Full review at http://yannabe.com/2009/12/06/review-...

Summary: In less than two weeks, 15-year-old Ruby Oliver manages to lose her boyfriend and her best friends, making her the official social pariah of her prep school. Then the anxiety attacks start, and she literally can’t breathe.

Review: I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. Because of how much I loved Frankie, I expected to be blown away again. Not exactly fair, I know.

Of all reviews, this one deserves a list, so here are a couple things that got in the way of me loving this book:

* Footnotes—I liked them in An Abundance of Katherines, but here they distracted me from the flow of the story. I think it’s because these footnotes were too frequent, and they didn’t always add much.
* Timeline—The back-and-forth timeline was hard to follow at times. I would catch myself jumping back a page or two to try to figure out when the scene had really happened.

But Ruby grew on me, and at the end of the book I wanted to read the rest of the series.

Why? Little scenes like this. Ruby’s driving, and her mom is in the passenger seat.

We were only going like five miles an hour in a circle around the parking lot, but Mom kept doing these sharp intakes of breath like she was at a horror movie.

“Roo! That guy is pulling out!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you see him? There, he’s backing up.”

“Yeah.”

“So stop!”

I stopped.

“Don’t hit the brake so hard, Roo.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did. I jerked forward in my seat. But it’s okay, you’re learning. It’s practice. Oh!” she squealed, as I started around the parking lot again. “Be careful! There’s a squirrel!”

“I wonder where I get my anxiety,” I said. ( )

Fairly good teen book. Ruby is a good narrator and I did find myself laughing out loud at certain parts. Ruby's 'angst' is fairly realistic in the teenage-girl-all-I-think-about-is-boys-and-friends scenario. Light, funny read. ( )

Reviewed by Mrs. Foley
From Destiny Library record, "Ruby Oliver, a moderately popular fifteen-year-old who has suddenly become a social pariah, begins seeing a psychiatrist and makes a list of all her past boyfriends in an attempt to understand where her life went wrong."

This is not one I will be recommending. It is just okay. Fine for a book "just to read" and may have some insight into the dating angst of some students, but just not that great of a book.

Review from Booklist (April 1, 2005 (Vol. 101, No. 15))
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. ( )

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

The additional title of THE BOYFRIEND LIST is (15 guys, 11 shrink appointments, 4 ceramic frogs and me, Ruby Oliver). It's very enlightening, entertaining, and oh-so-paramount to the book. This is the life and times of nearly sixteen-year old Ruby Oliver, former girlfriend of Jackson, former best friend of Kim, former semi-popular Sophomore high-school girl. Now just a girl with panic attacks, a Xerox-copied "Boyfriend List" circulating through school, and a shrink named Doctor Z.

Ruby's life used to be pretty normal, until her boyfriend broke up with her to date her best friend. Then the panic attacks started--shortness of breath, a tightening sensation in the chest, dizziness and nausea--that had her parents shipping her off to a psychiatrist to work out her "issues." Those issues would mainly be, in chronological order:

1) Adam
2) Finn
3) Hutch
4) Gideon
5) Ben
6) Tommy
7) Chase
8) Sky
9) Michael
10) Angelo
11) Shiv
12) Billy
13) Jackson
14) Noel
15) Cabbie

It might sound, in retrospect, like a lot of guys in a short period of time. But Ruby's made a list of every boy who has ever meant something to her, and these are the fifteen guys that make up the list. In THE BOYFRIEND LIST, we learn about all the guys in Ruby's life, from Adam to Cabbie and everyone in between--and the result is a laugh-out-loud coming-of-age story that is well worth reading. ( )

I enjoyed this book. It was actually quite funny. Ruby went through alot being a fifteen year old girl and all. I would read more by this author. ( )

Kearsten says: 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. ( )

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. ( )

I fell in love with Lockhart with Frankie, but knew I'd keep reading her books after The Boyfriend List. I loved this book way more than I thought. I'd passed over it numerous times in the past, but when I finally picked it up, I scolded myself for not reading it before. Basically it's a high school story where everything goes wrong, but in a way that the reader can identify with. There's no drama car crash or alien abduction or whatever (not that I don't like those, I do), it's just normal teenage stuff. And I love Lockhart for both the frank way she deals with therapy and how really, absolutely hard it is for some of us in high school, even when we're just trying to do the right thing. ( )

After Ruby Oliver starts having panic attacks, her parents send her to a therapist who makes her write down a list of every boy she's ever kissed (or almost kissed). As Ruby tells the stories of how the boys made her list, the reader finds out why she is having panic attacks and watches as she learns to stick up for herself. ( )

A heart-warming but sad tale of how therapy can actually ruin your life. Ruby, 15 is sent to see a shrink by her parents after several terrible events in her life. Her shrink, Dr. Z asks Ruby to write up every actual, rumoured and wanted boyfriend she had. Each chapter goes on to explain each boy on the list and why he is there. The only one boy she truly loved, Jackson, falls out of love with her and then in with her best friend, Kim.
Ruby makes the mistake of kissing Jackson and then having a tender moment with another guy as Jackson watches. Kim finds "The Boyfriend List" makes copies and passes them around school where Ruby is soon a "leper" with only one friend left. In the end, Ruby is on tentative terms with one friend, Kim & Jackson still hate her but she is good friends with another girl. She then tells how if Jackson appeared on her doorstep, she'd probably still take him back. The last page is about looking forward to her future. It's funny, sad and lovely all at once. Truly a must-read for any teen girl out there. I loved it and I'm sure you will too.

Ruby has to go see a therapist after her boyfriend dumps her and her therapist makes her create a list of all the boys who have ever meant anything to her. No matter how great or small. Each chapter heading starts with the name of the boy she discusses in that week's session, but we hear much more about Ruby. We get the story on her boyfriend and why he dumped her and also learn much about her school and her friends. ( )

Ruby starts having panic attacks when her boyfriend breaks up with her and starts dating her former best friend, her parents send her to a shrink who has her go through every boyfriend she has ever had or thought about having. Ruby is a character that many high school girls can relate to and all her descriptions of her boyfriends have the reader seeing each character through Ruby's eyes. The plot flows from Ruby's present day experiences and back into the past that require the reader to pay attention so as not to get lost in the story and read the footnotes that keep the story interesting. The setting is a typical high school that most readers will be able to relate to. Overall I thought this was a fun read and would be good for a public library in the teen section. ( )

The boyfriend list is about the debacle of being a teenage girl. It is about a girl named Ruby Oliver who begins to have panic attacks, after her boyfriend Jackson breaks up with her. And her so called best friend starts going out with him. Ruby begins seeing a shrink to help her with her attacks, her shrink gives her a homework assignment for her mental health.Which is to write a boyfriend list that includes from real boyfriends to imagionary boyfriends to rumour boyfriends. Ruby aslo becomes a bit of an outcast at her high school and learns some valuble lessons on how to treat people and their feelings. I think this is a great YA book and I highly recomend it =] ( )

A fun YA chick-lit bit of angst. ( )

Funny, introspective, and exactly quirky enough - about friendship, boyfriends, and what happens when they clash. ( )

It's about a girl named Ruby who has a panic attack because of braking up with her boyfriend. So she had to start going to shrink appointments. Doctor 2 (shrink) asked Ruby what was happening. she told her so doc 2 made her make a boyfriend list she lost all her friends, boyfriends, everyone beacuse they think she is a bad person. i liked this book and when i first started reading it couldn't put it down
A.C

Ruby's boyfriend dumped her for her best friend. That started the whole debacle. Ruby started having panic attacks and went into therapy. The therapist asked her to make a list of all the boys she's been interested in. Then things really got bad. ( )

This was a fun but reasonably run of the mill ya chick lit. Some nice coming of age stuff, some quirky characters, and a nice way to pass a couple of hours but not terribly memorable all told. ( )

Ruby Oliver is fifteen, and she's been having a rough ten days. She lost her boyfriend as well as her best friend, and she's become a 'leper' at school because of persistent rumors. Ruby goes to therapy to deal with the panic attacks that have begun since her social ostracism.

The book is structured around Ruby's list of 'boyfriends' that she wrote for her therapy sessions. The stories behind the list are touching and beautifully evoke the vagaries of dealing with the opposite sex, best friends, and parents.

I devoured this book and am looking forward to the sequel. This dealt with all the problems of adolescent life without being corny or trivializing teenage existence. All I can really say is that it evoked so many memories (not all of them good), and that's the true measure of a successful 'high school' book.

I loved the footnotes (utterly hysterical), and I'm looking forward to the sequel which is supposed to include more excerpts from 'The Boy Book'.

Upon reread (Sep 26, 2007):
The betrayal by friends and boyfriends is still heartwrenching, but this time I noticed far more just how irritating/oblivious her parents really were to her distress and how much they contributed to her panic attacks. I also caught the 'message' of actually doing something to take care of your problems yourself in a much stronger way upon reread. The therapist has the right of it: like most teenagers, many of Ruby's problems are of her own making - simply due to her inaction. Like so many people she chooses to blame others for what they do or don't do rather than discuss her problems with them.

Ruby is still a sympathetic character - and the scenes with her friends are truly upsetting (they come off as even more callous on reread) especially given the problems inherent in the 'Tate Universe'. But by the end of the book, Ruby has reached a much better place emotionally speaking, and in a non-corny sort of way. Still a good (and funny) read - but it's got less punch if you already know the big horror she keeps hinting at through the chapters. ( )

I listened to this quick read. I think a lot of girls middle school through 10th grade could relate. The writing did not strike me as particularly powerful, but I enjoyed the story. ( )

I really liked this book! It makes you just want to never put it down. If you like reading about girls in school and boys then you will love it. You really should read this!