Ruby Oliver 1: The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

Ruby Oliver 1: The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From E. Lockhart, author of the New York Times bestseller and Zoella Book Club 2016 title, We Were Liars, comes this hilarious and heart-warming series. 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver Ruby Oliver is fifteen and has a shrink. But before you make up your mind about her, you should know that she has had a pretty awful (and eventful) past ten days. She has: lost her boyfriend (#13 on the boyfriend list), lost her best friend, lost all her other friends, 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, failed a math test, hurt Meghan's feelings, became a social outcast, and had graffiti written about her in the girls' bathroom. But don't worry, Ruby lives to tell the tale. Through a special assignment to list all the boys she's ever had the slightest, little, any-kind-of-anything with, comes an unfortunate series of events that would be enough to send any girl in a panic.



I have a couple of E.Lockhart's books and enjoyed them all. When I was offered the chance to read and review this book, I started straight away. I managed to read this in a couple of sittings, it is just over 200 pages and a relatively light read.

This is a story about Ruby Oliver, who seems to alienate herself from all her peers due to choices she makes. Ruby has had a series of panic attacks and it is not until her parents experience one that she is sent to see a Dr. The story is told through her eyes at her therapy sessions with Dr Z, as you read you begin to discover the reasons for her panic attacks. Ruby is a fifteen year old, who goes through the regular of issues most fifteen year olds deal with. Unfortunately for me, she was not a likable character.

The story as I have mentioned is through Ruby's eyes in the form of a list, that her Dr has asked her to complete, to try and get to know Ruby better and for her to begin to identify with herself. I found it difficult initially to follow due to the footnotes, some of these are quite long on the pages.

Ruby came across a little shallow during the story and not really worried about who she hurt along the way. I felt sorry for Angelo and would loved to have seen more of him. I also wished he had perhaps confronted her about her behaviour on that night.

There was no resolution to the story and we were left hanging some what, I would have liked to have found out what happened with Kim. Saying this, this is part of a series and so I am hoping to find out more when I continue reading. Although I have only given this book 3 1/2 stars it does not mean it was awful, it kept me entertained, it was a light read but just left me feeling a little deflated, it didn't really set me on fire. Saying this it has kept me interested enough to want to read the next in the series.

I would recommend this is for you want a quick light read. I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.