As Keris mentioned in her review of E. [for Emily] Lockhart's The Boyfriend Book, The Boyfriend List is the prequel to that book. Ever the completist, I couldn't resist reviewing it! The story of Ruby Oliver, a fifteen year-old girl who's been referred to a psychiatrist after suffering a series of panic attacks, it's a funny, moving and realistic portrayal of teenage life.
Ruby's psychiatrist notices that she's talking about boys quite a lot, so asks her to make a 'boyfriend list', listing every boy she's ever had any kind of romantic liaison with, however insignificant. Most of the chapters of this book are named after one of the boys on the list, and Ruby narrates the story of what happens with each boy within each chapter, allowing the narrative to switch around, and also feeding in information about her family, her rift with her best friend and the causes of her anxiety. The story is very cleverly woven together in this way, and keeps the reader hooked.
At first, I admit it took me a little time to adjust to a YA story, all about school and teenage feelings- I wasn't sure I wanted to revisit all that! Plus the book is clearly aimed at young teenagers... But once I got into the story, I didn't care about any of that, and would now be happy to call E. Lockhart one of my favourite chick-lit authors- YA or otherwise...
Ruby Oliver is a believable and endearing character and The Boyfriend List is compelling, fun, and captures the spirit of teenagerdom brilliantly. And it will remind you to be very careful what you throw away in public bins, too....
Rating: 4 out of 5
Like this? Try The Boyfriend Book by E Lockhart; The Princess Diaries Seventh Heaven by Meg Cabot.
And check out the author's blog too- it's fab!
