Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O'Clover

written by Anna M.
Grade 12

I was massively excited to read Ellen O’Clover’s Seven Percent of Ro Devereux. It sat perfectly on the gray shelf, playing the part of my next good read excellently. A YA novel with an interesting, STEM-focused protagonist who designs her own app for a senior project? Yes, please. AND a romance side plot, best friends to enemies to lovers? Even more yeses and pleases. Ultimately, I badly wanted to like this book and was greatly disappointed.

This story has a fascinating start; the premise alone had me on the edge of my seat. After all, who doesn’t want to download an app that predicts your future? That would definitely come in handy in the tumultuous society in which we currently live. Ro Devereux is an overall fun, relatable main character. She’s nervous to turn in her assignment but also eager to be finished with it . . . and be finished with high school. Ro is a woman in tech whose dream is to work in Silicon Valley. Unexpectedly for Ro, when her app MASH (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House) that predicts a person’s future with ninety-three percent accuracy goes viral, her entire senior year is forever changed. She gains a tech company’s backing and is suddenly thrust into the influencer life. Also, MASH proclaims her ex-best friend Miller as her soulmate, bringing a hurricane of emotions as they begin to fake-date for the company contract. However, as she begins to truly fall for Miller and her app begins destroying kids' dreams, she must choose between her own dreams vs. what she created: a MONSTER—ASH.

First things first, I genuinely loved the premise of this YA novel. It was original and believable, two important aspects of a solid book. Still, I was immensely let down by the execution. Seven Percent of Ro Devereux has a great start but gradually worsened for me the more I read. There were some issues O’Clover touched on and then simply never brought closure to for me as a reader. I liked how she brought up the issue of a bright student not wanting to attend college but being pressured by one’s parents. That was definitely a plot line she could have gone deeper into, possibly discussing that generational gap or the need for college as a whole. Additionally, this novel touched on abandonment, both by a parent and by a close friend. This is such a relatable and also sensitive topic, and I think the author did a good job all things considered, but I would have loved to see more on the mother-daughter relationship trauma. Lastly, my greatest critique considering this novel and the thing that ultimately tipped it over the edge for me was how this app “destroyed” so many people’s lives. I completely understand how technology can affect people's lives; however, why did the parents of these kids tell them the app was a scam? The evil big corporation marketed MASH as 100% accurate, but still, are people really that dumb? If an app tells you that you are going to be a teacher, you can still be a piano player. An algorithm should never define someone. While that may have been the message the author was trying to get across, I think it was done backwards. Ro should not have had to dismantle her app because no one should have taken it so seriously in the first place.

In conclusion, I essentially wanted to tell everyone in this book get off their phone, go outside, and read a book. With a heavy heart, I would have to give this novel a three out of five stars. If you have nothing else to read, you might as well read Ro’s story. I know there are people out there who thoroughly enjoyed this YA read; I simply was not one of them. I still love and support the concept of the “seven percent,” the unknown, unpredictable part of future. It is such a fascinating and inspiring idea. What will you do with your seven percent? Mostly likely not read this book, but who knows? Maybe you will.