Book Review: Red Flags by Sophie Jo

Red Flags by Sophie Jo

Published: February 13th 2025 by Scholastic
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Genres: Young Adult // Contemporary, Romance
Quick Thoughts: Emotionally resonant, both heartwarming and valid in meaningful insights into positive relationships for teenagers and young adults. Sophie Jo wrote these interwoven, deeply personal and moving sentiments with tons of laughs and relatable moments that I truly, utterly adored along the way.

Gifted/PR by Scholastic

I was gifted this book via the Publisher. There was no obligation to post/give this book a certain rating. All views are my own. I remain entirely impartial.

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Reader Information: View Content Warnings.

TW: this book contains references of controlling relationships, illness/health emergencies of relatives, parental abandonment and some mature YA themes. 14+.

Literary Trope Guide

Enemies-To-Lovers

Dual Narrators

High School Romance

Relationship Red Flags

About This Book:

Neither Poppy nor Cam want it to work … until it does. Poppy is known for her high standards. Why bother with relationships when boys don’t ever seem to live up to her expectations? One red flag and she’s out.
Cam is known for quickly developing the ick. He’s never dated anyone for long – a week here, a month there, but he always spooks.
When Poppy’s friends challenge her to give someone a chance for two whole months, Poppy decides that Cam (her mysterious bus crush) could be the best of an underwhelming bunch. But Cam’s been set his own he’s banned from ending things in his next relationship … and that means he’s ready to do whatever he can to put Poppy off.
Two skeptics. Two months. And this time, neither of them can disappear the moment they spot something they don’t like…
Perfect for fans of Holly Bourne, Jenny Han and Dolly Alderton. An entertaining escapist romance that’s also a topical and nuanced look at healthy relationships. Deftly exploring the difference between what makes a legitimate red flag and what is simply being flawed and human. Perfect for TikTok and Bookstagram, with shades of all the best romcom movies!

First Thoughts

The first time I saw Red Flags was over on Instagram, and I immediately knew it was going to be my cup of tea. Growing up in the age of toxic relationships on screen and in real life is all too relatable now, and I’m always really grateful to see writers showing YA audiences what is okay and what isn’t, and equally about pre-judging people because we all come from different backgrounds and homes. I didn’t know it was Sophie’s second book, either, so I am eager to go back and read her debut, too.

My Review

Eighteen year old Poppy is known for her high standards in dating. In fact, she even has a Dream Man list, with all her favourite—and necessary—qualities in a boyfriend. But, unfortunately for Poppy, Dream Man doesn’t quite exist. And every boy she meets strikes a warning in her eyes that screams RED FLAG! and ultimately—Siri, play The Bolter by Taylor Swift—she’s out at the first sign of being wrong for her. Cam is the same, or at least on a relative level. He gets into relationships, ones he’s sure could work out, and then . . . gets the ick. Runs a mile. Ghosts and pulls away. He deeply wishes things were different, but it’s hard when none of his flings want to have deep, meaningful conversations like he does. Cam is tired of the shallow, and like Poppy, wants something real and compatible: it’s just neither of them know where to start this unlikely search when it’s red flag central out there.

So when their best friends set them a goal—Poppy can’t be the one to break up with her next date, and Cam can’t call things off first either—Poppy goes up to him, her mystery bus crush, and the rest is history. Poppy thinks this will be easy, Cam is nice enough for a short-stint. Cam thinks Poppy is interesting, but he’s holding back knowing he’s bound to go wrong like always. But when an acquaintance of Cam’s tells him about the Dream Man list, he’s determined to be everything Anti-Dream Man to get Poppy to call things off so he can be free to start some self-discovery and lick his wounds. But Poppy needs to prove to her friends that sticking around longer is something she’s capable of. Through every mismatched meeting and failed date, far from a twin-flame connection, Poppy and Cam clash and collide at every turn. Only, Cam is finding his true self coming out around the orange-haired girl that is making her way into his heart, and Poppy is slowly liking the boy she’s dragging into bookstores and who wears Dr. Martens she loves, leaving them with a valid question: is the dwindling relationship neither of them wanted to spark up actually something worth truly igniting for good?

Overall, Red Flags was emotionally resonant, both heartwarming and valid in meaningful insights into positive relationships for teenagers and young adults. Through the eyes of Poppy and Cam, I took away not only a huge amount of importance about empathy, the power of forgiveness when it’s deserved and what true red flags are, but the actual knowledge of what hard work goes into choosing a healthy connection with someone else, friend or date, which is going to be very relatable for younger readers especially dealing with mental health. I think a lot of readers will be able to see themselves in Poppy or Cam, maybe even in their friends or family members who were equally going through complex relationships, and Sophie Jo writes these interwoven, deeply personal and moving sentiments (with tons of laughs and relatable moments that I truly, utterly adored along the way) that are so honest and made for a read that I have been in such a book hangover from. Red Flags will leave you feeling changed and recharged, and I cannot fault a single thing. One of my favourite YA reads I’ve read in a very long time.

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