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

Reader reviewed by Lianne

Ruby Oliver is a fun narrator. After loosing all of her friends, and having some major issues at school like being dumped by her boyfriend Ruby's parents make her go and see a therapist. At Ruby's first session with her new therapist (Dr.Z)she has to make a boyfriend list. Ruby makes the list and throughout the book you get a fun preview into Ruby's past. This book couldn't possibly be more fun! I loved how each chapter Ruby talked about another boy from the list and why they were on there! This is so funny and enjoyable. You will be laughing and having fun the whole time while reading!

Reader reviewed by Khy

Ruby Oliver is 15 and has a shrink. She knows its unusual, but give her a breakshes had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she:
lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list),

lost her best friend (Kim),

lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket),

did something suspicious with a boy (#10),

did something advanced with a boy (#15),

had an argument with a boy (#14),

drank her first beer (someone handed it to her),

got caught by her mom (ag!),

had a panic attack (scary),

lost a lacrosse game (shes the goalie),

failed a math test (shell make it up),

hurt Meghans feelings (even though they arent really friends),

became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch)

and had graffiti written about her in the girls bathroom (who knows what was in the boys!?!).

All these bad things result in a panic attack, and thanks to her overprotective parents, she has to go to a shrink. The shrink encourages her to create The Boyfriend List, a list of all the boys she has dated, somewhat dated, wish she dated, kissed, and the boys people thought she dated or kissed. As Ruby reveals the list, she reveals the stories behind the boys and how they relate to her current life issues.

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Yowza. This may just be my favorite E. Lockhart book yet. (I'm trying to decide if I like this one or The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks better. I can't choose. Ag.) It's that good.

Ruby Oliver is such an wonderful heroine. She is smart but makes common mistakes, funny but is very sensitive, and is a great friend but sometimes hurts her friends feelings. She acts just like a real person, which makes it easy to relate to her.

Other good things about this book:

1. It is laugh-out-loud funny.
2. All the lists make it easier to understand what exactly was going through Roo's head.
3. There are footnotes! I love footnotes. (Don't ask me why. I don't know why.) The footnotes added more of Ruby's thoughts and comments on things, so you got to know her even better.
4. The other characters were very realistic too.
5. Ruby dealt with her problems in the same way a lot of other people would. While it wasn't the best way to handle them, it was the most realistic thing to do.

I've got nothing bad to say about this book. It comes highly recommended.

reposted from freneticreader.blogspot.com

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 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 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 Dianne Ochiltree

The author has really hit the mark with this charming, hilarious, and poignant book for pre-teens and younger teenaged girls. The narrative tone is at times bitingly funny or achingly wistful, or sometimes inbetween, but at all times it rings true. Ruby is a compelling teen character that is at once contemporary and classic. Today's teen girls will recognize and relate to her tumult of emotions about her life and the people in it. It's a wonderful read for any girl from ages 12 and up. It would also be a perfect choice for a mother/daughter book discussion group. Lots of great issues to talk about wrapped up in this entertaining story!

Reader reviewed by Megan

This is an awesome book. When I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It was very interesting. Roo just kept pulling you in. She went through some hard times, some where funny, others could make you cry. THIS IS THE BEST BOOK THAT EVERY JUNIOR HIGH STUDENT SHOULD READ. It would prepare you for the ups and downs in a relationship.

I think that E. Lcckhart is a wonderful author and she is very creative. I can't wait until i read another book of hers.

Reader reviewed by Booksr4me

The book started out with Ruby Oliver giving us a summary of what had happened during the past 15 days(lost her boyfriend, lost all her friends, started having panic attacks, and seeing a shrink).

I bought this book soon after it came out and loved it. My favorite part was when Ruby kissed Angelo after she had kissed Jackson and Jackson came back and caught her. I really liked it and am soooo glad there is going to be a sequel!