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Anatomy of a Boyfriend (Anatomy #1)

by Daria Snadowsky (Goodreads Author)

3.41 of 5 stars 3.41 · rating details · 2,655 ratings · 330 reviews

Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body.

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or m...more

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published January 9th 2007 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

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DCPL 's Teen Love & Sex (Some Romance) Booklist, for OWL

76th out of 360 books — 1,505 voters

YA Sex & Pregnancy Novels

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Oct 26, 2008 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 3 of 5 stars

There have been reviews for this book all over the place, well now it’s my turn! First off, I just want to express my concern that some readers have been surprised that there is sex in this book. Number one: It’s called “Anatomy of a Boyfriend,” number two: there is a naked man-doll on the cover, number three: are there still really people out there that think teens don’t have sex? Let me throw this little factoid at you, nearly half (46%) of all 15-19-year-olds in the United States have had sex...more There have been reviews for this book all over the place, well now it’s my turn! First off, I just want to express my concern that some readers have been surprised that there is sex in this book. Number one: It’s called “Anatomy of a Boyfriend,” number two: there is a naked man-doll on the cover, number three: are there still really people out there that think teens don’t have sex? Let me throw this little factoid at you, nearly half (46%) of all 15-19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once. If you don’t believe me check out Guttmacher.org.

Now that I’ve aired that out. I only wish I would have had something like this to read when I was a teen. Thankfully I have an extraordinary mother that was there for me. The only sex talk my mother ever received growing up was that sex was a dirty, nasty, thing that you only did with the one your love. I guess she didn’t want me to grow up with that same warped view on sex. I’m not condoning or condemning teen sex, but I think that having information available and books like this are absolutely necessary.

Okay seriously I’m off of my soap box now, and on to the review. It’s probably obvious that I liked this book, I enjoyed reading it. It was a great story and I’m sure that is some ways it parallels the first love that many of us have experienced. The only thing that bothered me, and I know I’m not alone in this, is there wasn’t enough “love story” for me. I didn’t see the how of why these two feel in love, or really why Dom fell in love with Wes. Had that aspect been fully represented I think that this read would have been even better.

However the actual depiction of the relationship, was totally believable! The highs, the lows and everything in between. The characters had sex yes, but they did have safe sex. The sex scenes themselves, while they were graphic, never crossed the line of becoming phony or smutty. It’s authentic, maybe that’s why I liked it so much. And probably also because The Princess Bride is my all time favorite movie.
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May 16, 2011 Alexa Yupangco rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Alexa by: Kristi (The Story Siren)

Shelves: books-i-own

(Review was originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)

This book was definitely a funny read! I kept bursting into laughter while reading the story, as the events and things said really seemed amusing to me. Any book that makes me laugh usually gets instant plus points!

I like how this book explores the world of teenage relationships, especially when it comes to sex. I think the sexual relations between the main characters, Wes and Dom, were depicted quite realistically. They were actually very taste...more

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 13, 2012 Jason Kurtz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: top-picks-ya, young-adult, realistic-ya

Daria Snadowsky set out to present a realistic portrayal of a young woman’s coming of age in Anatomy of a Boyfriend, and she succeeds. Dominique is a character that becomes interested in her own anatomy, after she meets Wes, who literally makes her heart throb. Snadowsky tackles every subject “in a responsible way” according to School Library Journal, from dental damns to orgasms from the female (and male) perspectives and de-mystifies many of the modern issues that Today’s teens are worrying ab...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Daisy rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book was pretty short. It only took about an hour and a half - two hours to read. Also an easy read. I even read the q&a section at the end, which I never do. It's a story about falling in love when you're younger and how you perceive them at that time. It was interesting because I could really relate to a lot of it, both from his and her perspectives.

I found this book while looking for a digital copy of forever by Judy Blume which was fitting because the author was inspired by that boo...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jul 07, 2007 Ifwhennotthen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: youngadult

I don't understand why this book is lauded as either something that needs to be banned or as amazingly innovative. Yes, it's got some sex scenes, but they are so clinical they could be in a textbook. Also, guess what? There are sex scenes in Forever, which came out decades ago and is essentially the same book, only much better written.

More frustrating is the fact that despite claims that this book is open about female sexuality, it's nothing more than your typical "sex=bad!" novel because in the...more

22 likes · like · see review

Sep 23, 2011 Anya Singh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, ya

Nice Book? Yeah!
Do I regret reading it? Boy do i!

Geez, I was so bummed after completing the book, but then again i was pmsing. So i can't really differentiate now, can i?

First off, that it one heck of a catchy title.Good thinking there.

So starting with the story, the novel deals with Dominique Baylor and her relationship with her first ever boyfriend Wesley Gershwin.There isn't much else to describe about the plot but hey, i can tell about how she was pining for him for months, their sweet first...more

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 11, 2008 Lorie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, realisticfiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 30, 2009 Miley Cyrus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this is about a boy thats username is hottiemchottpants@hotmail.com
the only problem is... he doesnt wear pants... can u figure out the mystery of his missing pants before he goes on a date to ravinia with his girl friend who only wears dresses and nail polish that matches her red lipstick and red eyes... read this book to find out if he finds his pants and the secret that his girl friend has kept from him...

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May 05, 2013 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

The concept of this book is wonderful; the execution…it’s hard for me to write a review about this because, well, it was painful to read. I struggled with finishing this 264 (according to Amazon) page book. When I told my little sister that I was reading this book (we are both ardent lovers of YAL), she agreed with me and actually never finished this. She’s only 18. Or is she now 19? I just counted on my fingers and she is now 19, but she probably read this while still in high school. She’s only...more The concept of this book is wonderful; the execution…it’s hard for me to write a review about this because, well, it was painful to read. I struggled with finishing this 264 (according to Amazon) page book. When I told my little sister that I was reading this book (we are both ardent lovers of YAL), she agreed with me and actually never finished this. She’s only 18. Or is she now 19? I just counted on my fingers and she is now 19, but she probably read this while still in high school. She’s only a freshman in college.

Anyway, let me begin by saying I absolutely hate saying all negative things about a book, and/or an author. But I am also extremely surprised this book has a four star rating on Amazon. So, there you have it, I am going to write some negative things, and hopefully remember some positive things, but PEOPLE LIKE THIS BOOK. Remember that. I’m going to take this disclaimer to remind my readers to read multiple reviews before making a decision on a book. Hell, read the book yourself before making a decision.

First of all, I have an honest question: Why is spring break so long in these YAL books? My spring break was 5 days in high school, and I think we only had it because Easter is a Spring holiday. But these people go on vacation during their Spring breaks. To Paris. If someone is reading this and you went to a high school other than mine, please let me know what kind of spring break you had.

Okay, now onto the real review. The first thing I struggled with when reading this book is the writing. Snadowsky writes very simply, and I’m not against using telling as a tool to advance plot, but the entire book was “telly.” I didn’t feel like anything was actually happening, like someone was telling me their story and was lying about the whole thing. The illusion that this could actually happen was crushed by the lack of the ability to immerse in the narrative. Readers are kept completely separate from the story, and it is a first-person narrative.

There is also nothing too complex about the characters. The narrator portrays the parents in the story as being dumb and childish and her reaction with them is complete with all the cliche father-daughter talks. Her best friend seems to have a one-sided personality that is completely obsessed about orgasms, and even the main character isn’t very multi-dimensional.

At the beginning of the story, for example, she is completely driven. She’s determined to be a doctor and get into a premed program. Then, when she starts liking a guy, she suddenly questions this, something she’s known for years, because a boy doesn’t make the moves on her. When they start dating, she is completely infatuated with him and nothing else really matters. This doesn’t seem consistent to the driven, determined girl at the beginning of the novel. I noticed the disconnect throughout the book, and it infuriated me. Then, I read “Anatomy of an Author” section at the end and found out that the pre-med thread was only added because the author wanted the title. You can draw your own conclusions from that, and I’ll keep mine to myself.

I will say that the “sex” scenes (sex indicating all the sexual and intimate acts done between a boyfriend and girlfriend, from first kiss to first time) were realistically done. They were as awkward as they should have been, complete with confusion of what to do and how to do it. There’s also the tension of not knowing that she WANTS to do it, and being scared of doing it. Yet, there is something to pick at here. I felt like the orgasm had way too much weight in this area. The story pushes the importance of orgasmic to the point of indicating that personal freedom is masturbating until you give yourself your first orgasm. This emphases on orgasm kept the characters and plot too shallow for my taste.

I wish I felt more depth overall. This book had so much potential, and I looked forward to finally being able to read it. But I was disappointed.

This book review came from "The Tea Shelf: Disappointed with Potential" at http://thebookishsarah.wordpress.com (less)

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Mar 09, 2013 Marianne Lee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Anatomy of a Boyfriend was a quick read. I picked this up because I needed to get over a book hangover. I'm glad I didn't pick this up because I had expectations or anything.

This book was... good. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it was good.

I mean, it's about this girl named Dominique that's going through the experience of her first love, with a boy that's never had much experience, of anything.

I couldn't bring myself to like the main girl, because she seemed utterly immature to...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 05, 2013 Cdee rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was recommended this book through book depository when I bought a Hailey Abbott book, and I decided to buy it because I wanted to read more shorter YA contemporary to get me out of my reading slump. I read the synopsis and it sounded quite interesting.

Pros
It was a really simple read, I was able to get through it today which is great if you want a holiday or beach read which you don't have to concentrate hugely on. Dom was a likable character who made the experience of reading a lot simpler. S...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Kimsandara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: okay-read, ya-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 23, 2012 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Listen, I don't usually read books. In fact books bore me and after a few minutes i lose focus and fall asleep. I finished this book in about 3 days, anticipating to turn the next page in hopes of it becoming any better..
Well, the book is predictable. This is definitely a book you can judge by its cover. I like things to be more complicated, not perfect. This book basically portraits a pretty little life of an american teen. This stuff usually never happens though which really kills the book. I...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 25, 2012 Ashley Schwartau rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this book, until the last 40 pages or so, when I just wanted to know what happened so I could be done with it. I don't know how I expected the story to turn out but it didn't go where I wanted, even though I thought it ended appropriately.

Things I liked:
- the upfrontness of sexuality. The way the girls talked about sex and sexual things. I definitely was taken back to high school through this book. In that regard, it was realistic.
- the same goes for the use of vulgar l...more I really enjoyed reading this book, until the last 40 pages or so, when I just wanted to know what happened so I could be done with it. I don't know how I expected the story to turn out but it didn't go where I wanted, even though I thought it ended appropriately.

Things I liked:
- the upfrontness of sexuality. The way the girls talked about sex and sexual things. I definitely was taken back to high school through this book. In that regard, it was realistic.
- the same goes for the use of vulgar language. Not too much, but enough to be realistic.
- the funny sidekick character reminded me of ME in high school / college
- the "lesson" the book teaches about love and not expecting things to last forever, and that there was no moralistic preaching about NOT having sex
- half of the time, the dialogue was really good.

Things I did not like:
- Half of the time the dialogue was NOT BELIEVABLE IN THE SLIGHTEST. Very unnatural at times.
-- everyone ALWAYS SAYING the main character's name. I GET that her name is Dominique and they call her Dom. You don't need someone saying "Dom" EVERY single time they talk to her. It became incredibly distracting about 1/3 of the way into the book and I just wanted to cross out every time I saw the world "Dom". I very rarely refer to people by name as I speak to them. It's NOT realistic and its annoying. Most of the conversations are only between TWO people, so it's not exactly hard to keep track of who is saying what to whom.
- The book took place over the course of more than one year -- I felt like the timeline of the story was kind of unplanned or weirdly thought out.

Overall I really enjoyed it. It was funny and I liked the relationship and the characters and how it made me feel -- at times I felt like the author had plucked things straight out of my high school diary. And I think how the author handled sex - describing it, how the characters reacted to it - was very tactful and not pervy. (though I know my 15-year-old self would have reread a few sections and gotten majorly turned on lol) (less)

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Nov 29, 2011 Smitha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ethereal, young-adult, romance

This was an easy to read, forget soon after you read type of YA chicklit. The heroine is Dom, a seventeen year old, intelligent, charming young girl who is a science quiz freak, loves to read Gray's anatomy for pleasure and is toying with the idea of medical schooling later in life. She has intelligent, accomodating parents, and an understanding best friend, who is just her opposite in many ways. She is not into boys, but soon gets acquainted with Wes, a thin, gangly, handsome Junior school athl...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm reading reviews for this and wondering how people saw what they did in this book. Obviously, it has it's high points- showing a first relationship pretty darn truthfully, probably, but to me, there was no ZING.

The whole book seemed to be the stereotypical relationship story- meet, fall in love, one dumps the other, and the dumpee expperiences massive heartbreak before moving on.

Oh, and add in a lot of very accurately depicted, graphic sex.

The whole book just seemed to be a way to write a bas...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 18, 2011 Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

I was blown away (in a good way) by the honesty in this book. It's a realistic account of a girl's first high school boyfriend, how that relationship progresses, and how it affects her family and friendships. The story follows Wes and Dom to different colleges and explores their long distance relationship. As I said, the honesty in this book really made it for me. I've never read a YA book that is so frank about masturbation, sexuality and the emotional entanglement of losing your virginity. My...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Amanda Leighton rated it 4 of 5 stars

Anatomy of a boyfriend was probably one of the funniest books ive read. It teaches you alot about life, and the challenges that come along with it. Dominique finds herself one of he only people in her high school that hasnt had a boyfriend yet. Its not that shes not pretty, or is a nerd, but she is just so shy she doesnt want anything to do with boys.

Alot of things changed when she met Wes, who happened to be one of the most popular kids in their highschool! She really doesnt know what to think...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jul 26, 2010 Jasmine rated it 3 of 5 stars

There's two different sides of me that were conflicted while reading this book. The curious side, and the cringing side. The sex scenes weren't bad or anything...they were just--awkward at times. Everything was really graphic. Now, the curious side of me was more like "Oh" every now and then like I'd just learned something new. It was...an interesting read. I knew they wouldn't stay together (because of spoilers)and even though I saw it coming, it still really sucked, because you could tell she...more

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Mar 29, 2010 Alexandra Reyes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 01, 2010 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: grade-8-ir-reading-books

Dominique expirienced something that she thought would never even think about until she met Wes. She met this highschool senior at a trackmeet. She never got that physical with a guy until she started going out with Wes. Then she expiriences all these things, maybe it's her hormones or just the way Wes makes her feel. Her feelings for him became so intense. She expirienced her first love and all the problems that came with it. This takes place in Shorr Academy. The main charcters are Wes and Do...more

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Apr 30, 2009 diva makayla added it

this book is about are named dominque and she is in her last year of high school. he has a friend named amy that goes to efw and she is on the track team. dominque never thought about haveing sex with a boy untill she was getting ready to go to college. so then when her and amy were at amy's school she had messed up her ness really bad. so then this boy named wes was trying to help her and she had this blus on her face. then she thought to herself about his blue eyes and how they were beautiful....more

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Apr 18, 2009 Madison rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: young adults

Genre: Young Adult

Anatomy of a Boyfriend caught my attention right away. After reading the review I knew this book was going to be hard to put down.

In Daria Snadowskys’ Anatomy of a boyfriend, Dominique Baylor is a seventeen year old senior attending a private school. Dominique and her best friend Amy are nearly opposites. Amy is sexually active where as Dom is more shy and timid when it comes to guys; until she meets Wes. Wes is a senior at EFM High with Amy where Wes happens to be the school...more Genre: Young Adult

Anatomy of a Boyfriend caught my attention right away. After reading the review I knew this book was going to be hard to put down.

In Daria Snadowskys’ Anatomy of a boyfriend, Dominique Baylor is a seventeen year old senior attending a private school. Dominique and her best friend Amy are nearly opposites. Amy is sexually active where as Dom is more shy and timid when it comes to guys; until she meets Wes. Wes is a senior at EFM High with Amy where Wes happens to be the school track star. The two fell hard for each other, exploring each others minds and bodies. They were each other’s first in many categories; first boyfriend/girlfriend, first love, and they shared their first sexual experience together. Dominique experiences the pain and rapture of love.

The conflict in the book is both man vs. man and man vs. self. Dominique has many decisions to make and has to deal with the many emotions that come with each decision. For instance, she has to decide whether she should go to college with Wes or go to a college she got a scholarship to. Either choice is going to affect their relationship. It is man vs. man also because relationships take two people. Wes and Dom rarely fight but when they do they have to find solutions together.

I believe the theme in this novel is experiencing the bad makes you appreciate the good. Dom has to go through a lot of pain to make her appreciate the good times she shared with Wes.

One symbol that stood out was Wes' car, an explorer. As a car, the explorer is like an opportunity to go places you haven't been before while being able to have new experiences. In the book, it represents the exploring of each other Dominique and Wes did while on a date in Wes' car.

Daria Shnadowsky made this book very easy and fun to read. She wrote the book in a teen/young adult view point. Some scenes are inappropriate for younger audiences but overall it depicts what the majority of teens experience at one point or another, making it so relatable for a variety of people.

I gave this book four stars because it was a book that once you finished it, you wished there was another chapter. The characters are all relatable in one way or another, whether you are experienced or inexperienced. I would recommend this book to a wide variety of mature people including both young adult males and females. Everyone experiences the ups and downs of relationships; this book shows you that one bad thing just means that good is right around the corner.

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Jun 16, 2012 Shing rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Shing by: bookbed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. i guess i should start this off with my first impressions of the book:
-really :)) a naked ken as a cover oh LOL
-this looks interesting...
-witty cover is witty :))
-(shaniqua) it's so scandalous :))

first few pages hinted a lot how the book'll have sex at one point (which it did) but i'm not really impressed with the main character. although i could somewhat relate to her (hello highschool life of being uberly sheltered), i think the whole novel was just quite... well, bold :P in fact, i found mys...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Peyrac rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Another book I was all excited about going by recommendations and reading the blurb. It didn't deliver however, and there was too much I find extremely obnoxious.

The rating was more a 1.5 than a 2, but as half-notes aren't possible I didn't want to be a total spoilsport. The author earned herself the two for at least writing a tiny bit more open about sex than what I read in most YA novels so far. And at least she didn't immediately engage in moralising, though - as in other stories - once again...more Another book I was all excited about going by recommendations and reading the blurb. It didn't deliver however, and there was too much I find extremely obnoxious.

The rating was more a 1.5 than a 2, but as half-notes aren't possible I didn't want to be a total spoilsport. The author earned herself the two for at least writing a tiny bit more open about sex than what I read in most YA novels so far. And at least she didn't immediately engage in moralising, though - as in other stories - once again the outcome of premarital sex is nasty. So, I am talking about the up-side of this book: the author really manages to describe a few facets of sexual encounters without red ears. That is enough for those 1.5 stars.

The rest is - obnoxious.

As so many YA novels this author doesn't fail to make a big to-do out of losing virginity, there is the majorly shining example of the prot's own mother who married the guy happily who she slept with the first time, and in a bout of really aggressive ageism we get a grandma who is bitter, turn of the (18th!) century in her mindset and vulgar. That part really miffed me majorly. I'm not 74, but the author insinuates via her protagonist that a 74 year old widow who is looking for a partner is yukky and way out of any league of acceptability. The author should grow up, and while she does so, she should read up on ageism and what she did there! That train of thought by the way threads itself through the whole book. Repeatedly the idea that older (than the protagonist) people have sex or engaged in sex is "yukk-y-fied" without the slightest counterargument. I'd really for once love to read a YA novel in which teenagers are not "grossed out by the idea their parents/grandparents like to cuddle and have sex." Really. I mean it. I'm dead serious! And before anyone maintains that this is typical of teenagers - I wasn't, most of my friends weren't either, everyone around me was quite aware of the fact that it takes sex to have children, and that adults like sex as much as teens. So there.

Anyway, the book is mostly a re-write of Judy Blume's Forever and only marginally better than that. It carries the same message - don't expect teenage love to endure, don't choose career/college depending on your HS sweetheart, you'll break up anyway. It's not even that I disagree with the basic content.

What I really resent is the subliminal message of "as you'll break up anyway you'll end up in pain and should save yourself for your one true love, the one you'll marry after college." In this book as in any other so far (except Melvin Burgess' books) loss of virginity is made to be some major devaluation of the girl involved, it's made out to be more than just a simple physical and very transient stage of - seriously - no intrinsic value at all except to a patriarchical society. It really irks that women write this nonsense, it's so Victorian!

Slut-shaming, well, that's also a staple, sometime more open, sometimes less. Snadowsky, like all the others, has it too. There's always the "non-emotional" sidekick somewhere, that girl who does it with everyone, at any time, without attaching "any value" to her sleeping around. In this book here it is the way the protagonist wonders whether she herself is a "slut-ho", which turns her best friend into a cold-hearted slut. Is that really necessary? I'd like to read one single YA novel for once, where all the teens have sex (or don't) without a baggage of artificial moralising attached.

Only a minor exasperation, but here again we have a protagonist, almost 18, who gets utterly micromanaged by her awfully intrusive parents. I cringed at the descriptions of her masturbating (or trying to do so) with her father knocking on the door repeatedly. Hello? Really, there are parents out there who know that past a certain age kids cease to "just sleep" in their rooms. There are families in which systems and layers of privacy are matter-of-factly installed and respected, by all parties. And it would serve as a good example to finally have a teenager fight for her or his privacy and decisions instead of the meek yay-sayers that colour all YA books.

All put together there were way too many exasperating instances for this book to be enjoyable. It didn't fulfill the promise of a realistic love-affair either, and the characters were not particularly likable (e.g. I have yet to meet any teenage girl who wouldn't empathise with the demise of a beloved pet of her boyfriend).

Take it out of a library, but don't buy. (less)

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Feb 20, 2013 Bailey (IB Book Blogging) rated it 4 of 5 stars

ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND is one of the most accurate contemporary YA books that I've had the pleasure of reading. In reality, happily evers rarely happen, especially for first loves. Even though I love a book with a "perfect" ending with the boy and girl together, I can appreciate ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND for what it really is: A realistic book about two dysfunctional teens who fall hard for each other, while also experiencing some other firsts. I'm not going to lie, ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND is heavil...more ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND is one of the most accurate contemporary YA books that I've had the pleasure of reading. In reality, happily evers rarely happen, especially for first loves. Even though I love a book with a "perfect" ending with the boy and girl together, I can appreciate ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND for what it really is: A realistic book about two dysfunctional teens who fall hard for each other, while also experiencing some other firsts. I'm not going to lie, ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND is heavily focused on sex, but not in a bad way. Sex is just something that happens with teens. No matter how much people want to ignore it, it happens. Thank you, Daria, for creating such a heartfelt and intense book that really made me think about life, lust, love, and all the things in between.

Dom is your average teenage girl going through all the ups and downs of her firsts. Her voice is brutally honest, leaving nothing to the imagination. I wanted to shake her in frustration at times, but everything she did is just so true to a regular teenage girl. There are so many doubts that go through her mind when she's with Wes: Why won't Wes come out and tell her his feelings? What's wrong with her? Why is Wes so perfect? Why is Wes such a jerk? Why does she love him so much? I feel like every teen girl at some point or another has gone through what Dom goes through in the book. Love is the best thing that can happen to you, but also the worst when things fall through.

I liked Wes just as much as Dom at first. He and Dom have some crazy intense chemistry between them! It was most definitely lust at first sight with them. While it takes Wes a while to man up and get a clue, when he and Dom finally acknowledge their feelings for each other, the book takes off. Some of the things that happen between Wes and Dom are so awkward, but they made me giggle. I just adored how sweet he was to Dom in the beginning. However, I found myself wanting to smack Wes at some points. He is such a typical boy! Daria did a great job putting real life boys' personalities and bad habits on paper.

While ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND isn't your typical YA romance, it stands out because of that. Sometimes you just need a book that isn't so fantastical with perfect boys that make you depressed because there aren't any guys like them in real life (this happens to me a lot ;)). This is most definitely a book for older teens, not younger ones, due to the sexual content in it. It is handled in a classy way, but I still don't think it should be recommended to those not able to handle the heavier scenes. I do think that the audience that ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND is targeted at will love the honesty and raw beauty that is behind the book's pages.(less)

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Aug 21, 2011 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction-read, summer-books

My Summary: Dominique (Dom) has always known exactly what she wanted to be: a doctor. And she knew how she was going to get there, too - she'd had her dream school picked out since she was in middle school. Dom's plan never included things like boyfriends and falling in love, but towards the end of senior year, that's all she can think about.

When Dom meets Wes, she knows she wants him to be her first boyfriend. After a few months of being friends, they begin to date, and suddenly the only thing...more My Summary: Dominique (Dom) has always known exactly what she wanted to be: a doctor. And she knew how she was going to get there, too - she'd had her dream school picked out since she was in middle school. Dom's plan never included things like boyfriends and falling in love, but towards the end of senior year, that's all she can think about.

When Dom meets Wes, she knows she wants him to be her first boyfriend. After a few months of being friends, they begin to date, and suddenly the only thing Dom's worried about is being with Wes. But when she and Wes go off to college, they have to deal with the strain that comes with not seeing each other for months. Will their love survive the months apart, or will Dom's freshman year be tainted with memories of heartbreak?

My Thoughts: I've heard a lot of people comparing this novel to Judy Blume's Forever, and having read both novels within a few months of one another, I can definitely see the parallels between the two, this being the most prevalent: Anatomy of a Boyfriend, like Forever, does not glamorize the idea of sex in teen relationships. The author is honest and frank when it comes to teens and those first sexual experiences, and the main character's 'voice' throughout the novel is extremely genuine.

Snadowsky's writing is great. I felt like she was really in-tune with teens today (even though there are a few mentions of Myspace and emailing). I never felt like I was reading something written by an adult, or like I was being talked down to, and the development of the characters was right-on. Dom and Wes were just regular teens trying to figure out what they were doing, and Amy was hilarious.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed Anatomy of a Boyfriend more than Forever (I can practically hear the Judy Blume fans getting their pitch-forks together!), and I think that if you read both, you'll understand why.

Final Thoughts: I recommend this novel to teens 15 and up (there are mature themes obviously, but I really do think it's worth it), and especially to teen girls.(less)

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May 20, 2013 Jenni Arndt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ebook

I was recommended this series by my good friend Christina of A Reader of Fictions so when I got a review request from the author I was quick to accept. Am I ever happy that I did! I ate this book up. I couldn’t put it down and ended up finishing it in a day. I think what I loved the most about it was how authentic it all felt. I loved the characterizations and how I found myself thinking “been there, girlfriend” so many times throughout.

Dominique starts out as an inexperienced high school senior...more I was recommended this series by my good friend Christina of A Reader of Fictions so when I got a review request from the author I was quick to accept. Am I ever happy that I did! I ate this book up. I couldn’t put it down and ended up finishing it in a day. I think what I loved the most about it was how authentic it all felt. I loved the characterizations and how I found myself thinking “been there, girlfriend” so many times throughout.

Dominique starts out as an inexperienced high school senior and we get to follow her into college and through her first serious relationship. I could totally relate to so many things Dom went through. We get to watch her experience so many firsts; her first boyfriend, her first time, her first time with herself, her first days at college and it’s all done in a completely relatable voice. Dom isn’t perfect and she doesn’t know how to handle everything that is thrown at her which was perfect in the story. She was flawed and had some super selfish thoughts as the story wore on, it brought me back to when I was in her shoes and feeling the same things.

The relationships in the novel are well done too. I absolutely loved Dom’s friendship with Amy. They were besties and so honest with one another. Their conversations were brutally honest and came to show that they were very opposite of one another. While Amy was always ready to throw caution to the wind and jump into everything headfirst, Dom was much more calculated in her actions and I loved what they brought out of one another. Dom also has a solid relationship with both of her parents who are very present in the story, yay for the rare appearance of parents! Her dad’s reactions always garnered a chuckle from me because he was such a dad, nobody was good enough for his little girl.

The main relationship to take the stage here is of course between Dom and her first boyfriend Wes. The growth of their feelings for one another and the attachment that Dom felt to him was spot on. When you have your first love and give yourself to a person for the first time there is definitely an attachment that could be seen as pretty frightening. The clinginess was definitely something that I remember and also the awkwardness. The sex scenes in this novel are plenty and they aren’t uber sensual scenes that turn a reader on, but real first times never are. I appreciated how there was always a curiousness and a want to explore everything but also an underlying nervousness. I mean these are things that our bodies are made to do but at first they are definitely frightening and I think Daria captured that almost perfectly.

This is a new series that I will be recommending to everyone and I can’t wait to finish writing this review because I am going to be jumping straight into the second book. I’m excited to see how Dom fares in college and for the series to take on a much more New Adult feel as we see her out on her own. This was a super fun novel to read and if you are looking for a real story about firsts then definitely pick this on up.

A copy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

--

You can read all of my reviews at Alluring Reads.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 25, 2013 Taylor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 3rd-two-month-challenge

I thought this was a pretty cute story. I didn't really have much expectation going into it but overall, I enjoyed it. The plot was well paced even though it was simple and fairly predictable. I thought Dominique and Wes were both really cool characters. Dominique was somewhat typical,but somehow she still had a unique voice and i liked getting to know her better. I also appreciated the fact that Wes was not a typical super hot bad boy/sports star. he seemed like just a regular guy. It made the...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Michelle (SweetBookReviews) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads, contemporary, reviewed-books

2.5 Stars

Review as seen on my blog: http://sweetbookrevs.blogspot.com.au/...

What I disliked:

1. While I liked the first half of the book I thought it went downhill in the third act. When Dom finally leaves for college the story started to become uninteresting to me. It really slowed down and was a bit tedious to read.

2. Main character Dom is tolerable. But most of the time I found her train of thought to be overly dramatic. Most notably by the end of the novel, I ended up laughing at Dom rather...more

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About Daria Snadowsky

Daria Snadowsky is the author of the novels "Anatomy of a Boyfriend" and "Anatomy of a Single Girl." She also contributed the essay "To Sir Anthony, With Love," to the anthology "Crush: 26 Real-life Tales of First Love." Visit her at www.daria-snadowsky.com

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Quotes from Anatomy of a Boyfriend

“Please don’t hate you??!! I hate that I love you. Loving you made me waste a year of my life. Loving
you made me be passionate about nothing but you. Loving you made me take risks I never would have
otherwise. Loving you made me give it up to you. Loving you made me neglect my parents and Amy.
Loving you made me not care that my grandma just died. Loving you made me turn out bitter and
hopeless like her. Loving you made me hate myself for being dumped by you. Loving you made me
deluded, irrational, inconsiderate, and a liar. And because I love you, you’re always going to haunt me.” — 27 people liked it

“Meanwhile, every corner of this city is laced with memories of us together.” — 22 people liked it

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