the weekly family dinners that they have had to endure since birth because of how close their families are. They were born six weeks apart, which only contributed to their families shipping them together. Jemma’s mother and Laura Grace, Ryder’s mother, are their #1 shippers. Jemma views Ryder as the annoying golden boy/typical star quarterback, while Ryder thinks that Jemma is a girl with a bad temper. Jemma has a sister named Nan. She is worried about the fact that Nan has a brain tumor and is praying that the brain surgery treatment will help her. She also has best friends named Morgan and Lucy. She especially thinks Lucy is more glamorous than her.
Ryder has friends named Mason, Tanner, and Patrick Hughes, while Ben is his cousin. Tanner happens to be Jemma’s cousin, which is not surprising, considering how Magnolia Branch is a small town. Patrick is a snobby rich boy who uses his father’s connections for everything, has a drinking problem, and is Jemma’s ex. It is foreshadowed that he ends up being a complete jerk, which I think is not surprising. Patrick was a part of her earlier teenage rebellious phase because she wanted to feel loved and seen for who she was as an individual. Patrick tries to get back with Jemma, which makes Ryder show signs of being jealous. Jemma hooks up with Patrick, but she thinks a lot about Ryder’s jealousy about the situation. Later on, Ryder punches him for trying to forcefully kiss Jemma. Jemma is also jealous when she sees him flirting with a random girl named Rosie.
There are also the typical snobby people who gossip about and disapprove of almost everything and everyone in the small town, aka Cheryl Jackson. Ryder and Jemma somehow end up fighting about an incident that happened in eighth grade. It turns out that it has to do with a misunderstanding due to adolescent peer pressure among cliques. There are moments when Jemma thinks that they are getting along, but she still feels upset after thinking about the eighth-grade incident and their differences in popularity.
This is when the real angsty romantic plot truly begins because, after this, they are trapped in Jemma’s house because of a hurricane and tornado. They have to stay there together until it ends. There are times when they argue with each other, but they are still mature enough to focus on more important matters. At first, they are cooperative and try to help each other stay safe. Later on, Jemma gets used to Ryder’s company, hence why they end up opening up to each other. Jemma comforts Ryder when she finds out he is afraid of hurricanes. She also holds onto Ryder because she is afraid of hearing thunder and lightning.
It is also revealed that Ryder thought Jemma was “the prettiest girl in Magnolia Branch”, which explained the way that he acted during the eighth-grade incident. I thought this was the cutest angsty moment in the book. Ryder wants to pursue a career in astronomy after majoring in Astrophysics at Columbia University, while Jemma wants to pursue a career in film after going to NYU for film school. Their parents expected them to go to Oxford and pursue a business career, hence why they discouraged them from following their dreams. Another cute moment in the book was when Jemma was worried about Ryder since he was very physically injured, hence why she tells him that she was really worried about him. They have this romantic makeout session that is kind of cheesy, but also cute.
After the storm, Jemma is back to reality. She finds out that Patrick died in a car accident during the storm, which makes her feel bad. She thinks about Ryder’s popularity after hearing the homecoming court nominations from the PA system. She feels insecure and believes someone like her wouldn’t have a chance with him. Ryder reveals to Jemma that he was tired of his parents determining what was perfect for him, including them pushing him to date her. That was the main reason why even if he had feelings for her, he was sure that she was wrong for him.
Jemma is also crowned as the senior maid, and there is disbelief when they find out that Ryder is her date for the homecoming. Ryder and Jemma begin to date in secret so that their parents will stop meddling, and they confess that they are in love with each other. They also want to show that they are together because of each other, not because of their parents. The story ends with them holding hands under the dinner table, while their parents assume that they still dislike each other and want to “kill each other”. The book ends with Ryder tracing the letters “I.L.O.V.E.Y.O.U.” on Jemma’s hand under the table, which I found to be really sweet.
This book was so good that I wrote a longer article than usual! I recommend that you read the sequel here. This is when their meddlesome parents end up finding out about their relationship. Their reactions are priceless!