How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:55:00 +0000

The world of young adult books never ceases to be amazing. With a range of topics reminding us of our stressful adolescent selves, young adult books hold a set amount of information about friendships with other girls, jealousy, boyfriends, questions about sex, and overall embarrassing experiences that the characters will laugh about when they look back on their lives.

How to Ruin Your Boyfrend's Reputation fits perfectly into this mold. The third in a series by Simone Elkeles, this specific work explores a young woman's issues of sex, commitment to boyfriends, and the pettiness of some relationships with other girls. If we remember our younger attitudes of what is "cool" and important, we can easily identify with protagonist Amy Nelson-Bakar.

Amy signs up with her friends for a youth "bootcamp" in Israel. Although Amy’s friends join for more giving reasons, like learning about their Jewish culture, her ulterior motive is to see a boyfriend stationed at this specific base. She chooses to surprise him, and in doing so, he surprises her with his seriousness and responsibility as a slightly older man. The trials of the bootcamp wear on Amy, and as she begins to understand the commitment of her boyfriend and perseveres in difficult situations not unlike real military training, Amy learns to be a little more faithful and develops a tougher skin. She definitely learns some lessons by the end of the book, yet she maintains her teenage ideals, and as readers, we know she will continue to be challenged.

What is interesting about this novel is how the author brings her own Jewish background to her main character Amy. Elkeles explains Jewish terms for those who are not familiar with the words or traditions, and readers of all faiths can appreciate the quirky character of Amy. In addition, Elkeles captures a youthful attitude in her writing, and attributes her young adult books to maintaining this spirit. Growing up in the 1980s, Elkeles brings out struggles from her youth.

A delightful page turner, How to Ruin Your Boyfrend's Reputation proves that we, as young adults, face conflicts of all sizes, and we make choices to either persevere or give up. Reminding us of our childhoods, this book proves that we may make assumptions about life, but once we experience a little more, we can succeed and move on.

Written by: Carolyn Espe, January 17th 2010

Perfect Chemistry

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:01:00 +0000

By Simone Elkeles

Walker & Company

I can pinpoint exactly where I fell for the charms of Simone Elkeles’ Perfect Chemistry due to the disappearance of my “reflective” notes in the margins: Chapter eleven. Page sixty-seven. The initial sixty-seven pages were rather laborious, as my first reaction was that it was going to be another predictable American teen novel and—to an extent—it was. Boy meets girl at school. They both proclaim their hatred for one another. Boy makes a bet to woo said girl. They both fall in love. Remind you of 10 Things I Hate About You, anyone?

It does, however, prove to be a perfect formula for a story line Take one test tube, add a dose of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight to a teaspoon of Romeo and Juliet, and you have an explosive plot.

The story deals with the cultural differences between high school teen Brittany Ellis, the perfect blonde cheerleader, and her chemistry classmate Alex Fuentes, a Mexican gang leader from the other side of town. Despite initial appearances, they both realize their appearances are merely façades, and aim to break the stereotyping molds they’ve been forced into. They then realize that, despite their initial reservations, they have more in common than they thought.

At times the plot delves into the ridiculous, and the dialogue and events can seem a bit tacky, but yet I still loved it and literally devoured the book in hours. Touching on themes of disabilities, racism and teenage insecurities, Elkeles’ narrative has more depth to it than at first glance. However, with crude language and gang violence, it’s a story for older teens (so it’s not quite in the slushy league of Twilight...) that adults can dip into without feeling guilty.

Perfect Chemistry displays a modern kind of feminism, whereby the main female protagonist enters a journey of realization and transition, as highlighted by the steady and gradual control she takes over her own life—concerning both her relationships with friends and the way in which she respects her own body.

Written by: Emily Ray, October 29th 2009