Published by Delacorte
Bookish rating: 4
Oh, the angst of being a high schooler, especially when your friends are all mad at you and you’ve become a social pariah (or, to use Ruby Oliver’s word, leper). And what to do about all those crushes?
Junior Ruby Oliver narrates The Boy Book, which takes place at a prep school in Seattle (earning the book its first point). I’ve read a lot of young adult literature, and this is the best and most believable teen dialogue that I've read in a long time. I almost started taking notes to improve the dialogue in my own writing. Actually, I did take mental notes. And have since regretted not taking actual notes.
Anyway, Ruby’s friends are all peeved because she sort of accidentally made out with a guy who one of her close friends had already gone on record liking, so they ditch her. Meanwhile, she still pines for the dude and struggles to make other friends who are a little less A-list. Really, the plot isn’t what is important. Ruby’s voice, not to mention her compulsion to make hilarious lists and then hyper-footnote her own narration, is freaking adorable. To boot, the dialogue among the teensters is just spot on, and with just the right amount of edge. Finally, Ruby’s relationship with her parents (her mom continually tries to remind her that it’s a-okay if she’s a lesbian and they will not freak out if/when she chooses to come out) is a riot, as she reads their parenting books so she can stay one step ahead of them. Highly recommended for anyone interested in writing YA lit, as your own dialogue and writing will suddenly seem totally old-fogey. Also recommended for anyone interested in reading YA lit.
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