The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver #1)

Reader reviewed by Natalie

This book is about a girl named Ruby and how she lost her boyfriend, best friends and total self esteem. She is in therapy and is told to write a list of all the boyfriends she has had. Instead she writes about every guy she has had anything to do with. Whether it be that they talked for a second or has known for a long time.

Personally, I thought it was boring. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I do feel sorry for Ruby because she lost her best friends over a stupid mistake. I think everything was taken out of proportion.

Reader reviewed by brokenx3d

This book was one of my favorite of all times! I think my favorite part was the little footnotes at the bottom. Though they were sometimes distracting, but they gave it more drama, laughs, and feelings. The author describes things that really go on in girls' heads during high school. Being 16, just a year older than Roo, I can totally relate to some of the things she goes through. E. Lockhart makes you feel like Ruby is talking to you, telling her all of her problems.

I'm sure that most girls have had a boyfriend list at one point in their life, or something close to a boyfriend list. It is good to make some sortof Boyfriend list to learn more about yourself.

This was a great read, and I could hardly put it down. I laughed, cried, and even got a litle angry. But most of all I could relate to a lot of things she said, and girls of all ages will learn that they will probably relate to her aswell. My friends and I exchange books all the time, and this is one I will be sure to give to all my friends. This is an amazing story. READ IT!

Reader reviewed by Alexandra

Ruby Oliver has to start seeing a shrink at age 15 after the worst 10 days of her life. She did something "suspicious" with a boy, lost all her friends, and all her semi-friends, became a social outcast, and had a panic attack. After the panic attack, Ruby's mom starts making her go see Dr. Z. Dr. Z in turn forces Ruby to make a list of all her boyfriends, almost-boyfriends, could-have-been-boyfriends, and wanted-to-be-boyfriends. At first the therapy sessions are cathartic and Ruby is working out her problems, even if the other kids at school are still avoiding her. Then her "Boyfriend List" gets discovered, and suddenly people think she's an über-slut, even though some of the boys are from second grade. Will Ruby ever gain back her reputation, and her friends? Ruby's voice is incredibly real, and the pain she goes through is easily identifiable as realistic high school drama. And the footnotes sprinkled throughout help, as well.

Reader reviewed by Stephanie

Sophomore Ruby Oliver went in a matter of days from having a boyfriend and a best friend and being reasonably popular to boyfriendless, best-friendless, and social leper and rumored slut. You could say this was all the fault of her therapist, Dr. Z, who made her write up a list of all the boys in her life. Boys who never even knew she existed were on the list.

THE BOYFRIEND LIST is not a chronological collection of short stories about the 15 boys that are on it. Instead, Roo simply uses the list as a starting point. Its more an exploration of her friendship with her best friend since second grade, Kim Yamamoto, and her relationship with her first boyfriend, Jackson Clarke. Jackson broke up with Roo a few weeks before the Spring Fling, then got together with Kim, both of them claiming that they were each others true loves and that they couldnt fight their mutual feelings.

This leaves Roo stranded in a few confusing and awkward place: shes heartbroken over Jackson, and yet Kim makes her feel as if she should be happy that her best friend has found her true love. Nobody is perfect in this book, which is why THE BOYFRIEND LIST was such a pleasure to read. E. Lockhart has created a cast of memorable characters that readers will want to learn more about. In the process of the story, Roo realizes that love and friendship are not easy to define, and that sometimes, in the process of growing up, one must leave behind some things that were beloved to him or her.

Reader reviewed by Katrina

This book had a nice plot and the storyline was very creative, but I found that the footnotes at the bottom of the pages were quite annoying. I could not really focus on the book because the footnotes were really quite distracting. I've tried to ignore the footnotes but they are very VERY hard not to. It's a pretty good book but I suggest to those that do not like footnotes to not read this book.

Reader reviewed by Sofie

The Boyfriend List is a fun book by E. Lockhart. It is about a girl name Ruby who starts to have panic attacks, so her parents send her to a shrink. The shrink decides she has these panic attacks because of boys, so Ruby has to compile a list of basically all her crushes/boyfriends and boys she has barely even thought about.

This is a really funny book and I recommend it to almost anyone that is 12-15. You can read it in a couple days, and you will laugh out loud a lot, so don't read it in a quiet place!

Reader reviewed by linda

Ruby is a social pariah, she used to be semi-popular and now even the uncool people don't want to be seen with her. It's all because of the guys on the boyfriend list, they're not really guys she has dated but they're the ones who have caught her eye and their exploits fill the novel with hilarious entertainment. She's at the point of desparation where she now has to see a shrink, it's basically all her mom's fault anyways. Ruby's life is so complicated, so filled with drama that it's hard to even try to explain it, you just have to read it. This was a good book and I loved the informative footnotes.

Reader reviewed by Jocelyn


Ruby Oliver (aka Roo) has not had the greatest ten days of her life. You wouldn't think much could happen in those ten days, but Ruby's life has gone from great to terrible in less than two weeks. E. Lockhart's The Boyfriend List is named after the list that Ruby has to make for her new shrink of all the boys with whom she has had something happen, even if it's just checking out the same library books in elementary school. On that list, there are fifteen guys. One of those was her first official boyfriend. In the past ten days, she's lost him, as well as the friendship of some of the others, and her best friends. On top of being a social leper, Ruby has started having panic attacks. I mean, come on, all of that would be enough to make anyone crazy!

Ruby's parents are worried about her, though. And Ruby doesn't want to be like her father's friend, Greg, who has panic attacks and never leaves his house. So she's seeing a shrink. She's fifteen, and has her own psycologist. Can Ruby, with the help of Dr. Z, sort out her life?

The Boyfriend List was an enjoyable read, starring Ruby, a likeable character with a very realistic and entertaining voice. Besides the main plot (the past ten days), it is full of entertaining flashbacks and anecdotes about each of the fifteen guys on Ruby's list (plus a few other things). E. Lockhart's story will capture your attention, and have you racing through the book, eager to find out what happens--but also slowing down, not wanting to miss any of the details of this great story. It's a fun read that you definitely don't want to miss. And when you're done with this one, the sequel, The Boy Book, will be released in a few weeks. I absolutely cannot wait to read it, and I know I'm not alone!

Reader reviewed by ladeedah

As an assignment for the therapist that Ruby is forced to see, she composes a list of all the boyfriends, sort of boyfriends and almost boyfriends she's ever had. The only thing is, the boyfriend list has fallen into the wrong hands...

This book is hilarious! I couldn't put it down. The best part about it is that the reader really feels as if Ruby is speaking to them or that they are reading her journal. Chick lit at its best. Go read it!

Reader reviewed by K.W.

As I was reading this book, I must confess that I saw the whole idea of a 'boyfriend" in a new light. I realized that there were people who technically should have been counted as boyfriends for me based on what this book says. So then I had to get out my journal and make my own list! Ok, so I originally made one in grade school, but now it was more fun to look back...and cringe.

I like the setting of the houseboat. I don't think I've ever read a book-particularly a YA book where the character lived someplace so unusual. I liked her parents-I loved them actually. The parents' converations, particularly the mother, were some of the funniest parts of this novel. And I love that the mother had a "real person" role and not just a "mom" role. We learned about her career and her 1-woman show, which I thought was funny when she'd talk about her fans.

This was a fun read and I especially liked how there was the confusion of the guy who all of a sudden dropped her & then the closure when she found out that he had overheard her talking and thought she was making fun of him. That was a surprising twist that I didn't see coming and I appreciated that as a reader.