Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Review | The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney

Title: The Boy Recession
Author: Flynn Meaney
Series: N/A
Pages: 246
Date Released: August 7, 2012

Summary: The population of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, is shrinking as families move to cities and towns with greener pastures, and the local high school is hurting: nearly all of the area's most eligible guys have moved or transferred schools. With little competition, the remaining boys find their stocks on the rise, and even the most unlikely candidates have a good chance at making the team and getting the girl. Guitar-strumming slacker HUNTER FAHRENBACH has made an art of blending into the background, but now desperate coaches are recruiting him and popular girls are noticing his scruffy good looks. With a little help, Hunter might even by boyfriend material... Down-to-earth KELLY ROBBINS has a simple wish for her junior year: "one normal, nice boy to crush on." Kelly and Hunter have always been friends, but is there something more to their platonic relationship? And can Kelly overcome the odds? After all, dating is hard enough without a four-to-one ratio.

The Boy Recession had one of the most unique plots that I’ve ever read before. It was also very relatable, seeing as I also attend a tiny school that never seems to have enough cute boys to go around. I loved Kelly from the beginning because she was very much like me. She was a Libra and acknowledging of her strengths and weaknesses. She only had a few close friends and she was very comfortable in her own skin. Hunter honestly didn’t seem like he was good enough for her. He was a slacker and a stoner with hardly no priorities. As the book goes on, though, he matures and grows into a boy worthy of Kelly. The supporting characters like their friends and their relationships were also very interesting and detailed. The friendships could be very well felt and were very realistic and thankfully didn’t end in a clichéd girl fight because they all wanted the same guy. The Boy Recession was a well-needed change and incredibly refreshing.