AimeeKay Review: Anatomy of a Boyfriend (Anatomy #1) by Daria Snadowsky

Series: Anatomy #1
272p.
Publisher: Delacorte for Young Readers
Available: Now
Source: From author for review

Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body. 

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love. 

And then came the fall.

AimeeKay's Thoughts:
 So I’m 50-50 on this one.

I think the book itself was an interesting look into the life of a girl who is going through A LOT of firsts,  her first boyfriend, her first time, her first year at collage, her first heartbreak, just to name a few.

The main character, Dominique Baylor, who is incredibly intelligent, is also incredibly naïve when it comes to love and relationships.  But she is sweet and I enjoyed seeing her life through her eyes.   I liked her, and while I saw the end of the book coming, I still hoped for the best for her.  Also, even though I only got to know them through Dominique’s perspective, I liked the other characters as well.   Her best friend Amy is a riot.  

I also liked the author’s writing style. There are quite a few laugh out loud moments.  Some of the one liner observations that her main character makes literally had me laughing to the point of tears and I had to share them with my boyfriend while I was reading. 

There are two main reasons I’m fifty-fifty on this one. The first is that it’s written in first person present POV.  This is actually the lesser of the two reasons and it actually didn’t bother me as much as it has in the past.  But it would still catch me off guard on occasion and completely pull me from the book. 

The second is the actual main issue I had.  It is because of the emails in the book.  First let me explain that a huge part of the communications between Dominique and Wesley, her boyfriend, are via email.  While odd that it was email and not text, which seems a lot more common place today with pretty much everyone, I thought it was a unique way to see them interacting. My issue is that the emails themselves just didn’t sound like Dominique.  After being in her head and hearing her thoughts her emails just sound forced and overly formal, especially since she is writing to her boyfriend.  

Overall I think the book is a great light read for summer.  Yes first love is never light and easy from the person experiencing it, yet with Dominique’s voice Snadowsky is able to make it fun as well as touching.  There are sex scenes, but they aren’t erotica graphic. (It’s one of the experiences that’s a first for Dominique after all!) So I don’t think I’d refer it to the younger teen crowd.  But again I think it’s perfect for taking to the beach or on vacation.  Dominique is easy to relate to and the story draws you in without being overbearing.  (Plus the cover is absolutely great! I mean it’s a naked Ken doll with the title covering the naughty bits.  It definitely started a few conversations!)

PS. You can win a copy of the book at AimeeKay's blog (US only)! Just go HERE!