Ruby goes back through her fifteenth year, complete with LOTS of boys, betrayal, broken friendships and shrink appointments.

I found this a bit frustrating. Ruby is a bit hard to like - yes, she did get the rough end of the stick in a few instances, and the last month or so of school I wouldn't wish on an enemy, but she brought a lot of stuff on herself and doesn't have much respect for herself. I'd want to shake her if she were real. As it was, I just wanted the book to end well.

It doesn't, not really. She doesn't end badly, but I always like some come-uppance for the jerks, but that didn't happen - not even remotely. Boo. ( )

At age 15, Ruby Oliver starts seeing a shrink when she starts experiencing panic attacks. The trouble seems to be related to her break-up with a boyfriend, but she doesn't want to talk about it. Her therapist tells her to write "The Boyfriend List," a list of all the boys Ruby has liked, kissed, dated, etc. Each chapter is headed by a boy on the list, as Ruby explains all that has led up to her panic attacks.

I think I reached about my limit of teenage angst in this book, but it was still a good read. Humor kept me going the most, just certain descriptions (particularly of old movies or a teenage girl's understanding of classic rock) or turns of phrase. Also, Ruby learns a lot about herself and while I sometimes felt frustrated with her as a character, I also related to her. ( )

Ruby Oliver's life has official fallen apart. She used to have a great boyfriend, a close group of friends and a pretty good reputation... Not anymore. Now everyone, including her supposed best-friend, thinks Ruby is a slut. Just for kissing her ex-boyfriend at the Spring Fling. And he kissed back...she thinks. Now Ruby is a social leper and is so messed up she has to go to therapy, thanks mom! Things seem bad, but don't worry they can always get worse. Ruby's voice is fantastic in this book. You never want to stop reading and most of the time I just wanted to crawl in there and help her to stop making some serious mistakes. I think this would be a pretty good book for anyone starting therapy because it is a helpful but humorous look at what therapy can do for teens. ( )

Richie's Picks: THE BOYFRIEND LIST (15 GUYS, 11 SHRINK APPOINTMENTS, 4 CERAMIC FROGS AND ME, RUBY OLIVER) by E. Lockhart, Random House/Delacorte, March 2005, ISBN: 0-385-73206-6; Lib. ISBN: 0-385-90238-7.

The list:

"1. Adam (but he doesn't count.)

2. Finn (but people just thought so.)

3. Hutch (but I'd rather not think about it.)

4. Gideon (but it was just from afar.)

5. Ben (but he doesn't know.)

6. Tommy (but it was impossible.)

7. Chase (but it was all in his mind.)

8. Sky (but he had someone else.)

9. Michael (but I so didn't want to.)

10. Angelo (but it was just one date.)

11. Shiv (but it was just one kiss.)

12. Billy (but he didn't call.)

13. Jackson (yes, okay, he was my boyfriend. Don't ask me any more about it.)

14. Noel (but it was all a mistake.)

15. Cabbie (but I'm undecided.)"

If, from my male perspective, I were to characterize the typical crop of Chick Lit as a muddy lot full of bricks, slugs, thistles, and poison oak--as I'm quite content in doing--I would be remiss in not pointing out that it's right on the edge of that lot that I regularly uncover patches of well-fertilized and imaginative growths of tasty YA literature. They're not exactly what I'd refer to as Chick Lit, but they are gobbled up by similar female audiences, along with a significant number of us guys. Last year there was THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS and SAVING FRANCESCA. Other good examples from previous years are CATALYST, GINGERBREAD, DEFINE NORMAL, and WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW.

I suspect that many male adolescents will react to the cover of THE BOYFRIEND LIST (15 GUYS, 11 SHRINK APPOINTMENTS, 4 CERAMIC FROGS AND ME, RUBY OLIVER) as I did. The title and the ceramic frog on a white background which provides the not-so-subtle accompanying visual allusions to frogs-slash-princes did not set off any "Wow! Looks Like A Great Book!" alarms in my head as my fingers took a stroll through the box of advance copies that arrived last week.

(Actually the cover got the opposite reaction--i.e. a very positive one, indeed--from our female 10 and 15 year-olds when they scampered through the new stack. But then they had to go do their homework and I got to read the book first.)

Whatever you think about the cover (or Chick Lit), THE BOYFRIEND LIST is a delightful and frequently achingly honest tale--warts and all--about what happens when girls and boys meet.

As Ruby Oliver explains within the very first footnote (of the dozens of oft-lengthy footnotes throughout the book):

"I was hoping there'd be a set of guidelines handed out in Sex Ed class, but Sex Ed--when I finally got to take it--was all about biology and birth control and nothing about anything that actually goes on between people. Like how to tell what it means when someone forgets to call you when he said he would, or what to do when someone gropes your boob in a movie theater."

Ruby compiles the boyfriend list on the advice of her "shrink," Doctor Z. She is sent to Dr. Z after experiencing a series of five panic attacks that occur within the same ten day period in which Ruby:

" lost my boyfriend (boy #13)
lost my best friend
lost all my other friends
learned gory details about my now-ex-boyfriend's sexual adventures
did something shockingly advanced with boy #15
did something suspicious with boy #10
had an argument with boy #14
drank my first beer
got caught by my mom
lost a lacrosse game
failed a math test
hurt Meghan's feelings
became a leper
and became a famous slut"

The titles of the fifteen chapters that comprise THE BOYFRIEND LIST (15 GUYS, 11 SHRINK APPOINTMENTS, 4 CERAMIC FROGS AND ME, RUBY OLIVER) are the same as the fifteen listings of the boyfriend list. In these fifteen chapters Ruby recounts for Doctor Z the history of her relationships with boys, going all the way back to the little boy she used to stare at in preschool. As the proverbial "fly on the wall," (which happens to be the title of Emily Lockhart's next book), readers are treated to an intimate look at Ruby Oliver's trial-and-error adolescent lessons in human relationships.

From my post-adolescent perspective, so much of what I see in Ruby's relationships with her peers is strikingly similar to what I went through and/or observed with my own contemporaries.

Of course, now that we're all grown up, we don't have to deal with those relationship problems any more. In fact, most of our kids get their first lessons in boy-girl relationships from observing the harmonious interactions between the parental units. Ruby (Roo) has quite a pair to watch:

"I told my parents about the breakup on Sunday at dinner. I had to explain because my mom asked why my eyes were all puffy.
"Mom: 'Oh, I never liked him anyway. He's a horrible boy. I'm going to call his mother!'
"Me: 'Ag! Please don't do that!'
"Dad: 'Elaine, she needs to come to a place of forgiveness. Otherwise she'll never move on.'
"Mom: 'It just happened. She needs to vent. She needs to express her anger.'
"Me: 'Mom, I--'
"Mom: 'Roo, be quiet. She needs to raise her voice and be heard!'
"Dad: 'I wonder how Jackson is feeling right now. Roo, can you think about his perspective, come to an understanding of his position? Because that's the way you'll truly transcend the negativity of this experience.
"Mom: 'I never liked the way he'd honk the horn for you without coming in. What kind of manners is that?' "

So take a nature walk through the horror and zaniness that is the teenage life of Ruby Oliver.

Richie Partington
http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com ( )

Ruby Oliver tells us about her social melt-down - and leads us step by step through the history of her friendships and sometimes romantic relationships to lead us to a conclusion that seems almost inevitable. And as everything falls apart around her, a few unexpected allies pop up. Oh, and as painful as reliving high school drama is, this book is really, really funny. Even as I was frantically looking around for a hole for Ruby to fall into, I was laughing at the absurdity of the situations we can get ourselves into. ( )