The Boyfriend List

Starred review from February 28, 2005
Ruby Oliver's parents send her to a shrink after the 15-year-old begins experiencing panic attacks. Doctor Z asks her to list boys she "ever had the slightest little any-kind-of-anything with" and, as Ruby winds her way through the list, she slowly reveals what has brought her to therapy. Her basic crisis is this: after six months of dating, her boyfriend, Jackson, breaks up with her, only to go out with her best friend, Kim, the following week. When Kim confesses ("It's not like we could even help it. It's like fate"), Ruby has her first attack. Matters only intensify when Ruby winds up going to the spring formal with Jackson anyway, and kisses him (she claims "he kissed me back"). Kim exacts sharp revenge and Ruby's other friends stop talking to her; the heroine feels like she has become a "leper." The copious footnotes occasionally detract from the narration, but readers will be absorbed in Ruby's honest story. Lockhart (pseudonymous for Jenkins, author of That New Animal
, reviewed above) convincingly captures the intentional—and unintentional—cruelty that comes with dating; even Ruby inflicts pain (Shiv, a popular Indian-American boy she once kissed, is hurt after he thinks she made fun of him: "I heard you... something about I smelled like nutmeg? Like you were disgusted by kissing an Indian or something"). Spot-on dialogue and details make this a painfully recognizable and addictive read. Ages 12-up.

April 1, 2005
Gr 9 Up -Fifteen-year-old Ruby "Roo" Oliver is having a tough year at Tate Prep. Through a series of social debacles, she loses her best friends, her boyfriend, her dignity, and the respect of her fellow Taters in less than two weeks' time. Following nearly half a dozen panic attacks, Roo starts to spend some quality time on Doctor Z.'s couch, where she makes (at her shrink's urging) a list of boyfriends past and present, official and unofficial, and starts on a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, Ruby begins to think about patterns in her life and ways that she might be more like her mother than she'd care to admit. Fortunately, Ruby survives her traumatic exile and lives to tell the tale. Lockhart has created a fun character in the spirit of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson and Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones. Ruby is a likable and empathetic character whose quirks and behaviors will strike a chord with many readers. The snappy dialogue makes this story a winner, though the language and discussion of sexually charged situations are frank. The scenarios all ring true, as does Roo's inner voice. Though the novel starts off a bit slowly, and it takes a while to get used to the funny footnotes, it gains speed, and the comedy of errors will have readers laughing out loud. Teens will soon be listing the reasons they want another Ruby adventure." -Elaine Baran Black, Gwinnett County Public Library, Lawrenceville, GA"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2005
Gr. 8-11. Fifteen-year-old Ruby Oliver's life is full of challenges. She lives on a houseboat; attends private school--on scholarship; and her boyfriend has dumped her for her best friend. Nothing, however, is worse than having her "boyfriend list" (homework from her shrink) passed around school and being branded a "slut." It's her therapy, during which she examines current and past events--including feelings about boys--that helps put Ruby back on track, allowing her to gain insight into her relationships and the importance of self-worth. Ruby's character is sympathetic, witty, and sometimes frustrating, and it shines through her introspective, occasionally funny narrative, which incorporates such familiar teen issues as coping with peer pressure and a broken heart. The time line is somewhat confusing, and the abundant, often lengthy footnoted asides occasionally distract from the story's flow, but readers will find many of Ruby's experiences familiar, and they'll appreciate the story as a lively, often entertaining read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

April 18, 2005
Siegfried makes a believable 15-year-old narrator as she slips into the role of Ruby Oliver, a spirited girl struggling with identity and self-esteem after suffering the kind of social crisis that sets high schoolers reeling. Ruby's boyfriend of six months, Jackson, has dumped her in favor of her best friend, Kim. Ruby's resulting panic attacks land her in the office of a shrink, Dr. Z, and part of her therapy involves writing a complete list of the boys with whom she's ever had a crush, kiss, relationship or "little any-kind-of-anything." As listeners learn about each entry on the boyfriend list (including lots of authentic-sounding dialogue and asides, which appear in the book as footnotes to the list), they hear the Jackson drama and every painful, truthful detail about the clique land mines Ruby must maneuver when it comes to her former friends, to whom she's now a "leper." Via Siegfried's sharp delivery and expert teen inflection, one can almost envision the eye-rolling and other gestures that might accompany Ruby's smart-aleck, I can't-believe-this-humiliating-thing-is-happening-to-me attitude. Ages 12-up.

July 1, 2005
When Ruby starts having panic attacks, she sees a shrink who has her compile a list of her boyfriends, possible boyfriends, and crushes. Each boy is accorded a chapter, and the reason why Ruby is having panic attacks slowly unfolds. While some aspects of the story don't ring true, Ruby is an entertaining character and her musings will resonate with readers.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)