Uses for Boys in Mock Printz 2026

Aug 05, 2013 Becky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, northwest, mothers-and-daughters, fya-book-club

Uses for Boys reminds me of something. And I think, though it's been ages since I read it, that the something is Go Ask Alice.

Anna starts very young, with just her and her mother, where she is her mother's whole world and Anna feels very separate from every one else. When her mother expands her own world, she does it in a way that keeps Anna out (in fact, the one time she takes Anna with her, to the resort, Anna is raped). So Anna escapes her mother to live a very sad bohemian life filled with c ...more

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Aug 02, 2013 Terri rated it did not like it

"Uses for Boys" by Lorraine Scheidt is tough to review. If one looks at the reviews posted on "goodreads," opinions vary wildly. Some professional reviewers have given it starred reviews, and it appears on some early 2013 award contender lists. While I appreciate what the author is trying to do/show here, and while I generally appreciate the quality of her writing (especially as the book begins), I have to come down on the side of a one star review for this one. I felt the book was purposely mis "Uses for Boys" by Lorraine Scheidt is tough to review. If one looks at the reviews posted on "goodreads," opinions vary wildly. Some professional reviewers have given it starred reviews, and it appears on some early 2013 award contender lists. While I appreciate what the author is trying to do/show here, and while I generally appreciate the quality of her writing (especially as the book begins), I have to come down on the side of a one star review for this one. I felt the book was purposely misleading in terms of the cover and the title. And I felt the graphic sex and language was gratuitous and more appropriate for the twenty something set. Let me explain.

The cover of "Uses for Boys" shows us two teens wrapped in Christmas lights tenderly kissing. The title - sounds like a fun summer beach romance. Ha! In reality, this is a dark, dark look at a girl abandoned by her father and, later, by her mother. At a young age as she and her mother curl up together in bed each night, her mom tells her stories about how all she ever wanted was a little girl, a girl just like Anna. When her mom later decides it is time to find a man, Anna's life changes drastically. He mom essentially abandons her in search of a husband. As her mom goes through a series of husbands and step children, Anna is left to figure out how to survive and grow up completely on her own. She has no friends and decides to fill the void with her own stories and with boys. She offers herself fully to any boy who shows her any affection. This leads to abuse, rape, and abortion.

Anna's voice is cold, unfeeling, and childlike throughout. This made the graphic sex scenes especially disturbing. And I did not understand why the graphic details of the sex scenes were necessary. The scene where she describes what she and Joey see when looking at pornographic magazines seems to be for nothing more than titillation. I would have gotten the point without any of this. I also don't like that every single male in the book is portrayed as a sex-craved, unfeeling machine. There are no caring males to be found. And there is little, if any, hope here. Yes - Anna's mom pathetically attempts to do something for Anna when she buys her a blanket, and Anna does decide to go back to the family who is "concerned" about her at the end. But, for me that is not nearly enough to provide any redemption or hope for this book or the characters in it. Too little too late.

The fact that "Uses for Boys" has received starred reviews and is recommended for high schoolers really makes me question some of the journals that I turn to for advice. Yes, there are high school students who could definitely handle this book - but there is so much out there that is better written and more appropriate.

I DO NOT recommend this book. This is just my opinion - and that is what I LOVE about books - the fact that they encourage discussions about important issues like those presented in this book.

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Feb 21, 2013 Ellen rated it did not like it

Not sure why this is getting such positive reviews. Aside from the unlikeable, and unrelate-able protagonist & the cardboard supporting characters, the writing was far too self-indulgent, and the resolutions too easy. Much rather prefer Francesca Lia Block who always manages to write this kind of story so much more authentically & beautifully.

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Feb 24, 2013 Renee rated it did not like it

Shelves: dont-read

Ack, the book kept getting worse and worse. I agree with Mitch's review. The character's voice stayed at age 7, which became more painful as the book progressed. Did not finish. ...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Liz rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2-star, young-adult, contemporary-and-realistic

Look at that cover. It makes Uses for Boys look like a read that will have rough spots, but also be very sweet, which is what I expected going into this book. In her review, Jen of Makeshift Bookmark compared this book to the movie Thirteen, and that is spot on. From my perspective, reading the plot and character arc of Uses for Boys was like watching a train crash. Uses for Boys is an important book of acceptable literary quality, but not one I particularly enjoyed reading.

Before we go any furt
Look at that cover. It makes Uses for Boys look like a read that will have rough spots, but also be very sweet, which is what I expected going into this book. In her review, Jen of Makeshift Bookmark compared this book to the movie Thirteen, and that is spot on. From my perspective, reading the plot and character arc of Uses for Boys was like watching a train crash. Uses for Boys is an important book of acceptable literary quality, but not one I particularly enjoyed reading.

Before we go any further, I should clarify a few things. I was raised in an upper middle class home. My loved ones have been teaching me about feminism and healthy relationships from an early age. I understand that even though I’ll start have to paying back student loans soon, the benefits of my education, both college and graduate school, far outweigh the costs. If this doesn’t make sense now, it will after you read Uses for Boys.

I expected Anna to have grown up in a home without a lot of money. Although this was the case when she was young, her mother is actually fairly well off. Anna’s mother goes through several marriages—at least three are mentioned in the book—and has a lot of boyfriends. Thanks to the men in her life, Anna’s mother acquires nice things such as jewelry and new clothes. She’s never around, but she’s happy to give Anna the money to procure what she needs. Of course, as Anna becomes a teenager, she thinks that she has to perform certain favors in order to receive love from others.

The plot of Scheidt’s debut is lacking in purpose, and this is a personal pet peeve for me. I can see why some teens would want to read this story as Scheidt has written it, but I kept thinking of different ways the plot could go. Guys, Anna is an incredibly painful character to read about. Her personality isn’t as well fleshed out as it could be, and she makes a lot of poor decisions. When I got to the end of the book, I felt as though her character had not come as far as I’d like to see, and that was especially disappointing. I also don’t understand where Scheidt was going with Toy and her story.

As many problems as I have with this story, I have to admit that it belongs on teen shelves. Scheidt’s novel showcases that being privileged in one way does not mean that a person is privileged in ever way. For example, Anna’s mother has plenty of money, but Anna has unhealthy interpersonal relationships as a result. While I understand as an adult that being rich does not automatically mean your life is perfect, some teens may not, and this book will be eye-opening for them. Girls who have personally experienced slut-shaming will relate to Anna’s character, and Scheidt manages to show how negative slut-shaming can be without preaching to her reader.

Uses for Boys was a wash for me. I thought it needed to be longer with a better plot and more well-developed characters. Some readers, however, will appreciate and connect with Anna’s story much better than I did. I hope this book finds its audience. ...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Karyn Silverman rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, z2013-reads

Some lovely writing but the whole felt weirdly distant; the prose style and short passages keep all characters in-dimensional. Toy, especially; when Sam asked if she was imaginary I thought "Oh! Is she?" And the biggest flaw is the clothing. So many words devoted to wardrobe. I get it; these girls are lost and using what they wear and the stories they tell to create themselves. But 1, overdone, and 2, effect was that I was reading an aspirational list of what cool kids wear. By the end, when Ann ...more

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Feb 16, 2014 Debrarian added it

Shelves: ya-aka-teen, didn-t-finish

Made it to p. 107. Pretty, clear writing, but so spare (in voice, emotion and action) that I couldn't quite get hooked in. I think the writing is appropriate to the voice; I just didn't feel like being in that voice. ...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Rakisha rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya-realistic-fic, tween-ya-reluctant-readers

It could have been so much better. It was a story that went on and on without a payoff. I wish Anna and the other characters were more developed. A good book about a girl who uses sex to ease her pain but has a solid character transformation, please read The D.U.F.F. by Kody Kepling.

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Oct 19, 2013 Danielle rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, romance, printz-2014-contender

I actually thought the writing in this was, for the most part, pretty good. The book says a lot of important things about female sexuality, but not in a super preachy way. Maybe the girl version of Sex & Violence? But there are some issues - many of the secondary characters are one-dimensional and it was difficult to connect with Anna at times. Like some other reviewers, I briefly thought that Toy was an imaginary friend because she's such an odd, poorly drawn character - and Toy's big secret wa ...more

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Dec 23, 2013 Alicia rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya

The whole time I was reading this book I could picture a friend of mine. In so many ways this was her story and therefore it resonated with me. In addition, the prose was beautifully done and was a realistic story of a girl drifting into sex before she is ready because she really believes that it will lead to someone loving her. It is, however, a book I would give out judiciously because there are some pretty graphic scenes and many people will be turned off by that.

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