Review: The Boy Book

The Boy Book
Ruby Oliver, Book 2

Author: E. Lockhart
Pages: 224
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Source: Own

Description from Goodreads:
Cringe, laugh, and cry with Ruby Oliver as she learns to deal with boys, best friends, and her panic attacks!

Join Ruby Oliver at the start of her junior year at Tate Prep as she confronts:

• the secret about Noel
• mysterious notes from Jackson
• the interpretation of boy-speak
• the horrors of the school trip
• new entries in The Boy Book

There are Fruit Roll-Ups.
There is upper-regioning.
There are so many boys to choose from!
And there are penguins.

Only Ruby can keep her readers on her side even as those around her wonder, What is she thinking?!

Series Up to This Book:
1: The Boyfriend List (review|Goodreads)

First Sentence: (Context: This is in reference to the chapter title, "The Care and Ownership of Boobs") "a subject important to our study of the male humanoid animal because the boobs, if deployed properly, are like giant boy magnets attached to your chest."

Review:

A recent goal of mine has been to try to strike a better balance between review books and backlist titles. As such, I've been making time in my schedule for some books of my choice. How wonderful it is to read a full, already completed series back to back, rather than waiting a year for each one; I'd almost forgotten what that was like. Lockhart's Ruby Oliver charmed me with the first book, The Boyfriend List, and the sequel completely lives up to its predecessor.

Ruby Oliver remains her charming, neurotic self, and she grows on me more the better I become acquainted with her. In The Boyfriend List, I mentioned how realistic Ruby's selfishness made her as a character. In The Boy Book, the impact of Ruby's work with her therapist Doctor Z begins to become apparent. She really matures in this installment, learning to think a little bit more about her actions and their motivations. Her progress forward into a better Ruby is not too easy, though, as she does suffer the usual setbacks. Her character arc makes a natural and uplifting progression.

Each chapter opens with a snippet of the titular "Boy Book," created by Ruby and her former friends. In this book, they compiled the sum of their knowledge about boys, from boobs to phone etiquette to their girl code. These excerpts starkly contrast Ruby's current social leprosy with the days with the strength of their former friendship. So much of the book consists of their agreements to tell one another everything and trust one another implicitly, rules made tragic by how much they failed to work.

Romantic drama may seem to take center stage in this series, but, in fact, the most core theme is that of friendship. Lockhart tackles such notions as what friends owe to one another, and what precisely makes two people friends. She investigates both how Ruby's former friendships fell apart, and what Ruby learned from that. Left without any friends, Ruby settles for the best options open to her: Meghan, Noel, and Hutch. She never hated any of them, but they did not used to matter to her much either. Watching Ruby grow closer to them, find their hidden depths and begin to develop meaningful connections with them is a thing of beauty. I especially appreciated seeing Meghan's character, previously shown largely as a Bick-obsessed airhead, given so much more substance.

As far as the romance goes, Jackson continues in his serial dating ways. That boy cannot stand to be alone for five seconds. Thankfully, part of Ruby's growing up is coming to terms with the fact that Jackson is not at all the boy she thought he was, and moving on from him. A new romance blossoms on the horizon, but with an impediment that has me chewing my nails in concern. Ruby Oliver does the right thing, rather than the easy thing, and this is the surest sign of her new maturity.

The only reason I rated this installment lower than the prior is that the summation of book one was poorly handled. Rather than working the information in naturally, Lockhart infodumps crucial facts from book one here and there. Obviously, this will not be an issue for those who are not reading the books back to back as I am.

Lockhart's Ruby Oliver series shines with wit and personality, a humorous little gem. The stories are both quick and delightful to read. Next up is The Treasure Map of Boys, and I am glad I don't have to wait after that somewhat dramatic, though not cliffhanger dramatic, ending.

Review: 3.5/5

Favorite Quote:

"But I shouldn't go having flings I don't want in order to make my boyfriend notice me. And I shouldn't pretend that I don't like him so he'll come crawling back. Because it's creepy and stupid.
    It would be better to stop liking him for real. Then I'd be a lot happier."