Studying Boys

The Girlfriend’s Guide to Boys #2

by Stephie Davis

Frances's friends decide to intervene when they discover that she has a crush on Blue's older brother, Theo, who has a reputation for being a jerk.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, High School, Ebooks, Young Adult Romance

168 pages, Paperback

First published August 3, 2004

About the author

Alias of Stephanie Rowe, under which she writes young adult fiction.

Reviews

[diana]

"Conoce a Frances Spinelli, la chica con su nariz enterrada en un libro. Pero las cosas cambian.
La tarea siempre ha sido su mayor prioridad. Eso y enamorarse del chico equivocado, y luego no hacer nada al respecto. Así que, cuando las amigas de Frances la chantajean para que salga de su zona de comodidad, ella les devuelve algo mejor. Se descontrola totalmente.
Bailando con un futbolista de último año en un club nocturno. Mintiéndole a sus padres. Siendo castigada… posiblemente de por vida. Esta no es la Frances que quiere ser. Pero indudablemente no quiere volver a ser un bicho raro.
Así que, ¿qué tiene que hacer un ratón de biblioteca? Después de todo ese tiempo estudiando para los exámenes, quizás Frances sólo tenga que aprender cómo estudiar a los chicos."

Segundo libro que leo de Stephie Davis y de esta saga, en este nos muestra la historia de Frances, tiene 14 años, es bastante inteligente, saca excelentes notas, es algo antisocial y está enamorada de Theo, el hermano mayor de una de sus mejores amigas (Blue) que se puede decir que es algo así como "un chico malo".

Por lo que me he podido dar cuenta hasta ahora, los libros de esta saga son bastante simples y eso es lo que más me gusta de ellos, es refrescante de vez en cuando leer una historia sin tanto drama.

Una de las cosas que más me gustó (y creo que la razón por la que le di 5 estrellas)es que realmente entiendo a Frances (y esto tiene que ver más con mi personalidad), yo también saco buenas notas y soy bastante tímida, entiendo ese miedo de llegar a un grupo donde todos se conocen y estar tipo "em, hola..." y esas ganas de participar en algo importante pero al mismo tiempo el temor de arruinarlo todo (me gustó ver como ella enfrentaba y superaba esos miedos). También si algún día algún chico por alguna casualidad del destino se llegara a enamorar de mi, me gustaría que fuera como Theo, es decir, que reconozca que tengo un cerebro y que no voy a caer a sus pies solo con que me diga una de sus frases de conquista, que me impulse a tomar algunos riesgos y que me acepte por quien soy.

Otra cosa que me sigue fastidiando es que la protagonista es bastante inmadura pero, no sé porque, en este caso me parecieron tan divertidas todas esas ocurrencias y tampoco sigue sin cuadrarme el hecho de una niña de 14 con un chico de 17, prefiero no pensar mucho en eso mientras leo porque se me hace bastante raro.
Algo que se me hizo bastante curioso es que Theo sólo notó a Frances después de que ella le gritara y lo insultara en toda la cara *Taylor Swift's voice* Boys only want love if it's torture .

Creo que en general es un libro bastante cute. Por otra parte, entiendo si a mucha gente no le gusta estos libros, porque no son la gran cosa y honestamente hasta a mi me sorprende lo mucho que me han gustado.

[Catastrophe Queen]

This book was great. But I only gave it four stars because the author never really explained why Theo was such a ladies man and why he suddenly started showing an interest in Frances. Did he get turned on by girls who bossed him around? Did he like it when the girl told him he was a pompous ass who used girls for his own pleasure? The reasons as to why he liked her were never broached. But I rooted for the two of them as a couple. And I did enjoy the dialogue between Frances and Theo. Their playful banter simultaneously cracked me up and made me gush uncontrollably.

Frances could be overly-dramatic sometimes but I found it amusing. I don't know how she was able to put up with her strict, overbearing parents for that long --- they pissed me off so much I felt like chucking my tablet across the room. They couldn't expect their daughter not to act rebellious after putting her under so much pressure and with so many rules. Frances was, after all, a hormonal teenager who needed some space to grow.

If you're a fourteen-year-old looking for a sweet and funny read, I'd push this in your direction. If you want an even cuter teeny bopper romance I suggest you get a copy of Putting Boys On The Ledge, the first book in the series.

[Meli A.]

Okay, este libro simplemente me FASCINÓ♥ THEO ES TAN SLJFDSLKDJFLSKDJFLSKJDF *-*!!! LO AMO, LO AMO :3 Y es bueno leer una protagonista INTELIGENTE y DIFÍCIL de conquistar ._. En serio, ahora todo mundo piensa que una chica que cae al primer roce es genial -.- AMÉ TODO! LAJDLSJDKJ :3
Estoy demasiado emocionada como para escribir más xD

[Mya]

I love this story and I was so disappointed that it ended so soon.

[Kelli]

Lol

[Adrienne]

Stephanie Rowe, you are one heck of an author! Seriously! My jaws are aching after all that smiling! The teen voice represented in this book was pitch-perfect, the chemistry was undeniably sweet, the characters were all very funny and the story was so so so beautiful! Some people might find this fluffy and annoying but for me it was an incredibly endearing read. Gah, I'm not sure I'll be able to write a coherent review. I'm just not done fangirling.



Oh my God. For the first time in my life, I'm tongue-tied. Ms. Rowe, you are the first person to make me feel like this! I. Can't. Stop. Smiling.



... Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Mm-kay. Now that I've recovered my equilibrium let me give you a short* description of what the story's about.

*I cannot promise you that it will be short.

Straight-A student, rule-follower and overall good girl Frances joins the school newspaper. She's assigned with a heavy task: to build something called "The Homework Club" and gather up some students from other schools to join in and bring their grades up. At first, it's a total failure. But after she enlists the help of popular bad boy, Theo, everything starts going well. (She blackmailed him, actually.) The funny thing is, when Frances starts putting her foot down and telling Theo he's an underachieving jerk who uses girls left and right, he starts showing an interest in her. (After all these years?!!) But after they spend more and more time together, Theo changes for the better.

Yeah. Theo's just as swoon-worthy as Colin, the guy in the first book who ended up with Blue, Frances' s bestfriend. I think I've even fallen harder for Theo. I want him to step out of the book and into my life! Would I recommend this to the people while eating some big bowl of cheese or whatever? Here's one last gif image:

[Sara]

Maybe more like 3.5 stars.
It was a good read, but not as good as "Putting boys on the ledge". Probably it was Frances's parents fault. I wanted to beat them until they bleed. They were so annoying. Give that girl some slack! She works hard and needs some fun in her life! And Theo is exactly what she needs!
It took me a little while to get to like Theo, but then I had to admit he had his charms. Totally hot and kind of sweet. Though not as much as Colin in the previous book, and some times he really acted a little like a jerk. He didn't understand Frances's world was different from his. Her parents were Hell on earth. But I also admit it was about time she stood for herself before her parents. And she kind of did it in the end.
Frances and Theo were very cute together. And it was funny because you couldn't decide who had the upper hand there. They were both strong-headed. And after that time she yelled at him at his house, it was clear that he was a goner. That he had fallen for her and was totally lost. And I loved the scene at the club.
I was a good and fun read.

[Grace]

'I give this book 5 stars, 2 enthusiastic thumbs up, 10 out of 10 scale'

Frances has definitely been my favorite character in this series that Stephanie Rowe has made. I loved the previous book, Putting Boys on the Ledge, but this one is even better. I can relate to Frances so much and the previous book made me want to hear more about her relationship with Theo. too bad that after reading this book I still wants to hear more about them.

France's is one of Blue's best friends and Blue also happens to be Theo's little sister. You'd think it be award for a guy to be interested in his younger sisters friend but anything is possible in the realm of books.

A great quick read that wanted me wanting to read more. Good thing there are two more books after this one even if they are about other people, but still the same crowd.

[Amela]

Oh my goodness. I definetely give this book five out of five stars. It was so nice to see for once a love story with a SMART GIRL. Honestly, it was a nice change. Most books you read, it's always the tall, pretty, skinny, social girl who gets the guy. I loved how for once, the brainy, socially-awkward, uptight girl got the guy that all the girls want. But even though the main character, Frances, is super brainy, she still is so easy to relate with and it's really amusing [in a good way] to see the story from her point of view. [The other books in the series are told by her different friends] Also, the author did such an amazing job on the characters, it's as though they were real people. I really loved this book. [[=


Btw, don't let the title throw you off. [[=

[Svea]

This was the last book I read in this series and I can overall say that I loved all four of them!
All these stories were so cute and I felt like I could relate to each girl in some aspects.
Now, about this book.
I loved Theo and his bad boy act. I say act, because we all know that he's a softie in his heart. And according to the description he was hot. I don't know what is it about guys who like to wear black....
Francis was a lot like me. I've always been a little uptight when it comes to school and I understood her. When I was in high school, I did my homework on Fridays too, but I did it, because I was too lazy to spend my time on it on Sundays.
SO yes, this was such a cute and fun read and I am glad I could read it!

[Rika - (The Unpretentious Reader)]

It's a fun read..
I like that the contrast between the girls' and their respective families didn't have the least impact on how close they all are..

I kind of hate families who won't give their kids a break.. I mean really.. just because u don't like how ur life went.. u get to control ur kids lives and draw it the way u envisioned ur life should have taken route to be better!!!

it's one thing to want for your kids to better.. but it's a whole another thing.. when it's already is u still can't see that!

enjoyable short read that's suitable for everyone.

[Aldy]

Me gustó mucho! es bastante realista la historia dentro de todo, como una se puede desencantar de la persona de quien está enamorada por su carácter y también como puede descubrir dulzura donde no la había notado porque ambos sentimientos te nublan, el amor y la adoración ó el odio y desprecio.

"Walk me to the door. If my mom knows I was out with you, she won't freak so badly. You're like my brother."

He twirled his fingers through my hair and gave a long look at my mouth. "For the record," he said. "I'm definitely not your brother."

My skin began to prickle. "No kidding."

[ale (taylor's version) everett]

Frances y Theo hacen una pareja tan cute!
Frances es la típica chica inteligente de primer año pero Theo es el hermano ardiente mayor de una de sus mejores amigas, pero está en último año y es un rompe corazones.
Cuando se empiezan a mezclar lentamente, como el color negro y blanco forman un gris imposible de quitar.
a Theo se le mete Frances en la piel sólo que ya Frances tiene a Theo calado en los huesos.
Me gustó esta historia, de estos dos personajes. No tanto como el de Colin y Blue pero sí que me gustó.
También es super divertido de leer y fácil y rápido.

[Tiffany Dominguez]

I know what this looks like, but Davis actually manages to go deeper than the usual teen chic-lit, while still keeping the reader interested in surprisingly deep characters. The cover draws you into a story that doesn't turn out to be as shallow as I thought. I've read three of her books and really like her stories and characters.

[Emma D]

This was my favourite book of the series. I loved the friendships and Stephie Davis but a whole new twist on good girl and bad boy. In all the books though, I loved how you could feel the embarrassment...
Loved the characters, the friendships and the relationships.
The club scene had to be favourite with all the sarcasm, romance and tension.
Really hope there will be more books like it.

[Katrina Knittle]

Throughout reading this book I couldn't help, but laugh and smile. It was such a cute book. The way this author writes makes it easy to relate to the characters. At times the parents of Frances were oh so annoying, but parents are always like that. A cute and fun read definitely for the tweens and teens out there.

[Lisa Filipe]

Re-read again last night....still a favorite!!

Frances is funny and neurotic, and you can't help but want her to win the guy. and Theo..oh Theo, what an adorable guy. He is sporty, fun and kind of a Bad Boy!! But if you were Frances, you would have the biggest crush too!!

[Sydney]

These kind of books always give me hope lol in the cheesy way ;) the smart studious girl with the bad boy :) but very cute. Looved when she finally snapped at Theo and then her friends were all "he finally notices you" cuute just a fluffy cute book:)

[Revati Ragini]

i want to be clear about my rating. 3 stars is not for my over-all opinion, but my opinion based on my experience of what i consider to be young-YA. if you like this category, this is a nice story, well-written, home nice PG hot scenes...

[Khadija Malik]

I think it was amazing ! It was cute & girly while, at the same time, it was about a girl growing, finding herself, and learning how to defend that new self of hers in front of the people she cares about.
Definitely five stars (:

[El Nguyen]

Kdyby mi bylo méně, hodnotila bych rozhodně tak o 2 hvězdičky navíc, ale ,mé nynější staré já tomu bohužel dá jen tolik.. je to trochu nespravedlivé, nehodnotím férově, někdy u starších knížek či bývalých oblíbených knížek hodnotím sentimentálně ne podle mého přísného já s delikátnější chutí..

[Laura Young]

Honestly I just read this book because it was cheap on amazon and I wanted a quick read, but what I got was so much more! A great book and a great series being a girl all these girls ages made it fun and easy to relate to, loved this series! <3

[Sam Chase]

Rating: 3 stars

Fun read! I really liked the relationship between Theo and Francis. It's just the unrealistic age gap that bothered me; honestly, no senior would ever date a high school freshman.

Reread February 2018

[Zahra]

I liked it, but I think it should have been longer with more obstacles and hardships to overcome.. Whats a good romance book without drama?

[Alve Aranton]

For the teenage-girl-who-wants-her-crush-to-fall-in-love-with-her in me. Funny, almost ecstatic. Such a feel-good book.

[Ashli]

I didn't like it much as Putting Boys on the Ledge but if I had read it when I was younger then maybe I would have enjoyed it way more. It got better throughout the story.

[Avon Bernabe]

I thought Theo and Frances' story was left hanging in Putting Boys on the Ledge. But no. This is their story. And I think I was left hanging this time for real. Because I want more! :D

[Julie Reveles (Juls ~ ILST BLOG)]

I really like these books .. These girls are do funny with each other.... They will do and say anything for each other and I love it! On to book 3!

[Marlyn]

¿Por qué no me enteré de esa regla de terminar de leer las series que comienzas antes? Es una linda serie para chicas jóvenes lo entiendo... pero no me mata

[Kai]

This book surprised me. Now I want a Theo!