The Boy Book » (Reprint)

E. Lockhart is the author of The Boyfriend List, Fly on the Wall, and The Boy Book. She once portrayed both Peter Quince and a tree in a drama school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, wearing an electric-blue unitard. Her theatrical career ended soon after.

Here is how things stand at the beginning of newly-licensed driver Ruby Oliver's junior year at Tate Prep:

 • Kim: Not speaking. But far away in Tokyo.
 • Cricket: Not speaking.
 • Nora: Speaking—sort of. Chatted a couple times this summer when they bumped into each other outside of school—once shopping in the U District, and once in the Elliot Bay Bookstore. But she hadn't called Ruby, or anything.
 • Noel: Didn't care what anyone thinks.
 • Meghan: Didn't have any other friends.
 • Dr. Z: Speaking.
 • And Jackson. The big one. Not speaking.

But, by Winter Break, a new job, an unlikely but satisfying friend combo, additional entries to The Boy Book and many difficult decisions help Ruby to see that there is, indeed, life outside the Tate Universe.

Publishers Weekly

Ruby Oliver, the smart, neurotic heroine from The Boyfriend List, is now 16 and a junior scholarship student at Tate Prep. She's still in therapy, and still trying to cope with losing her boyfriend to her best friend plus her new social standing as a "certifiable leper." Through sessions with Dr. Z and spending time with "The Boy Book" (a "Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them" this also serves as the novel's subtitle), which she wrote with Kim, Nora and another friend, Ruby begins to process what happened. She builds a new circle of friends, even rekindling her friendship with Nora. But she faces tests along the way: Ruby's ex leaves her flirty notes, even though he is with Kim; she has a panic attack after a confrontation with Kim; and she must decide what to do when the great guy that Nora likes tells Ruby he wants to kiss her. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from "The Boy Book," which is hilarious, and sometimes rather racy (e.g., "What to Wear When You Might Be Fooling Around" advises a "shirt that buttons up the front, for obvious reasons"). The book not only covers topics teens obsess over, but it helps illustrate the connection Ruby had with her friends, especially Kim, and what a loss she has suffered. Ruby's overanalytical, fast-paced and authentic narration will win over new devotees, while her loyal fans will no doubt hope for more. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.