Product Description

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 her first beer (someone handed it to her),

got caught by her mom (ag!),

had a panic attack (scary),

lost a lacrosse game (she’s the goalie),

failed a math test (she’ll make it up),

hurt Meghan’s feelings (even though they aren’t really friends),

became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch)

and had graffiti written about her in the girls’ bathroom (who knows what was in the boys’!?!).

But don’t worry—Ruby lives to tell the tale. And make more lists.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #301114 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-22
• Released on: 2005-03-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Siegfried makes a believable 15-year-old narrator as she slips into the role of Ruby Oliver, a spirited girl struggling with identity and self-esteem after suffering the kind of social crisis that sets high schoolers reeling. Ruby's boyfriend of six months, Jackson, has dumped her in favor of her best friend, Kim. Ruby's resulting panic attacks land her in the office of a shrink, Dr. Z, and part of her therapy involves writing a complete list of the boys with whom she's ever had a crush, kiss, relationship or "little any-kind-of-anything." As listeners learn about each entry on the boyfriend list (including lots of authentic-sounding dialogue and asides, which appear in the book as footnotes to the list), they hear the Jackson drama and every painful, truthful detail about the clique land mines Ruby must maneuver when it comes to her former friends, to whom she's now a "leper." Via Siegfried's sharp delivery and expert teen inflection, one can almost envision the eye-rolling and other gestures that might accompany Ruby's smart-aleck, I can't-believe-this-humiliating-thing-is-happening-to-me attitude. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Fifteen-year-old Ruby "Roo" Oliver is having a tough year at Tate Prep. Through a series of social debacles, she loses her best friends, her boyfriend, her dignity, and the respect of her fellow Taters in less than two weeks' time. Following nearly half a dozen panic attacks, Roo starts to spend some quality time on Doctor Z.'s couch, where she makes (at her shrink's urging) a list of boyfriends past and present, official and unofficial, and starts on a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, Ruby begins to think about patterns in her life and ways that she might be more like her mother than she'd care to admit. Fortunately, Ruby survives her traumatic exile and lives to tell the tale. Lockhart has created a fun character in the spirit of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson and Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones. Ruby is a likable and empathetic character whose quirks and behaviors will strike a chord with many readers. The snappy dialogue makes this story a winner, though the language and discussion of sexually charged situations are frank. The scenarios all ring true, as does Roo's inner voice. Though the novel starts off a bit slowly, and it takes a while to get used to the funny footnotes, it gains speed, and the comedy of errors will have readers laughing out loud. Teens will soon be listing the reasons they want another Ruby adventure.–Elaine Baran Black, Gwinnett County Public Library, Lawrenceville, GA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 8-11. Fifteen-year-old Ruby Oliver's life is full of challenges. She lives on a houseboat; attends private school--on scholarship; and her boyfriend has dumped her for her best friend. Nothing, however, is worse than having her "boyfriend list" (homework from her shrink) passed around school and being branded a "slut." It's her therapy, during which she examines current and past events--including feelings about boys--that helps put Ruby back on track, allowing her to gain insight into her relationships and the importance of self-worth. Ruby's character is sympathetic, witty, and sometimes frustrating, and it shines through her introspective, occasionally funny narrative, which incorporates such familiar teen issues as coping with peer pressure and a broken heart. The time line is somewhat confusing, and the abundant, often lengthy footnoted asides occasionally distract from the story's flow, but readers will find many of Ruby's experiences familiar, and they'll appreciate the story as a lively, often entertaining read. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Richie's Picks: THE BOYFRIEND LIST
If, from my male perspective, I were to characterize the typical crop of Chick Lit as a muddy lot full of bricks, slugs, thistles, and poison oak--as I'm quite content in doing--I would be remiss in not pointing out that it's right on the edge of that lot that I regularly uncover patches of well-fertilized and imaginative growths of tasty YA literature. They're not exactly what I'd refer to as Chick Lit, but they are gobbled up by similar female audiences, along with a significant number of us guys. Last year there was THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS and SAVING FRANCESCA. Other good examples from previous years are CATALYST, GINGERBREAD, DEFINE NORMAL, and WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW.

I suspect that many male adolescents will react to the cover of THE BOYFRIEND LIST (15 GUYS, 11 SHRINK APPOINTMENTS, 4 CERAMIC FROGS AND ME, RUBY OLIVER) as I did. The title and the ceramic frog on a white background which provides the not-so-subtle accompanying visual allusions to frogs-slash-princes did not set off any "Wow! Looks Like A Great Book!" alarms in my head as my fingers took a stroll through the box of advance copies that arrived last week.

(Actually the cover got the opposite reaction--i.e. a very positive one, indeed--from our female 10 and 15 year-olds when they scampered through the new stack. But then they had to go do their homework and I got to read the book first.)

Whatever you think about the cover (or Chick Lit), THE BOYFRIEND LIST is a delightful and frequently achingly honest tale--warts and all--about what happens when girls and boys meet.

As Ruby Oliver explains within the very first footnote (of the dozens of oft-lengthy footnotes throughout the book):

"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."

Ruby compiles the boyfriend list on the advice of her "shrink," Doctor Z. She is sent to Dr. Z after experiencing a series of five panic attacks that occur within the same ten day period in which Ruby:

" lost my boyfriend (boy #13)
lost my best friend
lost all my other friends
learned gory details about my now-ex-boyfriend's sexual adventures
did something shockingly advanced with boy #15
did something suspicious with boy #10
had an argument with boy #14
drank my first beer
got caught by my mom
lost a lacrosse game
failed a math test
hurt Meghan's feelings
became a leper
and became a famous slut"

The titles of the fifteen chapters that comprise THE BOYFRIEND LIST (15 GUYS, 11 SHRINK APPOINTMENTS, 4 CERAMIC FROGS AND ME, RUBY OLIVER) are the same as the fifteen listings of the boyfriend list. In these fifteen chapters Ruby recounts for Doctor Z the history of her relationships with boys, going all the way back to the little boy she used to stare at in preschool. As the proverbial "fly on the wall," (which happens to be the title of Emily Lockhart's next book), readers are treated to an intimate look at Ruby Oliver's trial-and-error adolescent lessons in human relationships.

From my post-adolescent perspective, so much of what I see in Ruby's relationships with her peers is strikingly similar to what I went through and/or observed with my own contemporaries.

Of course, now that we're all grown up, we don't have to deal with those relationship problems any more. In fact, most of our kids get their first lessons in boy-girl relationships from observing the harmonious interactions between the parental units. Ruby (Roo) has quite a pair to watch:

"I told my parents about the breakup on Sunday at dinner. I had to explain because my mom asked why my eyes were all puffy.
"Mom: 'Oh, I never liked him anyway. He's a horrible boy. I'm going to call his mother!'
"Me: 'Ag! Please don't do that!'
"Dad: 'Elaine, she needs to come to a place of forgiveness. Otherwise she'll never move on.'
"Mom: 'It just happened. She needs to vent. She needs to express her anger.'
"Me: 'Mom, I--'
"Mom: 'Roo, be quiet. She needs to raise her voice and be heard!'
"Dad: 'I wonder how Jackson is feeling right now. Roo, can you think about his perspective, come to an understanding of his position? Because that's the way you'll truly transcend the negativity of this experience.
"Mom: 'I never liked the way he'd honk the horn for you without coming in. What kind of manners is that?' "

So take a nature walk through the horror and zaniness that is the teenage life of Ruby Oliver.

Sweet and Funny Entertainment
This book is about how a high school girl named Ruby lost her boyfriend, friends, and self esteem, and how she recovered. As I got to know Ruby, I found her endearing and adorable and had to read quickly to make sure she'd be okay. This book has fun, quirky footnotes; hilarious characters such as Ruby's constantly bickering parents and her rebellious, loner guy friend; and well-drawn creeps who are some of Ruby's ex-boyfriends and former friends. The Boyfriend List is fun, entertaining, and a little different too.

Can't Get More Real Than This
Ruby is having panic attacks. Her boyfriend has broken up with her, none of her friends are speaking with her, her ride to school won't take her anymore, and her parents are sure she is feeling suicidal or anorexic. Welcome to the story of The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart, a masterful look inside the life of a teenage girl. This girl is every girl. Reading this book was like looking back at parts of my past, and it was amazing and painful to take the journey with her.

Lockhart writes truthfully on the way a girl thinks about boys. Ruby reveals pieces of her life one bit at a time. Her therapist asks her to create a boyfriend list: a list of every guy she has liked, dated, thought about dating, kissed, or had a special relationship with. Ruby isn't sure how this is going to help her solve her immediate problem: getting her boyfriend back and getting life back to normal. But as she examines each boy on the list, Ruby may discover she's not the victim she thinks she is.

Lockhart is spot on. Ruby is like a poster child for the things women do to screw up their lives. We fall for a guy, and when he doesn't end up being prince charming, what do we do? We beg, plead, cajole, manipulate, and lower ourselves--do anything but the thing we should do, pack our bags and move on. I wanted to be hard on her, but she is so dang sympathetic it's impossible.

I think this book has it all: teenage angst, unhealed wounds, a journey of self-discovery, a lot of pain, and also hope for the future. Also, I think most girls would admit they could relate to at least one of the stories in this book.

Here are things I have done that Ruby did:

Wait by the phone for a guy to call
Allow myself to be a victim of heartbreak
Flirt with one of my friend's boyfriends
Not be honest with myself about my motives
Kiss a guy to make myself feel better
Feel tremendous pain at betrayal
Not take action to change my future
I have to hand it to Ruby, though, she does make progress eventually, as everyone must if they want to heal. As I was reading this book, I was thinking it was similar to the book/movie High Fidelity. In that story, the male protagonist tries to discover the answer to the age-old question "Why does this always happen to me?" by looking back on his 5 most painful break-ups. Like Ruby, he even asks some of the women directly, "Why did you break up with me?" In each case, Rob discovers it wasn't just because he was unlovable or ugly, but rather a case of the wrong time or a misunderstanding or some such thing.

E. Lockhart has a great future as a writer, and I recommend this book highly to any teenage girl from age 14 and up.