Review: The Boy Recession - Flynn Meaney

Where I got it: ARC from publisher for review
Rating: 3 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Cute and fitting!)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Poppy
Page Count: 246 p.
Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

When all the jocks transfer to a different school. Julius P. Heil High finds itself in a bit of a boy recessions. The poor teen girls, aren't really sure what to do. They end up finding the misfits a not so bad replacement for their absent sex gods. Hunter can't believe that this is actually working in Eugene's favor. How can these girls really be interested in him, when before they wouldn't have spoken two words? Kelly is mostly upset that not only is it a boy recession but budget cuts that plague the school. That means no more band. Then Hunter suggests that they do peer band and teach third graders how to play instruments. Kelly jumps at the chance to have band back. She also doesn't mind spending some time with Hunter. She's not the only one who wants some face time with him. A boy has become a hot commodity at Julius P. Heil, and Hunter is in high demand in lots of places. Kelly doesn't want to lose him to the heard, but some girls play for keeps and will stop at nothing to sink their teeth into the boys that are left. Hunter is just going with the flow, even when the flow takes him places he doesn't particularly enjoy.

This was a cute book. There were quite a few funny moments in the book. I love how blown out of proportion the boy recession is. Everything is extra dramatic, but not quite over the top. Kelly and Hunter were sort of outside looking in at all the madness. They each had a friend who was ensnared in the hysteria. Luckily, both Kelly and Hunter managed to keep a cool head while things around them were chaos.

This was a fun concept, and a great setting. A small town losing most of it's football team, including it's coach would definitely be a big deal in a small town like this one. People also would notice when a handful of attractive guys left. In a city, there would hardly be a wrinkle.

Hunter had a lot of surprising qualities about him which were nice to see as the story progresses. When we first meet him, he is the very definition of slacker. Not that he is not a slacker at the end, but maybe less of one. He ends up with a lot on his plate. Kelly was an agreeable character. She won't stand out in my mind at all, but she fit into the story nicely and I didn't feel irritated by her, so that was good.  Diva though, I couldn't stand. She was psychotic. Completely in her own world that could not be interrupted by logical thought or other people's wants and needs. I'm glad I didn't have to put up with her for too long.

This was another fun read by Flynn Meaney. I think I still enjoyed Bloodthirsty more, but this one had me laughing too. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next.

First Line:
"'When are you gonna get off your lazy ass and get a job?' Eugene asks me."

Favorite Lines:
"The kid went down so hard, I'm telling you. According to Chung, who was right there next to them, there was this crunch sound, like what you hear when you sit on a bag of pretzels. That was Eugene's collarbone."