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ipomoea's review against another edition
4.0
Ruby Oliver should be hanging out with Jessica Darling and Georgia Nicholson.
ruthjennings23's review against another edition
4.0
A little Chaotic. But fun to read I enjoyed how each person built the story and it was interesting in past tense.
kpeet's review against another edition
3.0
**3 Stars**
Ruby Oliver is having a rough time. Her boyfriend dumps her for her friend but then kisses her at a dance, thus starting a shitstorm that engulfs her life. Ruby starts having panic attacks, and her mom makes her see a therapist. This book reads as an account of her time in therapy, where she discusses a "boyfriend list" that she wrote.
The Boyfriend List is one of those books it seems like everyone likes. Check Goodreads and there are piles of 4- and 5-star reviews. People talk about how hilarious they think Ruby is and how relatable Lockhart made her. Reflecting on this book, I didn't understand their reaction. I didn't think Ruby was particularly funny. I thought she was a stereotypical "alternative, vintage-loving reader" high school girl. Nothing in this book is new or exciting. Almost everything that happens to Ruby is essentially a consequence of her own inaction. She bitches and moans and cries but she does absolutely nothing to change her circumstances. The quote above from the book is right: she never does anything.
And yet, I didn't think this novel was that bad. My pet peeve is when people think they have the all the facts and don't, so when Kim, Nora, and Cricket wouldn't talk to her, and the bitchy girls would call her names and spread rumors, I felt myself getting a little upset. Especially because Ruby's frustration at not being heard felt so familiar. When Jackson kissed her at the dance and then backtracked when caught, I felt betrayed. When Kim spread around the boyfriend list and started all the gossip, I was shocked and hurt. When Noel squeezed her hand in the lunch line, I felt the glimmer of hope that things would be okay. Point is, Lockhart got me and I didn't even realize it until I started this review. I don't know if I should be impressed at how sneaky she was or embarrassed I wrote it off so early. Maybe both.
Some of Ruby's friends were pretty one-dimension, but I liked Kim. Although necessarily a bitch, before that she was fun, loyal, yet imperfect. Ruby's parents were totally crazy but I loved them. They weren't there to merely serve a function like most YA parents.
There were some things I didn't like. The footnotes were a nice touch, but some of them were really excessive. Footnotes should not have full conversations that spill into the next page's footnotes. Put that in the story. Another thing I didn't like is a lot of the "boyfriends" shouldn't have been on that list. One was made-up, a few were just rumors, and a few were just people she had superficial, baseless crushes on. Hardly enough to make an impact on her life. Although I guess maybe they were important to the therapeutic process, trying to recognize her patterns with guys she likes.
The ending was also a little boring for me. While not your usual "everything works out perfectly" young adult ending, it's almost to the extreme were exactly nothing happens besides Ruby riding off into the sunset of California with her mom. Again, keeping with the theme of Ruby does nothing to help herself.
Summary
I started this book with high expectations, which quickly fell as I read. I had imagined an unfavorable review, even as I looked back on my reading, but in actually writing, I realized I liked this one a lot more than I had thought. The drawn-out footnotes and helpless character known as our main protagonist detract from enjoyment, but all in all, this one is really quite solid. High-school drama, kisses, rumors, and more, Lockhart writes of a high-school I left years ago, but can so easily recall with her words.
Ruby Oliver is having a rough time. Her boyfriend dumps her for her friend but then kisses her at a dance, thus starting a shitstorm that engulfs her life. Ruby starts having panic attacks, and her mom makes her see a therapist. This book reads as an account of her time in therapy, where she discusses a "boyfriend list" that she wrote.
The Boyfriend List is one of those books it seems like everyone likes. Check Goodreads and there are piles of 4- and 5-star reviews. People talk about how hilarious they think Ruby is and how relatable Lockhart made her. Reflecting on this book, I didn't understand their reaction. I didn't think Ruby was particularly funny. I thought she was a stereotypical "alternative, vintage-loving reader" high school girl. Nothing in this book is new or exciting. Almost everything that happens to Ruby is essentially a consequence of her own inaction. She bitches and moans and cries but she does absolutely nothing to change her circumstances. The quote above from the book is right: she never does anything.
And yet, I didn't think this novel was that bad. My pet peeve is when people think they have the all the facts and don't, so when Kim, Nora, and Cricket wouldn't talk to her, and the bitchy girls would call her names and spread rumors, I felt myself getting a little upset. Especially because Ruby's frustration at not being heard felt so familiar. When Jackson kissed her at the dance and then backtracked when caught, I felt betrayed. When Kim spread around the boyfriend list and started all the gossip, I was shocked and hurt. When Noel squeezed her hand in the lunch line, I felt the glimmer of hope that things would be okay. Point is, Lockhart got me and I didn't even realize it until I started this review. I don't know if I should be impressed at how sneaky she was or embarrassed I wrote it off so early. Maybe both.
Some of Ruby's friends were pretty one-dimension, but I liked Kim. Although necessarily a bitch, before that she was fun, loyal, yet imperfect. Ruby's parents were totally crazy but I loved them. They weren't there to merely serve a function like most YA parents.
There were some things I didn't like. The footnotes were a nice touch, but some of them were really excessive. Footnotes should not have full conversations that spill into the next page's footnotes. Put that in the story. Another thing I didn't like is a lot of the "boyfriends" shouldn't have been on that list. One was made-up, a few were just rumors, and a few were just people she had superficial, baseless crushes on. Hardly enough to make an impact on her life. Although I guess maybe they were important to the therapeutic process, trying to recognize her patterns with guys she likes.
The ending was also a little boring for me. While not your usual "everything works out perfectly" young adult ending, it's almost to the extreme were exactly nothing happens besides Ruby riding off into the sunset of California with her mom. Again, keeping with the theme of Ruby does nothing to help herself.
Summary
I started this book with high expectations, which quickly fell as I read. I had imagined an unfavorable review, even as I looked back on my reading, but in actually writing, I realized I liked this one a lot more than I had thought. The drawn-out footnotes and helpless character known as our main protagonist detract from enjoyment, but all in all, this one is really quite solid. High-school drama, kisses, rumors, and more, Lockhart writes of a high-school I left years ago, but can so easily recall with her words.
kurpjukaste's review against another edition
3.0
grāmata, ar kuru man bija ļoti daudz problēmu, bet tai pašā laikā ar dažām situācijām varēja savilkt paralēles.
merkyr's review against another edition
3.0
I think I would have easily given this book four stars if I hadn't been reading it on a kindle, where the footnotes were so hard to jump back and forth! I thought it was a hilarious and fun group of characters and had a really authentic high school voice.
terrabme's review against another edition
3.0
A solid three stars
I liked it perfectly alright and I'll most likely continue on with the series, mostly because I feel like this first book was missing a plot almost. There wasn't much of an arc and it was almost all backstory about the boys in Ruby's life, and not much resolution. I'm hoping there's more plot in the coming books.
I liked it perfectly alright and I'll most likely continue on with the series, mostly because I feel like this first book was missing a plot almost. There wasn't much of an arc and it was almost all backstory about the boys in Ruby's life, and not much resolution. I'm hoping there's more plot in the coming books.
dorisede's review against another edition
5.0
This is the third time I have read this book and it's still amazing. I love Ruby Oliver and all her drama and Noel is simply amazing. Her awful, mean so called friends are the only thing I dislike about this book. They make me so mad especially that Kim girl.
For the Popsugar Reading Challenge: Your favorite prompt from a past Popsugar Reading Challenge ( A reread of a favorite book).
For the Popsugar Reading Challenge: Your favorite prompt from a past Popsugar Reading Challenge ( A reread of a favorite book).
claire_loves_books's review against another edition
2.0
DNF @ 18%
This was funny but I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style- it's in a slightly weird set up, it's mostly told through Ruby's appointments with Doctor Z but we have flashback scenes that cover the events that Ruby's talking about with Doctor Z- it all felt one step removed, instead of seeing what happened we were being told bits and pieces when Ruby talked to Doctor Z without getting the full story, I just wasn't enjoying it so I gave up.
This was funny but I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style- it's in a slightly weird set up, it's mostly told through Ruby's appointments with Doctor Z but we have flashback scenes that cover the events that Ruby's talking about with Doctor Z- it all felt one step removed, instead of seeing what happened we were being told bits and pieces when Ruby talked to Doctor Z without getting the full story, I just wasn't enjoying it so I gave up.
kelseyoulater's review against another edition
4.0
Originally reviewed on thebasicbookbitch
Fifteen year old Ruby Oliver has lost her boyfriend, her best friends, her other good friends and has basically been ostracised by everyone at her school and deemed a slut. At the start of the book we know all of this, but we don't know the circumstances to turn everyone on Ruby.
The sequence of events that lead to Ruby becoming a 'lepar' (a term commonly used at the school she attends to describe an outcast) is told over the series of the book. Ruby has to start seeing a therapist as she has been having panic attacks as a result of these events. Her therapist suggests writing a list of all the boys in Ruby's life, hence the boyfriend list.
Ruby goes through the list describing her encounter with each of the boys, often skipping from her past to present day as she describes how each of them have affected her.
E. Lockhart has proved once again what a great writer she is with this one and how different her writing style can be. As I mentioned this book skips from the past to present quite frequently and there are footnotes doted all over the place which really help give the feel that this is the stream of Ruby's consciousness as she writes down her series of events.
Although this book is not as shocking or as stand out as some other contemporary stuff that is around at the moment, it is still a great read, especially for the summer. When reading this I kept thinking of the film Mean Girls which is a brilliant film so if you are a fan of that sort of plot line then I think you would like The Boyfriend List.
Fifteen year old Ruby Oliver has lost her boyfriend, her best friends, her other good friends and has basically been ostracised by everyone at her school and deemed a slut. At the start of the book we know all of this, but we don't know the circumstances to turn everyone on Ruby.
The sequence of events that lead to Ruby becoming a 'lepar' (a term commonly used at the school she attends to describe an outcast) is told over the series of the book. Ruby has to start seeing a therapist as she has been having panic attacks as a result of these events. Her therapist suggests writing a list of all the boys in Ruby's life, hence the boyfriend list.
Ruby goes through the list describing her encounter with each of the boys, often skipping from her past to present day as she describes how each of them have affected her.
E. Lockhart has proved once again what a great writer she is with this one and how different her writing style can be. As I mentioned this book skips from the past to present quite frequently and there are footnotes doted all over the place which really help give the feel that this is the stream of Ruby's consciousness as she writes down her series of events.
Although this book is not as shocking or as stand out as some other contemporary stuff that is around at the moment, it is still a great read, especially for the summer. When reading this I kept thinking of the film Mean Girls which is a brilliant film so if you are a fan of that sort of plot line then I think you would like The Boyfriend List.