Where I got it: Finished copy from AmazonVine
Rating: 3.5 stars
Cover Rating: 5 stars (Fun.)
Genre: Young Adult
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: December 28, 2011
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Page Count: 204 p.
Six different stories with twelve different sides. Neither side is necessarily more accurate than the other, but it's what the narrator believes the truth to be. You get to see both sides of each of these six stories, that range from relationships gone wrong, to internet meetups to shy boys and loud girls. The characters come from all sorts of backgrounds and each have a set of their own issues. So these are the stories through their eyes.
I really enjoyed the setup of this novel; the telling of both sides of the same story. It was especially interesting, because it was boy versus girl. It would have been great if it was two people of the same gender, but I think boys and girls often have a different outlook on things. Not every boy and girl, but enough of them to make it interesting. Some of these stories were really fantastic like Launchpad for Neptune and Want to Meet/Meeting for Real. The other stories were pretty good too, but I liked those two the best. I will say that there were a ton of really strange names. In nearly every story someone had a crazy unbelievable name. Maybe New Hampshire is just boring about naming their kids. I wished there were a few more stories in this collection, because both sides were fairly short. It was great that they dealt with a pretty wide-range of topics, these aren't just love stories gone wrong. Inside this collection you'll find gender identity, homosexuality, interracial couples, class separation, prejudice, statutory rape and a ton of other issues. Having these topics discussed really made the collection for me. It took it from fluffy quick stories to a more intelligent read, that exposes readers to a lot of different types of people and situations. I would say this is a great pick for a libraries YA collection, because of that very fact. If you enjoy short stories, I would definitely recommend that you pick this one up.
First Line:
"As a kid, I was my family's 'tomboy.'"
Favorite Line:
"I mean, I spoke in italics."
I saw this book around but I didn't realize there were several stories and authors. Still sounds good though.
ReplyDeleteI agree - Girl Meets Boy could use a few more stories or each story go on a little longer, but the stories within had more depth than I had anticipated when I picked it up! Usually I fall out of love with an anthology after reading a handful of uninteresting stories, but I think each story in this collection had enough interesting going on that I read every one of them!
ReplyDeleteExcellent review :)