The Boy Book by E. Lockhart (Ruby Oliver #2) Review

photo from Goodreads

The Boyfriend List didn't need a sequel- it would've been good as a stand alone novel. Happily, it did get a sequel and it is just as good as the first. The Boy Book shows Ruby's life after all the drama of sophomore year. She's still going to therapy and now's she got a job  working in a zoo. Her only real issues are what she refers to as her leper status. Throughout the fall semester, Ruby is faced with a lot of difficult decisions. 


This was very much a life-after novel; it tackles a lot of unresolved things from the previous book, such as what happens to Noel? Do Nora and Ruby become friends again? Does Ruby keep going to Doctor Z? And all these questions and more are answered. While there is a fair amount of drama in this book and it sometimes feels like too much, it's accurate. When  I think back to when I was in high school, these scenarios actually seems plausible. 


I enjoyed being in Ruby's mind again, and since it was her telling us what was happening versus telling us what happened, I feel like we as readers were able to delve into her psyche better. I am happy we got to see Megan more- if you read my review of TBL, you know that she is the one I identified with- but in this novel, I kinda identify with Nora more, as we both like to read. I really didn't care for Cricket in this one, same with Kim. As for the boys, I really liked Noel. In fact, I think he is my favorite of the boys. 


Rather than the chapters being the names of boys like The Boyfriend List, this book''s chapters were titled with the chapters of The Boy Book, which if you read the last one, you know that The Boy Book is the book that Ruby, Kim, Cricket, and Nora wrote to demystify the strange patterns of boys. I thought this was a cute concept. 


Overall, if you liked The Boyfriend List and want to read more about the shenanigans of teenage girls, this is definitely the book for you.