The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

photo from Goodreads

Ruby Oliver's life has definitely taken a turn for the worst. Over the past ten days she has, lost her boyfriend, her best friend, all of her other friends, and had a few panic attacks. Now her parents have her going to see a shrink to work out her problems. At her shrink's request, Ruby goes on to make The Boyfriend list- a list of boys who have at one point meant something to her in her life. And thus, the boyfriend list is born.

I listened to this book for the first time back when I was fourteen and grounded. I thought it was adorable then and really enjoyed. Unfortunately, by the time I realized that there was more to the series, I had promptly forgotten everything that happened. I then decided that now was the time to reread and see how much I remember.

I adore Ruby. She is hilarious and someone I would love to be friends with. However, the character I most identified with was Megan, the girl who drove Ruby to school. I hope we see more of her in the series. I also  really liked Nora, as I felt some connection to her, especially towards the end. I didn't feel any sort of connection to Kim or Cricket.

As for the plot, I remembered a lot more of it than I thought I did, but I remember being shocked at some the first time I read it. Just shocked. Overall, the plot is good and all the conflict isn't necessarily resolved by the end of the book, hence why turning it into a series is a good idea.

One thing I think actually makes this book good is the structure. I like that each chapter was devoted to a boy on the boyfriend list and her therapy sessions, and still included actual plot progression. There wasn't any chapter that was completely devoted to unimportant things- every thing was important.

I would recommend this book if you want a fun contemporary read that isn't one of those "love-at-first-sight" books, but still has a romantic element.

Happy reading!