Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Readers of Jenny O'Connell's first book for teens, PLAN B, will have high expectations for THE BOOK OF LUKE--and they won't be disappointed!

When nice girl Emily Abbot's family moves from Chicago back to Boston in the middle of her senior year, Emily and her two best friends come up with a plan that is not so nice. It's a project for their class time capsule, but it won't be the typical scrapbook or mix CD. They'll write a handbook for guys about girls. And who better to test out their theories on than arrogant Luke Preston? Emily, the three friends decide, will be the perfect person to try it out and report back. After all, Luke would never suspect the nice little Emily he knew way back when...But Emily's not what she used to be.

Before she knows it, however, the experiment has gone horribly wrong. Wrong in that Emily finds herself falling head over heels for her experiment!

THE BOOK OF LUKE is a funny, original story guaranteed to have readers fascinated from first page to last! This fresh, honest novel is full of amazing characters and excellent writing. Jenny O'Connell is a smart, talented author; I'm really looking forward to seeing what she writes next! This is contemporary fiction at its best; readers will not be disappointed. ( )

While the characters were well drawn and appealing, the premise the story itself was very flimsy. I found myself becoming more and more frustrated as I continued to read and heroine Emily grew more and more ridiculous.

Emily Abbott finds herself in the most unenviable position - moving back to Boston in the middle of her senior year. On the morning of her departure from Chicago, her boyfriend breaks up with her, and her father and mother announce they've decide to spend some time apart. On the good side, she's able to jump right back into her friendship with Josie and Lucy.

The girls come up with an odd plan for a how-to book to put in their senior class's time capsule. Frustrated with guys in general, they come up with a list of annoying things guys do to girls along with suggestions of how to be a better boyfriend. And here's where the story falls apart. For some reason, the three girls decide that they must test out this guide-book. And to do so, Emily will start dating Josie's ex-boyfriend, BMOC Luke. Ostensibly, Emily will get Luke to like her, identify all of the ways he acts like a typical male jerk, and then change him so that he's the new model of the perfect boyfriend. At which time, she will then dump him and extract revenge on all of the men who've ever done any women wrong. This plan makes absolutely no sense from the outset, and it only devolves from there.

Problem is, there was no "testing" involved. The guide-book's premise - a book for boys that lists all the things they do wrong - does not facilitate testing because there are never any things to actually test. Never once could I see where Emily was re-educating Luke in any way.

Because of course Emily learns that Luke isn't such a bad guy. In fact, she rather likes him just as he is. Even as her friends goad her on in her developing relationship, for some reason Emily thinks she's still following their Grand Plan. But rather than tell Lucy and Josie that she's changed her mind - that she likes Luke and wants to date him for real, the story has Emily hide her feelings from her friends. And, predictably, everything blows up in her face. Luke learns that he's the subject of the girls' "we hate boys" project, and Lucy and Josie are angry at Emily for falling for Luke. Everyone treats Emily as if she was some evil bitch, when I never saw her do anything mean to anyone.

The premise was stupid. Rather than using some guide-book project as the source of conflict, O'Connell should have stuck with the real problem of Emily falling for the boy that dumped and hurt her best friend.

The book's saving grace was that Emily was a compelling heroine, and her relationship with Luke was sweet. ( )

When I first read about this book online, I knew that I had to get to it. I love books that have a plot around some he-said-she-said, boy vs girl storyline. I wasn't disappointed to say the least.

I think this book is great for any teen who knows the ordeals that goes into choosing a friends and someone we can potentially love. It's also great for girls who think that guys are genetically stupid and just don't know how to treat girls right. Jenny O'Connell makes it clear in this novel that boys aren't the only ones who make stupid decisions and ultimately hurt those around them. Sometimes the problems that seem to be most troublesome between the two sexes is just a mess of misunderstandings.

I love the idea of Emily, a girl who's a nice girl, and is done with that persona. I personally think that it's insulting whenever anyone who knows me describes me as "nice." It's a thing you say about your neighbour or someone you don't really know how to describe. And though I do applaud Emily for finally speaking out for herself and taking life in her own hands, I also see how her efforts to be not nice end up in a really big mess.

One problem I did have with the characters is Josie's part in it. The guide was to just reform guys and let them know exactly what they're doing wrong. However, halfway into the novel, she expresses wanting to take Luke back for herself. It makes the relationship between Emily and Luke seem wrong no matter how it may end. And then Josie lets Emily off and even sets her back up with Luke. Both these abrupt changes seem too forced as if her actions are what helps O'Connell get the outcomes she wants from the story. Besides that, I liked the book. And I'll recommend it to teens anywhere. ( )

High school senior Emily Abbott has always been nice. That’s what happens when your mother is a nationally known etiquette guru.

Well, look where nice has gotten her. Several weeks before Christmas, her dad makes the decision to move the family back to Massachusetts, where they grew up, and then several days later announces that he is going to stay in Chicago for a little while. Then her boyfriend Sean breaks up with her the morning she is leaving on her front step, in front of her whole family.

So Emily is done with being nice. Her old best friends Josie and Lucy welcome her back, and together they begin boy-bashing. Why are all guys so rude, oblivious, obnoxious, and just plain clueless? The three decide to put together a not-so-nice guide to set the guys straight.

But before they can reveal this information to everyone, they must test it first. And there is no better guy to test it on than Josie’s ex-boyfriend, Luke Preston, the hottest and most popular guy in school, who broke up with her through email. Emily is going to make Luke fall for her, give him a few lessons in guy etiquette, and then dump him to get back at him for what he did to Josie and other girls.

Except somewhere in the middle of her game, her actions stop feeling manipulative and start feeling…genuine. Emily is torn between her love for her sort-of boyfriend Luke and her dedication to her friends and their project. Her attempt to keep both by lying to everyone could just end up losing her everyone she cares for…unless she’s brave enough to come clean to everyone.

Jenny O’Connell has a real ear for teen dialogue a great story going, and the result is a fun and charming book that’s worth reading. ( )

When Emily returns to her home-town, she believes the least likely thing to happen to her is to fall in love with the guy who broke his best friend's heart. When she gets "assigned" to try to turn Luke into a suitable boyfriend for her best friend, she doesn't believe that she would actually like him, but she does. It would be the perfect romance, if not for the fact that she had to lie to her best friends. ( )