227p.
Published: Delacorte for Young Readers
Available: Now
Source: From author for review
With Judy Blume-like honesty and insight, this sequel toAnatomy of a Boyfriend is about life after first love--romance, sex, friendship, family, and the ups and downs of life as a single girl.
After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one.
The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered.
But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.
In Daria Snadowsky’s daring follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Dominique explores the relationship between love and lust, and the friendships that see us through.
AimeeKay's Thoughts:
I definitely enjoyed Anatomy of a Single Girl more than its predecessor, Anatomy of a Boyfriend. Again the story is written in first person, present tense. But the emails and dialogues that bothered me in the first book aren’t there in the second. So I think overall it flowed much better with the thoughts coming directly from Dom.
The thing about Anatomy, both books really, is that it is real. They follow a realistic girl. Who, while she is mature, is far from being an adult. You get to watch her learn and grow. Even by the end of the book she is not completely grown up mentally, but she has come a long way. Her reactions to things, like sex and her parents, are typical of every girl. She doesn’t always get it right the first time, but she does learn from her mistakes.
I don’t always like Dom. Some of her reactions make me want to just smack her upside her head. A perfect example of this is how she reacts to her parent’s decision to move. She is really immature about it. I want to drag her out of the book and tell her that she is being selfish. Her parents sacrificed lots of things in their lives to give her a happy, secure childhood. Now that she is in college and starting her life on her own she gets angry because they decide to move and change careers for themselves. Even though in reality it won’t really affect her since she won’t be home as much. But her reaction is typical of young adults, so it makes her feel more real. It doesn’t make me like her more though.
It is a good coming of age novel. Because of how it deals with sex I wouldn’t recommend it to the younger teen crowd. But I think a lot of late teens and younger adults could really relate to Dom and her best friend Amy. I think both books are a great read for the summer. While they have some heavier moments, they also have some light hearted, laugh out loud moments as well.
PS. You can win this book and the first book at AimeeKay's blog HERE (US only).
I knew the cover of the first one but I confess I didn't know there was a second volume. it's great that it was better than the first one.
ReplyDeleteDom sounds like a bit of a tricky character, I always get really frustrated when their incredibly immature even if their reactions or behaviors are realistic to their age. I still kind of want to shake them, but part of that's because I'm an older reader of YA and I've forgotten how immature I probably was at that age! Glad this one was better than the first for you though:)
ReplyDeleteNot really up my alley but it does sound like a good read for the older YA crowd :)
ReplyDeleteI like to slap characters upside the head as well. LOL! Chayse read these too and liked the books.
ReplyDeleteOh cool there is a book 2 too
ReplyDeleteHaving read several very mixed reviews I was interested to read AimeeKay's thoughts. Great review, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing that the 2nd book is even better than the first. Glad you enjoyed!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this one more than the first. I love when that happens. I also think I'd feel the same way about Dom. LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for reviewing!
Thanks for giving them to me to review! :)
DeleteIt's good that you see growth in the character despite mistakes..after all we all make them. These are different, and the covers just make me giggle
ReplyDeleteA lot of what teens do makes me want to smack them upside the head (bringing marijuana to school; bringing BB guns to football camp...yes, that's already happened so far this school year!) but I do appreciate it in a book.
ReplyDeleteMy kids first day was today, and while I'm hate to believe that kids bring crazy stuff to school, I can't say I'm overly surprised. Hopefully you will not have to deal with too many of the crazy students. :)
DeleteI like when books feel real, like real people would react the same way in the same situations. I actually have both books to review but won't get to them for a month or so. I hope I like them even if they aren't perfect.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like them as well. Would love to know what you think of them when you do get a chance to read them.
DeleteI'm glad to hear you liked this more than the first book and that the emails aren't in this one. I love realistic coming of age stories, so I definitely want to give these a try! Great review :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad you all enjoyed the review! There's another day left on the giveaway for both the first and second book, so be sure to hurry over for your chance to win!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comment love!
Great review! We seem to have had similar thoughts on this one. I never read the first, but I really did like how realistic this novel was, even if I didn't always agree. :)
ReplyDelete-Lauren
I remember hearing about the first one. I missed that a second had come out. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI kind of understand why you disliked Dom, and I probably (surely) would have too, but I think teens are supposed to be obnoxious and selfish so I count that as just another thing Daria writes extremely realistically. I really liked book 1 and can't wait to read this one.
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