List of Problems

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart is a cute and quirky novel about finding yourself when you lose everything else.

Ruby Oliver has had a terrible week. She's lost her boyfriend, her best friends, had a panic attack, lost a lacrosse game, and become a social pariah. Her mom makes her go to therapy. In telling her therapist about her interactions with 13 boys, Ruby shows us the ups and downs of middle school and high school romance and friendship.

I have somewhat conflicted feeling about The Boyfriend List. I loved the writing style: the little footnotes with explanations and asides totally do it for me. It might annoy other people, but I loved it. I loved that there was a chapter per boy (and a few more besides). I love the idea of looking at the people who've affected your life.

But I'm not sure that I loved Ruby. There were parts where I was like, okay Roo, I totally feel you. But then there were moments where I was like, good god girl, get yourself together!! In some ways, Ruby was just flat out annoying. And maybe that's just because some of the things she didn't appreciate were things that I would have appreciated. She'd expect creativity, but she wouldn't accept it when it occurred.

That's why I can't decide if I want to finish the series or not. Has anyone else read the rest of these books? I'd keep going purely for the writing/reading enjoyment if Ruby changes. It seems like she grows up a little by the end of the book, but I think I have to know that she does before I embark on the next book.

I would recommend these books for people who like contemporary romances with ambiguous endings. It's really more about Ruby than about a love interest, which I really liked.