Don't Expect Magic, I believe, had the potential to go even further and deeper with the story. After all, with a teenage girl having just lose her mother and having to move in with a dad that she can't tolerate, that's bound to make for good drama. Instead, it ups the humor and while it was enjoyable, some of it came across as slapstick. I suppose the novel wasn't meant to be a serious one anyway, judging from the title, but still. 
 Delaney is an extremely headstrong and stubborn character, I'll give her that. But sometimes, I really wanted to just knock some sense into her. I mean, the signs are all there, (view spoiler)[the nerd ISN'T INTO the cheerleader (hide spoiler)], every reader can see that except her. Guess she was too blinded by her mission then. 
 The fact that she nurses a crush and then has it turned into full-blown love is a little disturbing as well. She doesn't know much about him to make such a judgement, but alas, that is what most YA love is about anyway. 
 The ending was really predictable, but I DID like the fact that there was progress between Delaney and her father. She did grow in that aspect but apart from that, I'm afraid this book is strictly for those looking for a quick read and is willing to overlook certain annoying character flaws.