Technically, You Started It

by Lana Wood Johnson

When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you're talking to. Except there's two of them (it's a long story), and Haley thinks she's talking to the one she doesn't hate.

A question about a class project rapidly evolves into an all-consuming conversation. Haley finds that Martin is actually willing to listen to her weird facts and unusual obsessions, and Martin feels like Haley is the first person to really see who he is. Haley and Martin might be too awkward to hang out in real life, but over text, they're becoming addicted to each other.

There's just one problem: Haley doesn't know who Martin is. And Martin doesn't know that Haley doesn't know. But they better figure it out fast before their meet-cute becomes an epic meet-disaster . . .

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Audiobook, LGBT, Fiction, Queer

384 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2019

About the author

Lana Wood Johnson was born and raised in Iowa in the time before the internet but has spent the rest of her life making up for that. Lana lives in Minnesota with her husband and their English bulldog.

Reviews

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

So charming and so fun. I ate this up.

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is difficult to review because it had a lot of potential but it was just.... bad. First and foremost, I think this book would have been so much more enjoyable to an actual teenager, so I might have liked this better when I was in high school. But then again, I think even a teenager would find the writing style problematic and sort of unrealistic for how teenagers talk, so it's difficult to recommend.

This book is told entirely through text messages. I think this could have been an interesting and fast-paced format, but it just flopped in multiple ways. The characters very quickly got on their high horse and bonded about how they nEvEr use emojis or gifs because the main character said something pretentious about communicating with words rather than pictures. This was the beginning of a string of personality traits the main character had that made me SO annoyed with her. She's the type of "nerdy" girl who has a bunch of niche knowledge and always inserts it into the convo just to flex on whoever she's talking to. It was so weird and awkward, and if it was me texting her, I would have ghosted her because she's so uncomfortable to hold a conversation with. And that's my lasting impression of this book is that texts should be fun and low stakes and easy to read, but this book was painful and almost... boring?

Also, this book just deals with so much unnecessary drama. The main character's friend group is the WORST and every day she reports back what girl is mad at who and what girl is dating who and why she's annoyed at them and it just felt like such childish drama that was also SUPER confusing because we never actually get to see them outside what the main character explains. In general, I wish this book would have focused more on developing a relationship between the two characters rather than them just coming to rant to one another about their lives because it was written really confusing since we only had the POV of texts.

I would love to read another book in this format, but this one was far too uncomfortable to read because of the awkward and unrealistic dialogue, the cringy and underexplained drama, and how predictable it was. There were definitely parts that made me crack a smile and I liked the discussion of the characters' sexualities (the mc is demi and the love interest is bi), but I don't think this author was the right person to write this type of story, unless she watches a lot more Tik Toks and does research on how teens actually talk and interact.

[♛ may · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am disgustingly in love with this book ugh give me more fluff, im not nearly satisfied with the amount we got

[Vicky Again · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay, i was not expecting Johnson to get it right BUT

she really knows. some teens text with all lowercase (jack) some text w/ lots of emojis (martin), some use perfect punctuation (our MC)

the only qualms i had about the texting+voice were that
1) it was unrealistic that there were THAT many periods on both sides. capitalizing i understand bc autocorrect but a lot of people just send texts off sans periods. they're so....formal
2) needed more meme culture esp. given how our MC is a Nerd, i definitely thought some good ol' memes would have been a little more accurate

but overall the voice was much more accurate than I expected and *fit* the characters. a very quick and fun read

[Rue · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐4 stars
I just love the trope where two people don't meet but start bonding through (letters/ texts/ mail). And develop friendship which later can turn into something else when they start to know each other. (I am not talking about sexting here) what I mean is the most platonic way two people start forming chemistry and if it's done well chances are I am going to rate it high.💓
This book isn't for everyone. You'll feel more connected to the plot if you are teenager (Or you like the trope I mentioned) cause at times it can feel a bit childish. I think the mystery part was quite predictable, I don't know why it took so long for Haley to figure it out. I liked how this book also talks about sexuality, Haley's friends are kind of popular and are trying new things so she is confused as to why she isn't sexually attracted to any guy thinking that she might be asexual (Which later turns out to be demi-sexual). And Martin confesses to her via text that he could be bisexual. And the way it is handled is amazing. There's hardly anything flirtatious going on so that might be another red flag which can feel boring to read. Some nerdy terms were hard for me to understand. It also focuses on how we start judging people just because we have heard something bad about them from someone else (friends). So don't judge a book by it's cover 😂
Mistaken identity ✔️
Frenemies ✔️
Misunderstanding ✔️
Cute Friendship✔️

If you liked "Technically, you started it" You might like the webcomic Your Letter
(It's super light hearted and it made me emotional)
If you have any other recommendation for books that has this trop, mention it in the comments cause I would love to read more 😱🌸

[Dylan]

It has pretty great representation (main character is demisexual and love interest is bi), but the characters seemed pretty bland to me so I had a hard time connecting to them at all. womp.

[Kosoko Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technically, You Started It is a magical, beautiful, fluffy tale that you're going to be heart eyes over and you need to pre-order as soon as you can. I'm not even joking.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waiting for the perfect hour where we can click / Distance is what strengthens our relationship / Boy, I’ve never met you, oh what I could do (Online Lover – Valiant Variant).

Here’s a fun fact, this isn’t the third time I’ve read this, it’s not even the fourth time! I won’t tell you which reread we’re on right now, but just know that the number is embarrassingly high. Sometimes I treat reading like indulging in some Dim sum, where there’s always such a wide array of different delicious foods that you just end up taking a bite out of everything. A little bit of this, a little bit of that! You know, like that disgusting tomato eating king from The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, only instead of juicy foods, I’m reading a chapter of one book here only to switch to another over there. Anyway, it’s weird that Technically, You Started It has become my go-to comfort read over the years because I read it during that influx of other YA books that all have a similar premise and relationship dynamic between romantic leads, and yet something about this book has always kept me coming back. For one, it’s unique in the sense that it’s told entirely through text messages between a girl named Haley and a classmate she’s never really talked to before the start of the story named Martin. Sure, I could see how people might be turned off of the presentation, but I see it as a narrative device more than anything, as this book is basically just entirely dialogue, with absolutely no descriptive language whatsoever. So… my dream book, basically. Okay wait, that makes me sound like I hate the way most books are written, but I really do think it really works for Technically, You Started It simply because this is a novel that follows the same conventions of all typical YA books to where it almost feels like a thought experiment to cut out all the fluff to see if a coherent story can still be told. Hey, it works for me! I mean, if this book had been written in a more traditional sense, then my brain would have made no distinction between it and The Upside of Falling by Alex Light. And look, there’s a lot here that could have gone wrong here, because the thing is… most text conversations aren’t actually that interesting. To other people, that is. Because I know a lot of folks love sharing their text convos to prove how clever and funny they are, but they’re usually so full of random ass memes and inside jokes that nobody who’s Dear, Evan Hansen, on the outside looking in would understand or find anybody’s texts interesting.

And I get it, you know? I’m always laughing at the things I say, but I’m under no delusion that somebody else would find my obscure references as funny as I do. Besides, I guess the overly formal way that these two text each other doesn’t bother me too much, because at the end of the day, this is a book and it needs to be legible! If it were a complete recreation of the way some of these youngsters talk, there would be so many memes and uses of the word “bro” that my head would totally be spinning, bro. I would have normally given you the synopsis by now, but it’s kind of hard to get the details right in a concise manner, so I’ll just say it’s like the “good ending” answer to David Levithan’s half of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Anyway, if nothing else, I just really like Technically, You Started It because it never takes me more than a few hours of serious concentration to finish reading this book, it always goes by so quickly. Sli~ide city, sli~ide city! I think all good characters are relatable on some level, but me personally? I’m not really one to imagine myself in the stories that I read, I’m more than happy to exist as a passive observer. Nonetheless, every now and then I read something where the characters actually talk about something I know intimate details about and I can’t lie that my ears perk up like a dog at dinner time. So yeah, I think I’ve talked before that books that pride themselves on being “nerdy” should be more specific whenever the characters are mention that they’re currently doing a nerdy hobby, and this book is no different in that regard. It makes me go all detective mode to try to figure out what they’re into, you know? During one of their conversations, Martin mentions that he’s “playing Xbox at Jack’s place” and judging when this book came out (2019) and the kinds of games that were popular on Xbox at the time, I have to assume he was either playing Apex Legends, Fortnite, or Overwatch! And after patting myself on the back for my classic Sherlock scan, I then realized that he couldn’t have possibly been playing any of them because Haley then asks in the very next line if “he [being Martin] was stomping him” to which Martin replies, “You know it” which makes me think that Martin and Jack are playing against each other? Which is odd because while all those games up there are online multiplayer, they are also team games where you don’t really go against the person who’s sitting next to you. We don’t live in the classic era of couch gaming like Super Smash Bros.! Glaring error, that’s all I have to say.

“I’m still working on coming up with something clever.”
“You’ve managed odd, so that’s at least something.”
“Is it? Odd I can work with.”

…Oh wait, maybe he was playing Mortal Kombat or Soulcalibur , that would make more sense! Sorry, my disinterest in fighting games is so overpoweringly strong that I often forget they even exist. Anyway, that was off topic, but maybe that’s another way I relate to Haley, because I too get super involved in nonsensical details that don’t really have any significance to the greater picture. Then again, I do think it’s important to go into detail on what video game platforms characters are into, because Martin being an Xbox teen says more about him than you’d think. I should know, considering I was too! Where do you think I’ve gotten my propensity towards negativity and petty insults? Anyway, the only reason why I haven’t upped this to 5 stars (the most amount of stars, ever!) is because some of Haley and Martin’s opinions annoyed me. It wasn’t even the normal YA teenager speak that bothered me, because all of that’s to be expected, but rather the fact that Martin’s celeb crush is Ryan Reynolds. Like, I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of anybody legitimately attracted to that smarmy douche except for heterosexual men whose main social media is Reddit, so that fact was enough of a head scratcher to never upgrade my rating. Look, I’m well aware that none of this is rational criticism, I’m just yapping! Otherwise, I think it’s a foolish endeavor (sorry for speaking like an Anime villain) in general for a book to aim for being timeless and remain so against the passing years because they will always be colored by the time it was written in, but contemporary YA books especially get hit with this the hardest. Things like slang or popular trends can switch up in a manner of months and something that feels so current will fall to the wayside in a second. Like, can you imagine if I picked up a book where the hip thing the characters were doing was “planking”? That’d feel like being transported back to a different century! When I first read Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, I thought it was the most charming book I had ever encountered, but I don’t know if I would feel the same way if I read it now considering how all the major corporations (like Wendy’s or MacDonalds) have their own social media site where they try to be quirky and relatable to the masses. There’s a gross falseness to the way how all of advertising nowadays tries to hide the fact that they’re advertising.

And yeah, I know I sound I’m going on a “the old days were better” rant here and that ads have always been insidious and malicious, but I just feel like it all seems even more like a trick now, and I guess I’m just tired of every facet of life being some kind of marketing scheme. Where’s the authenticity!? Anybody remember that singer GAYLE? She made that song called “ABCDEFU” where she pretended like she made it naturally by asking her TikTok fans what kind of song she should write, to which somebody gave her the genius idea to “write a song using the alphabet”! How fun and genuine, huh? Yeah well, people went on this “commenters” page, and guess what? They happened to be a PR manager at the label GAYLE was signed to, so the whole “write a song off the cuff” story surrounding the song was all a ploy to make the song seem more authentic and real, but instead it was fake and corporate mandated to succeed. Gross. I don’t know, maybe that’s why I’m always so partial to historical-fiction, because it’s a little sad, but I’ve become incredibly jaded about most aspects to Young-Adult books in general, and it’s nice to read a book that takes me back to a time when I was more willing to dive head first into a book without needing to do hours of intense research and deep soul searching first. Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say here is that sometimes the easiest bet to make a story feel universal and relevant is to focus on coming-of-age themes that everyone can relate to rather than trendy gimmicks. Maybe that’s why Technically, You Started It still holds up so well with me, because even though a romance blossoming between two people over one long text conversation is a rather modern take on the genre, it’s still solely about two people connecting on a deeper level, regardless of whatever medium we see them communicate through. It’s a lovely thought. And not to get all Jason Mraz, “I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend” and all that, but that’s exactly what this book is, and it really doesn’t need to be anything else!

Talking to you miles away, from where I am / People may think low of me, who gives a damn boy / It’s just me and you~uu, a world for us two~oo.

[Anniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book because of the demisexual rep, but I had no idea the format is text messages only. This seemed like a very fun and refreshing format, so I was extra excited to read this book once I found out about this. And it was so well done! I had a lot of fun reading this, and I loved how it showed that online messaging can have a lot of depth. As someone who values internet friendships, this was lovely to see represented in a book: even if the characters technically already knew each other in real life, they truly got to know each other through texting.

I have to admit, it took me a while to get into the story. Because there's dialogue only, and you're sort of thrown into the story, which makes it kind of hard to figure out the setting at first. It didn't help that the initial text conversations felt a bit forced. But after 50 pages or so, the messages became more personal and gained more depth, and I started to really love this.

I especially loved the questioning demisexual rep, as well as the anxiety rep. There was so much depth and growth here, which I think it quite impressive for a book that's essentially dialogue only.

Rep: questioning demisexual MC with anxiety, bisexual love interest

[Sam Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 stars

I had a really fun time reading this book! I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a book made up entirely of text messages goes by in such a flash. The format was definitely the most unique part of this book, and it kind of makes or breaks the story. Honestly, I wish they'd had Haley's and/or Martin's text conversations with other characters as well, just to get a little break from the same old relationship. I think would have broken up the story and made it even more enjoyable. I also thought the ending was kind of awkward, and done super quickly. Once Haley figures out the answer, there's like ten pages and the book is over. Couldn't we get more of a lead-in? Or her reactions? I don't know, it just seemed rushed to me.

What I DID love about the story, however, was how much fun it was. The banter was hilarious, I loved getting to know these characters, and they both talked about really personal details that made the book more realistic. This was the perfect easy read when you have a lot going on, and you just want some fluff in the background.

[CW ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, quick, and charming read! This book is told entirely in text messages (and it kind of worked?!), this is a light and fun read.

- Follows Haley, a demisexual teen, and Martin, a bisexual teen, whose texts about a class project evolves into an electric conversation and relationship. Almost like You've Got Mail, but teens and text messaging.
- There's explicit discussions about sexuality (especially demisexuality, which we don't see often!), and the way that it was done was really authentic and... sweet? I liked that a lot.
- I was wary that this book was told in text messages, but I think the format worked very well for what the story was trying to say and for its emphasis and focus on the characters and their relationship.
- Reading this made me feel nostalgic about the times when I was a teen and had to abruptly say goodbye to my friends, even when the conversations were getting good. 'Got to go, eating dinner!' heck. MOOD.
- I listened to this as an audiobook, so missed out on the MCs' personalities conveyed by the way they typed. Still, I have to hand it to the narrators who had to verbalise '???' which sounded a lot like 'hngh????'.
- Though I enjoyed listening to this, I don't feel like this story is particularly memorable or impactful. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and I'll thank the book for a good 2ish hours.

[diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically, I am deceived by a book cover once again.

Reading this book felt like invading someone's inbox; however, the conversation wasn't all that intriguing so what's even the point of committing a cybercrime? Or maybe I'm just not a big fan of stories in a text message format.

Even if I did like getting a tad bit smarter about acetaminophen's soothing effects to existential dread and different types of sand, Haley and Martin just sound so bland and too alike that it's hard to believe that they're two different people texting.

Also, I have guessed II was M all along because it was too obvious. I'm surprised that considering how smart Haley is supposed to come off, she didn't even notice.

Anyway, I still slightly enjoyed this read. It wasn't all bad but also not that good.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story being entirely told through text messages was wonderful via audiobook.

[Sabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might've liked it in the past. But, I'm just... maybe, too grown up now for this.





The book is all in text messages and it was nice for a while but then, it became boring for me. Could've edited 100 pages or so and it definitely would have been a 3-3.5 star read.

[Jillian Reynolds (Jillian Loves Books) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. I hated this.

[solanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

in need of some mindless fluff + i heard this has demisexual rep so here i am

[fio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Me gustó, fue divertido, los temas que trató (problemas de los personajes) creo que fueron profundos y pertinentes para la edad de los mismos, es algo que no se suele ver en el género (que traten bien ciertos temas y que no se los tomen a la ligera).
Siento que le faltó un cierre, es muy difícil resumir las interacciones cara a cara en mensajes, siento que se omitieron muchas cosas. Los problemas de los personajes se plantearon bien pero no se ofreció ninguna solución (sobre cómo ellos podrían lidiar con esos problemas, no resolverlos), al menos con la mayoría.
En general me gustó y pase un buen rato, es un libro muy adictivo pero un texto dd este tipo no podría jamás merecerse 4 estrellas.
Lo recomiendo para afrontar un bloqueo lector.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I read this book as a critique partner.

I am a Lana Wood Johnson super fan. Technically, You Started It is an absolute gem. The characters are charming and quick-witted. There is something about the quiet way these characters knot themselves together through a series of text messages that will make you fall in love just as much as I did. Even many months later, I am still thinking about this book and its characters.

[Bookishvette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it was an enjoyable read 💕
If you want something cute you should really read this one...i really liked the whole texting format of the book .. made it interesting 🧡

[Belly (Aspiringliterati) · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS!!! BOOK!!! IS!!! SO!!!! ADORABLE!!!!

Do you ever get the feeling that you'll love a book right from the 1st sentence or chapter ? Well that's what happened to me with this one. From the 1st text, I know I'd enjoy the hell out of it and I DID SO MUCH.

Hayley and Martin's blooming friendship moves smoothly into the "and more" territory, through a string of texts, where both characters find themselves getting more than what they expected from this relationship. It was so heartwarming seeing them both reveal aspects of themselves to each other that they'd never shown to anyone else. With a hell lot of snarky comments, teasing and quirky traits thrown in between. It was just perfect!

Bonus points: Mental Health talks that felt so real it hurt, bisexual MC AND demisexual MC !!

[chloe]

i'm sad,, there's something wrong with my ebook copy the formatting's all weird :(

[Lindsay (pawsomereads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Duck]

*On-page demisexual and bisexual rep!!! Also on-page for GAD*

I picked up this book at midnight thinking I’d read the first few pages and I read the WHOLE THING, feat. accidentally saying “fuck” way too loud considering my parents were asleep a few doors down, dropping the book in panic bc the moment was just Too Good™️, and getting progressively more and more invested.

[Danielle (Life of a Literary Nerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully quick audiobook that worked well with the all text message format, and I don't feel like I lost anything by not seeing it visually. But there was a kinda weird choice the narrator for Martin dig that bugged be to start with, but I got used to it. Haley and Martin have great chemistry and I really enjoyed seeing them get closer together over the course of the story. Both characters identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum (Martin as bisexual and Haley as demi sexual) which was a pleasant surprise. It's definitely not a large part of the story, but they do talk about their identities with each other. And while the plot hinges on miscommunication, it never really frustrated me like a lot of other miscommunication plots. A quick fun read that's great for summer.

[Samantha (WLABB) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chances of meeting one Martin Nathaniel Munroe II were slim to none, but Haley happened to know of TWO Martin Nathaniel Munroe II, because their parents wanted to name them both after their grandfather. Not very original, and also, very confusing, but the situation created the perfect storm for a fun mistaken identity type romance.

I had heard this book was amusing, but it was laugh out loud funny for me. These two shared some epic banter, and both were witty and possessed a sense of humor I appreciated. Once I started reading, I honestly had to keep going. I was so captivated by their exchanges, which ranged from the most banal to the most bizarre and included some really personal and touching things too.

I was a little leery of a book comprised of only text messages, but Johnson really impressed me with everything she was able to accomplish with the format. First and foremost, I must commend her on how well written both characters were. Their voices were truly distinct. I am not one to trash the formatting of an eARC, but this one had ZERO formatting, and yet, I could tell, with ease, when Haley or Martin were speaking. That right there says a lot for how well these characters are crafted.

I also liked the way the more serious discussions evolved. They never seemed forced or oddly out of place, but rather, each fit well with events that had arisen outside of the texts.

In this day and age, many people begin their relationships online, and that's sort of exactly what happened here. With no face to face communication, Haley was able to get to know THIS Martin free from all her prior misconceptions about him. I think that allowed her to really speak freely and interact with him without any bias, and what an opportunity she would have otherwise missed.

Overall: This was a wonderfully amusing, fun, and touching story, which delighted this character-driven reader.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most annoying, irritating read of the year. It's not the sms format of the book that ruined it. I am always ready for new writing style and all but this was plain annoying and the characters were like too annoying. I should have DNFED this one. Nope. It doesn't get better.

[Gretal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread Jan 5, 2021:
I still love this so much



Original review:
HI I LOVED THIS

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review for this book is now up on my blog!

https://bookreviewsfromanovelnerd.wor...

[Yna from Books and Boybands · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS ADORABLE. It was super fluffy, lots of cute banter, and I was smiling for (almost) the entire time!

[kory. · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the cutest, most pure queer book i’ve ever read

why aren’t people talking about this

the format, the banter, the humor, the casual queerness, a bisexual boy mc with some demiromantic leanings, a girl mc questioning her sexuality and discovering her demisexuality, the friendship developing into romance, the natural ease and instant embrace these characters have with each other, the open and accepting nature of their relationship, the ryan reynolds crushing, the relatable as hell anxiety rep, and just the sheer fucking cuteness of it all!!!!!!

rep; haley (mc) is demisexual with a questioning arc and has generalized anxiety disorder. martin (mc) is bisexual with demiromantic leanings.

the only two tiny notes i made were the mc saying her friend wanted to show how “we’re all a little bit bi” which is a narrative i will never get behind because it’s disrespectful and erasure, and a comment about how having little to no empathy equals being evil/bad, which is not true and very harmful.