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The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver

(Ruby Oliver #1)

E. Lockhart (Goodreads Author)

3.49 · Rating details · 25,625 ratings · 1,837 reviews

Ruby Oliver is 15 and has a shrink. She knows it’s unusual, but give her a break—she’s had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she:
lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list),

lost her best friend (Kim),

lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket),

did something suspicious with a boy (#10),

did something advanced with a boy (#15),

had an argument with a boy (#14),

drank he ...more

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Paperback, 239 pages

Published March 22nd 2005 by Delacorte Press

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Lists with This Book

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter

Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Ivy League & Private School Preoccupations

143 books — 198 voters

Books with Characters Named Ruby

15 books — 13 voters

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3.49 ·

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· 25,625 ratings · 1,837 reviews

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Apr 30, 2009 Tatiana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, ya, 2012, 2016, 2009, 2010

As seen on The Readventurer

I can't help it, I simply adore E. Lockhart's YA books. As far as girly, chick-lit books about relationships go, hers are the best. And this is coming from a person who isn't into chick-lit.

Just like in The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart explores the challenges of being a teenage girl. In “The Boyfriend List” we learn about Ruby Oliver through her relationships with boys (not necessarily her boyfriends), how these relationship affect her life ...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Nataliya rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Those who like books with REAL teenage characters

Recommended to Nataliya by: Catie

Shelves: first-in-a-series, 2012-reads, for-my-future-hypothetical-daughter

Few things are worse than being 15 (examples: nuclear war and dental work without anesthesia).
As Stephen King said, "If you liked being a teenager, there’s something wrong with you." But Ruby puts on her Big Girl panties and DEALS WITH IT.

No catatonia or glorified semi-suicidality. Instead, she sees a therapist, like a responsible young adult.

Why is being a fifteen-year-old girl so traumatic, you ask? Some things that instantly come to mind: crippling insecurity and faltering self-esteem,

No catatonia or glorified semi-suicidality. Instead, she sees a therapist, like a responsible young adult.

Why is being a fifteen-year-old girl so traumatic, you ask? Some things that instantly come to mind: crippling insecurity and faltering self-esteem, arbitrary but vitally important social rules, the need to fit in and be validated, bottled-up feelings always on the verge of exploding, carelessness bordering on cruelty, and finally, those alluring, mysterious, and incredibly frustrating boys.

Ruby Oliver is fifteen and, as the title suggests, is going through a tough time (those statements are practically synonyms). Within a few days she goes from a reasonably popular and happy girl to a social pariah whose boyfriend has dumped her for her best friend, whose friends have turned away from her (and she alienated those who did not), and the whole school thinks she is a "slut". And she is getting all the blame (not the boy. Never the boy). So now she has panic attacks and a poncho-wearing shrink. And she just wants things to go back to normal.

"I just wanted the panic attacks to stop. And the hollow, sore feeling in my chest to go away. And to feel like I could make it through lunch period without choking back tears."

I expected a light-hearted fun teen high-school drama with plenty of boy crushes, silly shallowness, teen girl gossip, and all sorts of hilarious misunderstandings. And, of course, some ceramic frogs.

But the author of (also fifteen-year-old) Frankie Landau-Banks delivers quite a bit more. Her book has an unexpected depth that is not in any way suggested by a ridiculously-adorable-ceramic-frog book cover. She writes a story that also encompasses the dangers of emotional lying to yourself, masking your feelings, and emotional passivity. It's a story of friendship and betrayal and unfairness. But it's not a love story. It's not a coming-of-age story about finding yourself, either. It's a story about heartbreak because of losing things you love. It is about learning to DEAL WITH plenty of nasty things life sends your way and keep yourself together, especially during the 'frogless' days.

Ruby's story is far from the way too common "reader-please-insert-yourself-here" wish-fulfillment fantasy. For one, Ruby has plenty of faults that are real and not cutesy or charmingly imaginary (she can quite often be clueless, shallow, self-absorbed, and mean).

"My problem is I can think whatever I think—girl power, solidarity, Gloria Steinem rah rah rah — but I still feel the way I feel.
Which is jealous. And pissy about little things."

There is no fairy-tale ending:
- no cute previously misunderstood boy swoops in to rescue her from her troubles and make everything better;
- she does not do anything special to make everyone adore her;
- she does not discover the true meaning of life or have a life-changing epiphany;
- she does not become a markedly better and very-grown-up-for-her-age person;
- her friends don't magically understand her point of view and welcome her back with open arms.

What Ruby does learn is that some honesty and self-assertiveness goes a long way. She sees how many people around her keep their true feelings bottled up - including her friend Nora and her own seemingly outspoken mother. Ruby is able to analyze her dating patterns and learn from them a bit. She learns that at least for a time being it is possible to step outside the boundaries of the shallow self-contained rich private school world. She learns that sometimes fair is just not going to happen and you just need to move on. She learns that even though your friends can be unfair and cruel, you still miss them and love them. She misses the things she lost, and knows that the new things she came to appreciate cannot replace the losses. She learns that the happy ending is not always in the works for you, and that's okay.

In short, she gets some (not very fun) lessons in adulthood. Things do not get magically great for her in the end, but they do get better.

This book is written for teens, but it's not juvenile. It does not gloss over the 'uncomfortable' subjects - we get frank and positive expressions of teenage sexuality (including a footnote about oral sex and some quite long boob-squeeze), we get a couple of f-bombs and a scene of underage drinking without serious consequences.

The writing is very good. Overlying all the serious messages is the clear, snarky, and hilarious voice of Ruby, quirky and generously endowed with a sense of humor. There are smart references, a healthy dose of self-deprecation, funny anecdotes in the footnotes, adorable love notes from Jackson, and caring, well-meaning but absolutely clueless parents arguing whether Ruby has an eating disorder during her panic attack.
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It's a refreshingly honest and funny book with a believable and relatable imperfect protagonist, with the writing that keeps you engaged in the story until the end. A light read with surprising depth. 4 stars. And I already got my hands on the next story in the series!

"I was hoping there’d be a set of guidelines handed out in Sex Ed class, but Sex Ed—when I finally got to take it — was all about biology and birth control and nothing about anything that actually goes on between people. Like how to tell what it means when someone forgets to call you when he said he would, or what to do when someone gropes your boob in a movie theater."

...more

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May 20, 2011 Emily May rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Emily May by: Tatiana

Shelves: 2011, chick-lit, young-adult, romance

I remember being 12 years old and thinking I was pretty much awesomeness personified for reading books like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights when all the other kids were reading Roald Dahl. Since then I seem to be going backwards and reading all the books I should have read prior to my 16th birthday, like Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging and also this one. And I love them! It just goes to show how a book doesn't have to be a couple of centuries old and a household name to be awesome.

I love ...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Catie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Catie by: Cassi aka Snow White Haggard

Shelves: read-in-2012, ya, series, fluffy-books

I like this book so much for being a fun, frothy, escape about gossip and boys. But I LOVE this book for transcending all of those things. When I first read the title: The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver, I expected that this book would contain a few swoon-worthy boys and that our heroine Ruby would experience some drama-fueled teenage angst trying to decide which one to date. I even jokingly proclaimed myself “Team Noel” within minutes of the ...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Regina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Regina by: Catie

Shelves: ya, favorite-authors, listened-to-audio-only, favorites, only-listeneed-to, funny-stuff

I am not sure why, but this book took me completely by surprise. The reviews for this book rated it highly and I knew the narration was reported to be fantastic. But I still got my socks knocked off. This book hooked me from the beginning. What this book is about at its core is a young girl (sophomore in high school) navigating the social mine field of high school and trying to make sense of her female friendships and her relationships with boys.

The setting is perfect – a private school, a scho I am not sure why, but this book took me completely by surprise. The reviews for this book rated it highly and I knew the narration was reported to be fantastic. But I still got my socks knocked off. This book hooked me from the beginning. What this book is about at its core is a young girl (sophomore in high school) navigating the social mine field of high school and trying to make sense of her female friendships and her relationships with boys.

The setting is perfect – a private school, a scholarship student, a boat house for the main character’s home, some very involved, loving but extremely quirky parents, and lots of mistakes, missteps and misunderstandings. All together, it makes a book that is incredibly funny and enlightening. E. Lockhart really really really hits on what it is like to be a 15 year old girl. Relationships with other girls are so intense at that age, love affairs in a way – but they can be treacherous. And relationships with the opposite sex is a complete mystery, every step brings a new learning moment. This book could just be light and funny and it is definitely that. But it also has serious character growth that brings readers along for the ride. Through Ruby Oliver’s examination of her boyfriend list, she examines what it means to be a true friend, what is the meaning of popularity, how girls get labeled slut, the true actions of betrayal, and that it feels good to have one’s boobs fondled. Yup, all important topics. E. Lockhart has a serious talent of leading Ruby and the reader down the path of enlightenment but doing it in a very fun way (for the reader, for Ruby it is actually quite painful and embarrassing) so that it doesn’t feel like I was learning. Side note, there is even a beautiful feminist discussion on the effect of labeling a female, how men do not get labeled in a similar way, and why this is -- E. Lockhart does this brilliantly by having a teacher discuss this topic in a class presentation, so that it does not come off preachy at all. I have a soft spot for this particular issue and I thought it was really well handled.

What was surprising for me was that I ended up identifying with both Ruby Oliver (the lead in this story) and her parents. I hope that I am not quite as boundary ignoring, invasive and quirky as Ruby’s parents were but through them I saw two people who truly loved their daughter and wanted to stay involved in her life. I saw myself talking to my teenager, trying to appear (hopelessly I am sure) cool, try to convey love and yet respect those important boundaries. Raising a teenager is such hard work. This book is a tad bit mature for my 12.5 year old but in a few years I cannot wait for her to read it and then I will ask her, “How did this make you feel?” And she will roll her eyes and walk away. But I will smile, because in a way we will have shared a moment.

I recommend this book for anyone who has been a teenager, who has a teenager, and who likes to laugh.
...more

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Jul 08, 2016 Tink Magoo is bad at reviews rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-or-arc-from-author-read, setting-highschool

I've had a good run with young adult/ high school based books lately, so my hopes were high for this one. Sadly they were dashed by girlish kissing fantasies and daisy filled daydreams. Okay, it wasn't exactly like that, but near enough compared my teenage years.

This certainly has a charm that will appeal to a lot of people; maybe those who aren't as jaded, sarcastic and generally inappropriate as I am. See, my biggest problem was being unable to relate to any of the characters. Granted it's bee ...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Noelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: on-my-literal-bookshelf, 2011-favorites, fairy-godmother, forever-and-ever-amen

I'm not sure why it is so hard for me to articulate my E. Lockhart appreciation. It may be because every time I think of the Ruby Oliver books I pretty much do this:

Weeks later these books are still bringing a smile to my face. I loved the underlying themes of self-discovery and self-respect. E. Lockhart has this fantastic way of making universal experiences so poignantly personal. I adored Ruby. Her adventures will always have a special place in my book-lovin' heart.

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Mar 28, 2012 Keertana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: rainy-day-re-reads

I can sum up my entire experience reading The Boyfriend List in one word: cathartic. If you don't already have a shrink, you'll probably realize you need to get one after reading this book (or if you're broke like me, the Ruby Oliver books will do just fine). The Boyfriend List isn't your usual contemporary romance. I admit that halfway through the first chapter I declared myself Team Noel (still shipping those two after the book was over but more on that later) but really this book is all Team I can sum up my entire experience reading The Boyfriend List in one word: cathartic. If you don't already have a shrink, you'll probably realize you need to get one after reading this book (or if you're broke like me, the Ruby Oliver books will do just fine). The Boyfriend List isn't your usual contemporary romance. I admit that halfway through the first chapter I declared myself Team Noel (still shipping those two after the book was over but more on that later) but really this book is all Team Ruby.

Fifteen-year-old Ruby Oliver is having a horrible week. Her boyfriend of six months broke up with her, her best friend started dating her now ex-boyfriend three days later, she has become a "leper" or a loner, and her once perfect reputation has been completely tarnished. Ruby, unable to deal with the current situation of her life, begins expressing her pain and worry in the form of panic attacks. Before she knows it, she's sitting in Dr. Z, her therapist's office, and being told to make a list: The Boyfriend List. Ruby's story is told through her multiple shrink appointments, stories of fifteen guys she's ever liked/kissed/dated, and flashbacks of her life before it became a disaster.

From the surface, The Boyfriend List seems like a fluffy and fun read - which it is! But its also so much more. The depth of emotions conveyed and character personalities utterly astounded me. Lockhart writes from a fresh, realistic voice that is easy to relate to. Ruby, despite being the main character, is far from perfect. She continually makes the same mistakes with guys, she fails to see true friendship when it's in front of her eyes, and she yearns for her own Prince Charming called Tommy Hazard. Yet, Ruby is like every other girl in the world. Who hasn't made mistakes with guys? Who hasn't been able to reach their hand out to friendship even when it's right in front of their face? Who doesn't dream about "The One" or their "Mr. Right"? Every girl, no matter what age, will be able to inexplicably relate to Ruby and the debacles she finds herself in.

Although Ruby's story is primarily told through the list of boys she writes, it is mainly about friendship, honesty, and truth. Through her appointments with Dr. Z, Ruby is able to uncover the raw truth behind every one of her problems whether they be regarding her best friend Kim, who holds her emotions inside until they burst; her parents, who are stuck in an ever-raging power struggle; or even herself, who is unable to rectify the mistakes she has made and be open with her feelings. More than just a book, The Boyfriend List is like "The Ultimate Girl's Guide to Life." While reading about Ruby, you will find yourself feeling as if you are reading about yourself. Ruby's mistakes are your mistakes. Ruby's friends faults are your friend's faults. Ruby's relationship with her parents is bound to be at least remotely similar to your relationship with your parents. It still shocks me how Ruby's story can correlate so perfectly with that of my, or any other girls, own.

The Boyfriend List is a must-read for every girl out there. It is sarcastic, funny, and emotionally-cleansing. It is written in a fun and engaging manner, Ruby's 'voice' is relate-able and refreshing, and most importantly, the ending is realistic and full of promise for more. If there's one thing I've learned from this book, it's that bottling up your emotions is definitely not the solution. So, with my new-found sense of emotional truthfulness I tell you this: Read. This. Book. NOW! There's no way you can't fall in love with it! ;) ...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Stacia (the 2010 club) rated it liked it

Recommended to Stacia (the 2010 club) by: Isamlq

Shelves: cute, young-adult, contemporary-romance

Therapy - how people used to work through problems before Facebook existed. Nowadays people tend to talk about how much their life sucks on a social network until enough people pop in to console them. Ruby has a therapist, half the world has a Facebook, and I just have Goodreads.

Reviewing as therapy : Everything you absolutely didn't want to know about my life made available for you to read about in print.

This book made me feel a little bit disturbed about my own high school existence. The end ...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Sophia. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: awesome-parent, good-settings, best-friends, interesting-idea-or-concept, excellent-character-development, never-seen-before, great-hero, popular-girl-gone-freaky, original-special-presentation, go-girl-you-rock

I know, right? How improbable, but it was really, really good. And Ruby is hilarious. (Seriously, I kept laughing out loud like a mad ~~Mr. Burns~~ woman.)

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Aug 08, 2011 Monique rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: women-s-lit, fiction, 2012, romance, young-adult

Since The Boyfriend List is a book about lists (15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and Me, Ruby Oliver), I think I'm going to go out of the box and write my thoughts on the book in enumeration form, too. My personal sub-title: 5 Reasons I Liked It, 3 Reasons I Didn't, And A Recommendation.

5 Reasons I Liked It:

1. It dealt with high school reality and teen angst/problems, much in the same manner that Stargirl (by Jerry Spinelli) did. Personally, I never experienced anything s ...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Cassi aka Snow White Haggard rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, audio-books, favorites

(Note this is a review for the first 3 books. Yes I know that's a lazy cop-out but I've read too many books to properly review lately. Also I'm not really sure why I took away a star and I'm considering giving it back)

When I first met Ruby Oliver at the local library, I thought the books looked pretty darned girly. Also it sounded a little bit too boy-crazy. Sometimes I get frustrated with all those true-love YA stories. I want to scream THERES MORE TO LIFE THAN BOYS! Besides, who finds true lov ...more

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Jul 31, 2013 Ellis rated it really liked it

Shelves: own-physical-copy, anticipaaaation, must-read-before-dating-me, favourites, rude-confused-dorks, almost-sexy-times, teenage-girls-having-sex-adventures, yup-i-m-a-fan, boss-heroine, better-on-the-reread

So there I was, my mom yelling at me, Heidi talking crap about me, weirded out by the Noel dynamic, Angelo probably mad at me, Jackson thinking I was cheating on him/getting over him too quickly/generally skanky - and you'd think things couldn't get worse, but ha! It's my life. Things can always get worse.

It's really too bad I wasn't much of a reader during most of my teens, because there have been times when I seriously could have used some Ruby Oliver in my ridiculously confusing teenage lif ...more

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Oct 16, 2014 ♥ Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

My very own soundtrack for this book:
Crystal Fighters - You & I
The Lumineers - Charlie Boy
The Lumineers - Flowers in Her Hair
This, the Silent War - We Are Broken
Vance Joy - Riptide
MSMR - Bones
Banks - Waiting Game

Sometimes I get this urge to write stuff down.
Mundane day-to-day thoughts, to-do lists, to-read lists, to-buy lists, to-cook lists, to-gift lists, etc. (Clearly, I have a List Writing Addiction, or too much time on my hands.)
I’ve probably created and destroyed and revised a doze ...more

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May 13, 2012 Amanda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, i-have-a-copy, female-pov, contemporary-fiction, gave-me-a-toothache, ya-lit, realistic-fiction, favourite-author, received-via-book-swap, review-on-the-blog

The Boyfriend List by E.Lockhart is set in Seattle. Ruby Oliver is fifteen years old and lives on a houseboat with her parents, Elaine and Kevin. She attends Tate Prep on a scholarship and up until ten days ago, had a best friend, Kim, and two other close friends, Nora and Cricket. Now she's had a panic attack and is feeling anxious so she starts seeing a psychologist, Dr Z. Dr Z suggests Ruby (or Roo to her friends and family) make a list of all her boyfriends, real or almost, and any other boy

The Boyfriend List by E.Lockhart is set in Seattle. Ruby Oliver is fifteen years old and lives on a houseboat with her parents, Elaine and Kevin. She attends Tate Prep on a scholarship and up until ten days ago, had a best friend, Kim, and two other close friends, Nora and Cricket. Now she's had a panic attack and is feeling anxious so she starts seeing a psychologist, Dr Z. Dr Z suggests Ruby (or Roo to her friends and family) make a list of all her boyfriends, real or almost, and any other boys she feels she has had a connection or issue with and we're provided with this list at the beginning of the book.

I've known about this series for a while, but not knowing if I'd like it, I put off ordering it and I could only find a copy of it at the library that's furthest from me, so I never got around to reading it. Then the wonderful Maggie sent me the first three books and it was love at first sentence. I'm a list-maker so I appreciated Ruby's list and I also enjoyed the funny footnotes that peppered the story, they were all so amusing and added more of Ruby's personality to the story.

Speaking of personality, Ruby's is fantastic. I found her voice so realistic and I could listen to her talk all day. Yes, she's a little self involved, but what fifteen year old isn't? She's also caring, loving, intelligent and a teensy bit naive because she didn't see her break up coming or the backstabbing that came along with it. The events that occur, while not life-threatening or world-ending, are important enough to Ruby and they bring on anxiety and panic attacks. I was really happy that she had Dr Z to help her out because I don't think her parents were doing a good job of being there for her.

Ruby's mum, Elaine, is a performance artist and an at-home copy editor in between tours. Ruby had to put a stop to her mum using Ruby's life in her performances, eg. a tour based on Ruby getting her first period. Elaine is melodramatic, loud and pushy. She's always harping on about eating disorders and is convinced Ruby has one, even though she doesn't. Instead of listening, she talks over the top of Ruby and her husband, Kevin, who runs a gardening newsletter and seed catalogue.

There were so many thoughts that Ruby had that I really latched on to, so many opinions that I shared with her or made me think "that's so true!" I particularly loved the footnote about people calling to say "we need to talk" and then refusing to tell you what it is and then making you wait only to give you bad news, people do this all the time and it can be horrible. The other time I really connected with Roo was when she's with Dr Z, listing all the things she thinks about and she says "I probably think too much" - me too, Roo, me too! Another bonus point, for anyone playing along with me, is that Roo is a vegetarian, win!

I really disliked Ruby's ex-boyfriend, Jackson, and she is better off without him, but I understand that it's not always easy to let go. And don't get me started on her so-called friends! Kim, Cricket and Nora turned out to be such stereotypical high school mean girls, ganging up on Ruby without knowing all the facts when they should have been on her side. I was happy with Meghan who it turns out had been there all along and for the spark between Roo and Noel, it gave me butterflies.

I want everyone I know to read The Boyfriend List and get to know and love Ruby like I do. I would definitely recommend it to fans of realistic fiction and book set in high school but even if you're not a realistic fic fan, you will probably get a kick out of Ruby. ...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Lightreads rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, romance, young-adult

Described to me as one of the best high school girl romantic shenanigans confessionals out there. I think this might actually be true – high school was just ten years ago for me in real time, even if it was much longer in soultime, and this book feels very familiar and authentic to me. It just had no aliens. Or ghosts, or demons, or telepaths – basically, no one had to save the world, so it didn’t kick up to awesome for me.

That, and the much more important thing. The shtick here is that our narr ...more

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May 16, 2013 Karen ⊰✿ rated it liked it · review of another edition

I first came across E.Lockhart with We Were Liars which, to be honest, I preferred on the second read. I then read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks which was fab and I decided that this is probably a writer for me. I like how she explores relationships and the inner workings of a teenage mind.
Although this book was just as clever, I really didn't like Ruby. She is one of those popular (but not 'most' popular) girls at school who is completely oblivious to others, and their feelin ...more

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Jul 11, 2016 Maddie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, abandoned-series

The Ruby Oliver books are like the American equivalent of the Georgia Nicholson books in the UK. The girls are just as obsessed with boys and relationships and drama, with the same type of humour and style. It's not really my thing, because the characters feel so immature and I was never that kind of 15 year old, so I don't think I'll finish the series.

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Feb 14, 2018 Jasprit rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Jasprit by: Emily May

Shelves: out-2016, ya, read-in-2018, arc-galley, contemporary

This book was such a refreshing read, I'd gone into it thinking that it'd be a sort of young read for me, but I'm glad that this wasn't the case for me at all. It did take me some time getting used to Ruby and what was going on in her life, but once I got into The Boyfriend List I absolutely adored Ruby. She was such refreshing character, her voice and everything that she was going through just spoke volumes for me. What she had to go through was truly awful, the turn of events and how people tu ...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it really liked it

Shelves: on-my-shelves

When I started reading this, I added it on Goodreads and sort of scrolled through reviews, not reading them but eyeing the ratings. For most books, my friends reach a sort of general consensus; with The Boyfriend List, the ratings varied from one star to five. Thankfully, I fell on the higher end of the spectrum, a relief since I just bought the complete series in a fit of no will power.

The variety in opinions on this book makes perfect sense, though. How you feel about The Boyfriend List will l When I started reading this, I added it on Goodreads and sort of scrolled through reviews, not reading them but eyeing the ratings. For most books, my friends reach a sort of general consensus; with The Boyfriend List, the ratings varied from one star to five. Thankfully, I fell on the higher end of the spectrum, a relief since I just bought the complete series in a fit of no will power.

The variety in opinions on this book makes perfect sense, though. How you feel about The Boyfriend List will likely have a direct correlation to how you feel about the MC, Ruby Oliver. Ruby has a very distinct way of expressing herself and somewhat controversial opinions. If she annoys you, the book will be utter hell. However, if you think she's hilarious and makes good points and maybe reminds you of your high school self, you'll think she and this book are the best ever.

Though I did not personally identify with Ruby, I did think that she was funny most of the time, with occasional forays into whininess or melodrama, though these fit her personality and her situation perfectly. The Boyfriend List revolves around a series of panic attacks Ruby had, leading her parents to send her to a therapist. Her therapist asked her to draw up a list of boys for them to discuss. Thus the list was born, ultimately with some Harriet the Spy kind of consequences.

What Lockhart got just right is the teenage drama. Ruby feels so much like a teenage girl, with her own misconceptions, weird slang and inability to deal with being a social outcast. Having a boyfriend matters so much. Her own world matters so much, and she has a lot of trouble seeing past her own issues. Her parents fight all the time, but she can't really see that until therapy, and the same goes for her friends' issues too. Ruby has blinders on, and it's wonderful to watch her gain new perspective on the world in her conversations with her shrink.

The romantic drama herein depicted may seem a bit like the absurdity of Gossip Girl or Glee, where the same twelve characters keep swapping boyfriends in an endless spiral of jealousy, betrayal and infidelity. However, Tate, Ruby's school, is this tiny prep school full of rich kids (except for Ruby, who's on scholarship); there just aren't that many fish in the dating pool. I went to a very small college, and one guy dated three girls out of the twelve on my freshman hall, so that kind of stuff does happen, though there was no drama with our instance. They're stuck in a small school with lots of hormones and not many people with whom to exercise them.

The other awesome thing about Ruby Oliver is that it's not romanticizing teens or trying to depict them as innocent or sex as awful. Ruby discusses sex openly and with overt fascination. She and her friends discuss boys and all of their exploits and that's just so much how life goes down; we all share the details with our best friends.

Now, this really does not affect my opinion of the novel or mean anything to those who have not read this book, but I still need to get this off my chest: Kim and Jackson are major d-bags. Jackson especially. He's a serial boyfriend, dumping one girl and immediately lining up the next (or already having her waiting). Kim may be a big proponent of "The Rules," and, yes, Ruby broke them too, but Kim stepped out of line first. She can talk about fate or how it only just happened all she wanted, but she is lying. Ruby needs to get those two awful people out of her heart entirely and out of her life as much as is possible at Tate.

The Boyfriend List is a humorous, sassy contemporary, sure to delight those who delight in misadventure, pop culture references, and romantic drama. ...more

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Sep 18, 2011 Rose rated it really liked it

Shelves: coming-of-age, chick-lit, contemporary, ya-realistic-fiction-challenge-2012, romance, young-adult, realistic-fiction, chick-lit-challenge-2012, tbr-challenge

Initial reaction: I really liked this, and found many moments where I just wanted to give Ruby Oliver a big hug. She goes through a lot of ups and downs in her relationships in the course of the work, and I definitely felt the bumps in the road along with her. That's not to say that I thought this work was perfect. There were aspects of it that I couldn't completely throw myself into, and I think I may need a little while to think about how to best explain those. Still, I'm all for continuing th Initial reaction: I really liked this, and found many moments where I just wanted to give Ruby Oliver a big hug. She goes through a lot of ups and downs in her relationships in the course of the work, and I definitely felt the bumps in the road along with her. That's not to say that I thought this work was perfect. There were aspects of it that I couldn't completely throw myself into, and I think I may need a little while to think about how to best explain those. Still, I'm all for continuing this series. I'm too invested in Ruby's story to stop.

Full review:

"The Boyfriend List" is a young adult chick-lit novel with a lot of heart, showing the journey of one young woman who endures a rough week of navigating her relationships, family life, and ultimately trying to find ways to be honest with herself as well as the people around her. I did not expect to enjoy this novel as much as I did, but it was well worth the journey. It's a tough read in spurts, and I'll admit it takes the reader out of the comfort zone of one of your typical cutesy reads and showcases some of the flaws that the heroine has while running her through some rough patches.

Ruby Oliver is a sweetheart, and its easy to get to know her through the course of the novel. Though when we meet her in the beginning of the novel, she's had one of the worst weeks of her life and suffers from panic attacks, thus needing to see a shrink to deal with her respective problems. One of the requirements in her therapy sessions is to craft a "boyfriend" list. So she crafts a list of every boy she's had a relationship with (even those whom she's never exactly talked to, but still had an impression of some sort with). We learn a lot about Ruby's respective relationships, and in the moments they go wrong, they go VERY wrong.

But Ruby is a resilient young lady. While things in her life seem to hit the wall many a time, and she's both betrayed and inadvertently hurts quite a few people along the way, she finds a way to push through, both in her therapy sessions and in her life. This book presents many lessons on the art of acceptance and letting go. That's a lesson that even adults have a hard time swallowing, so with some of the things Ruby faces in this book - I wanna hug her, not just in light of the tough times, but how she ultimately learns to rise above it.

I did have a few qualms about "The Boyfriend List" in retrospect, though. I kinda wish the ending of this book had a little more closure. I kept thinking there would be a little more resolution, but alas that point didn't really tie off as well as I was hoping. I'll admit I was also frustrated at how transparent the other characters were at times), but ultimately, I think for what the novel was showing in its real approach to issues in dating, relationships, friendships, and self-acceptance, it worked.

I think teens will certainly enjoy this eye-opening read, and I definitely enjoyed what it brought to the table. I found it cute, funny, eye-opening, and with a strong backbone to the themes it tackles. Certainly recommended, and I can't wait to read more in E. Lockhart's respective series.

Overall score: 4/5 ...more

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Aug 08, 2007 Carly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: me?

Shelves: alreadyread-childrensbooks

Before I write a detailed review, I think I should make it clear that I fell HARD for this book right from the first page. I am blindly and irregretably in love with it, and I think it's probably an irrational love, so everything I say about it should be taken with a grain of salt.

I have never fallen in love with a book before like I fell in love with this one, right from the beginning and never letting up, only growing more and more intense as time and pages went on. The book is like someone yo ...more

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Oct 17, 2009 Arlene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010, ya-contemporary, young-adult

E. Lockhart definitely delivered a heartfelt book with laugh out loud moments that captured my attention and sympathy from cover to cover.

The Boyfriend List has what it takes to have you falling for the main character Ruby “Roo” Oliver as her life at Tate Prep turns upside down when her boyfriend dumps her, she begins to suffer from anxiety attacks and ultimately becomes a patient of Dr. Z to deal with her angst. Well you think when she begins to seek counsel, her life will begin to get back on ...more

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Sep 02, 2018 Sophie (Blame Chocolate) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, teenage-life

This was actually a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be!

For starters, it was a really quick and easy read. The only reason it took me longer to finish it was because I had a busy weekend and didn't really have the time to sit down and pick it up most of the time - otherwise, I'd be done with it in under three hours, tops.

Secondly, it was such a light and funny story. It wasn't laugh out loud funny, though, more like a "smiling throughout" and "the occasional chuckle" kind of funny, wh This was actually a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be!

For starters, it was a really quick and easy read. The only reason it took me longer to finish it was because I had a busy weekend and didn't really have the time to sit down and pick it up most of the time - otherwise, I'd be done with it in under three hours, tops.

Secondly, it was such a light and funny story. It wasn't laugh out loud funny, though, more like a "smiling throughout" and "the occasional chuckle" kind of funny, which is perfectly fine in my book.

Ruby (or "Roo") probably reminds a lot of readers of their own teenage selves and I am no exception. While some of the things that happened in the book sometimes frustrated me and made me want to roll my eyes, they were exceedingly real. I remember acting like Ruby and thinking like Ruby when I was that age, and reading about it made me realise just how naive and idiotic we can all be at that age! (Again, perfectly fine and real.)

I also suffered a bit with anxiety and panic attacks when I was younger (still do, but on a much lesser scale), so I could definitely relate to the symptons and the way it was described. I still felt it was a subject that wasn't explored enough, however, and instead took a back seat while the romance and teenage angst/drama remained center stage. It was one of the things I would have liked the author to have explored more and really made it seem like a big issue to Roo - most of the time, it felt like an afterthought of a plot device. I felt it was brushed off a bit too much and not given the attention/importance it deserved, which was a bit disappointing.

Instead, we get all these teenage issues that make it seem like the world is about to end at any moment and/or everyone is out there to get you: the complicated relationships, the path to finding yourself and understanding your place in the world, the confusion surrounding you almost 24/7 and the thought that you are never good enough/are not going something right yet have no idea what that something is. Things that you will only learn later on actually matter very little in the grand scheme of things.

I thought that was well portrayed and we get all these interesting characters with a story to tell. The book definitely touches on worthy topics, yet had some trouble exploring them properly. I get that this is YA and it's supposed to be a very light novel with a carefree undertone to it, and delving into any of those topics at a deeper level would probably create the exact opposite effect: a gloomy, depressing and very triggering contemporary. And I was perfectly okay with it not going that way, either. But a bit more development would have been nice.

One other thing I had mixed feelings about were the footnotes. They were a peculiar enough addition but most of the time they explained what I (and probably half the planet) already knew and/or just felt redundant. Funny at times, though.

This certainly gave me an Easy A/The Scarlet Letter sort of vibe, which was interesting even if it was not the central focus of the story. I also liked the ending - I was expecting something completely different and predictable but the author thankfully didn't go there! I know there are still more books in this series so there's a lot of space for improvement and/or development (and also space for the author to screw up a perfectly cool message!) but I'm not sure I'll be reading those any time soon.

My teenage self would have enjoyed these books immensely but at this stage in my life they are really just meant to amuse me and take me out of a reading slump. Which it absolutely did, so no complaints there! Even though I devoured it in a few hours, it really is nothing amazing or earth-shattering... But it's not meant to me and that's okay.

* This was book #2 in the O.W.L.s Readathon * Arithmacy Completed! *

3.5/5 stars ...more

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Sep 03, 2018 Sylwia (Wish Fulfillment) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Why I Recommend Moving This UP On Your TBR:
· The narrative examined a lot of harmful topics in an enlightened way, for example girl-hate is explored, as is the word "slut", etc.
· This contains an abundance of thought-provoking topics.
· It provides education for readers about certain harmful social behaviors they might be engaging in that hurt others and themselves that they might not even realize.
· The story is well-crafted in that it's unpredictable and all of the chapters weave together well. ...more

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Sep 14, 2017 TS rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mental-illness-rep, 4-stars

3.5-3.75 stars?

I genuinely liked this book, I did, but I feel like after reading the Jessica Darling series, nothing will ever compare in the chick-lit genre, which is unfair, because I had so much fun reading this.

I loved the little nudges in support of feminism that were dispersed in this book. I loved how this book made me experience such intense emotion: Revulsion, anger, warmth, betrayal, humour. I loved how this book made me seriously love some characters and seriously hate others with su ...more

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May 07, 2011 Tina rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, contemporary, 2011

Original post at One More Page

I've read about the Ruby Oliver series from other bloggers, and while it got me a tiny bit curious, it wasn't enough for me to get them. When I finally read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, I thought it was such a smart read that I decided to pick up her other books. Ruby Oliver seemed the most popular and they were easily available so I picked one up. I started reading the first book in the series, The Boyfriend List , a few weeks a Original post at One More Page

I've read about the Ruby Oliver series from other bloggers, and while it got me a tiny bit curious, it wasn't enough for me to get them. When I finally read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, I thought it was such a smart read that I decided to pick up her other books. Ruby Oliver seemed the most popular and they were easily available so I picked one up. I started reading the first book in the series, The Boyfriend List , a few weeks ago when I switched from chick lit to contemporary YA for my NaNoWriMo 2011 novel, and it definitely hit just the right spot.

Ruby Oliver used to be popular, used to have a boyfriend and used to have best friends. That was ten days ago. Now, Ruby Oliver has no boyfriend, no friends, is a social outcast, has panic attacks and sees a shrink. And she's only fifteen. What went wrong? With the help of her shrink, she comes up with The Boyfriend List: 15 guys that she had had a thing with, whether real or imaginary, as it seemed like the thing that started all of these things for Ruby. The question is: did the list help, or did it just make things worse?

The thing I noticed about E. Lockhart's books is the realness of her protagonist's voice. Ruby was as real as you can get from page one, and I immediately wanted to know what her story was. The story was as funny as the title and the blurb, and it was creatively written based on the list that was in the book. Plus the book had footnotes, almost like a Thursday Next book! I loved how the book was not told chronologically but still everything made sense and nothing was hard to connect. While the reading experience with Frankie had me laughing with amused disconnectedness (almost like a spectator), The Boyfriend List made me feel that I was a part of the story and that I was one of the few people that listened to Ruby at all. The writing was just as funny and clever as was in Frankie -- maybe even funnier -- but absolutely real.

This is far from a love story that the title implies, but more about Ruby's journey with these fifteen boys and her best friends. The meat of the story was how Ruby's boyfriend, Jackson, dumps her days before the Spring Fling, to date Ruby's best friend from second grade, Kim. It's easy to hate Kim and Jackson and her other friends for deserting her, but as the story goes on, we see that Ruby was just at fault, too. The Boyfriend List is a story with flawed characters that one can't help but wish that things turn out well for all of them, most especially the heroine.

I won't say much anymore because the book is really so much better read and experienced on your own than through a review. It's only my second E. Lockhart book, but I am almost fully convinced that she's a contemporary YA genius. Give me one more book of hers so I can be fully convinced (but I'm pretty sure I will be easily convinced). Someone give me The Boy Book this Christmas? :)
...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Sesana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult

As I read this book, one phrase popped into my head over and over: Oh, Ruby. I said it when Ruby walked up to a teenage boy and asked him, in front of his friends, if he remembered playing mermaids with her. I said it when she threw away a list of boys her therapist had her make in the school garbage can. I said it when she minimized her feelings of hurt when her now-ex-boyfriend Jackson ignored her or took her for granted. I said it when her now-ex-best friend Kim told her it was all for the be As I read this book, one phrase popped into my head over and over: Oh, Ruby. I said it when Ruby walked up to a teenage boy and asked him, in front of his friends, if he remembered playing mermaids with her. I said it when she threw away a list of boys her therapist had her make in the school garbage can. I said it when she minimized her feelings of hurt when her now-ex-boyfriend Jackson ignored her or took her for granted. I said it when her now-ex-best friend Kim told her it was all for the best when they broke up, and then again when she was shocked to discover that Kim was now dating Jackson. And again when she agreed to go to the school dance with now-ex-boyfriend Jackson, because obviously no good could come of that. Oh, Ruby.

Yes, Ruby is a bit of a mess. She hides how she feels from friends, family, and especially her boyfriend. She can be a bit of a doormat, especially that boyfriend. She's naive, sometimes to the point of being clueless (hence all the "Oh, Ruby"). And she can be shallow and self-involved. But she's generally good at heart, and she's learning. Best of all, she's fun and funny, and entirely likable.

Lockhart avoids a neat, clean ending. Ruby is not fully recovered from the breakup with Jackson, nor is she entirely over him. She hasn't entirely learned how to assert herself when it matters, though she's getting better at it. She hasn't regained what she's lost, and justice hasn't been served. She's still blind to Jackson's faults, and I'm sure it's only going to get her into more trouble later. But she's getting there.

This isn't the first thing that I've ever read by Lockhart. Pre-Goodreads, I'd read and enjoyed The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. In comparison, I like Ruby quite a bit more than I did Frankie. That book left me with the feeling that the author was trying just a little bit too hard to be smart, something that Lockhart avoids with The Boyfriend List. Neither the story nor Ruby herself are all that serious, and it makes for a much more fun read. ...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: addicted-to-ya, so-not-impressed, audio-goodness, audiobooks, character-id-punch, read-in-2012, what-the-heck

OK, I tried, I really did. I listened to the whole thing from the beginning to the end and I just didn't like it. I can see how others would like it, but for me I didn't. I just don't care for stories with boy crazy girls. It's just not the kind of books that I tend to like. You may ask, “if you don't like such stories, then why read this one in the first place?” Easy, I suspected I didn't and finishing this confirmed my suspicions. Also, because I can! “Hmm, OK then, so because of the subject y OK, I tried, I really did. I listened to the whole thing from the beginning to the end and I just didn't like it. I can see how others would like it, but for me I didn't. I just don't care for stories with boy crazy girls. It's just not the kind of books that I tend to like. You may ask, “if you don't like such stories, then why read this one in the first place?” Easy, I suspected I didn't and finishing this confirmed my suspicions. Also, because I can! “Hmm, OK then, so because of the subject you didn't like it?” Well yes and no. I didn't like it because I'd rather not read about teens and their semi sex lives. It's not for me. I don't want to read about how being 13 is sooo incredibly old for your first kiss. That's just me though. Totally not judging anyone who enjoyed the book for what it was.

I started out with the print book but ended up setting it aside. I couldn't get into the story and the sheer amount of footnotes was just insane. But one of the ladies here on GR (Heidi!) really enjoyed the book and wanted me to try it out. I decided to pick up the audio because I'm kind of addicted to audiobooks. I enjoyed the narrator, Mandy Seigfried. This was my first time hearing her as a narrator and I thought she did a great job. She made Roo sound so realistic. She definitely made the book easier for me to digest.

I thought Ruby had pretty crappy and dense friends. Not very supportive and too quick to let a guy come between them. Plus, if ever a friend kisses someones boyfriend, there's equal blame. Her parents should have taken a step back and gave their daughter a talk about self esteem and why it's important. At least help her find a guy that will respect her and treat her like a dude should.

In the end, I did not hate it, but I did not like it. Though I didn't think it was as funny as almost all the other readers, I can see how Roo would be very enjoyable for most. I have no one that I would recommend it to. I have not given up on the author, and actually have another one of her books here waiting for me to read. ...more

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Apr 22, 2008 Joanna added it · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult, fiction, reread

I was afraid I wouldn't love this book as much the 2nd time--but it's possible I loved it more. I think this book makes my all-time top 20. If I weren't so sleepy, I could wax eloquently about all the qualities that make The Boyfriend List close to perfect; instead, I give you this excerpt, when Ruby Oliver goes on a movie date with a boy she barely knows:

"About a quarter into it, Cabbie put his arm around me and, seconds later, he dangled his right hand down over my shoulder and squeezed my boo ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: Young adult novel, girl falls for boy helping her father with plants[s]	4	338	Sep 03, 2015 07:23PM
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver #1) by E. Lockhart - Starting April 18th 2015	23	20	Apr 23, 2015 03:46AM
romance books: new romance book (2)	1	3	May 28, 2014 01:41AM
One Million Pages...: September 2013 MBoM - The Boyfriend List	3	11	Sep 05, 2013 03:59AM
books	1	30	Sep 16, 2011 03:33PM

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About E. Lockhart

E. Lockhart

9,112 followers

E. Lockhart is the author of Genuine Fraud, We Were Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The Boyfriend List and several other novels.

website: www.emilylockhart.com
Liars site: www.wewereliars.com
blog: www.theboyfriendlist.com
Twitter: elockhart

Other books in the series

Ruby Oliver (4 books)

Books by E. Lockhart

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)

The Treasure Map of Boys: Noel, Jackson, Finn, Hutch, Gideon—and me, Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver, #3)

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Trivia About The Boyfriend Lis...

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Quotes from The Boyfriend List

“It shattered something inside me that hadn't been broken before.” — 351 likes

“I'm not telling you what I look like in any detail. I hate those endless descriptions of a heroine's physical attributes... First of all, it's boring. You should be able to imagine me without all the gory details of my hairstyle or the size of my thighs. And second, it really bothers me how in books it seems like the only two choices are perfection or self-hatred. As if readers will only like a character who's ideal - or completely shattered. Give me a break. People have got to be smarter than that.” — 176 likes

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