Review: Boy Crazy by Hailey Abbott

Title: Boy Crazy
Author: Hailey Abbott

Genre: YA fiction

Publishing Information: 304 pages; April 28^th, 2009 by Harper Teen

Series: Stand alone

Where I got it: E-book from the library

One sentence: For their first summer reunited, Cassie and her best friends Greta and Keagan decide to switch things up and leave commitments at the door as they dare each other to kiss ten different boys by the end of the summer; the only problem? Cassie may have met the perfect guy way too soon.

Themes: Romance, summer, bet, boys, high school

Main character: 2.5/5

It wasn’t that Cassie was a completely unlikable main character; on the contrary, I enjoyed her point of view immensely. I simply wished Abbott had given me more background on her, or at least developed Cassie into a multi-layered character. For what the novel was, Cassie was a very relatable character who represented a wide cross-section: a girl who liked to have fun, but was a little intimidated by the ten boys proposition.

Secondary characters: 2/5

Keagan and Greta similarly seemed very one-sided: both seem to conform to a certain stereotypes whether it was the control-freak or the flirty girl. I think the novel would have taken on that higher level if the characters had been more developed. Trey seemed slightly more complex, but insincere at times and just lacking a general likeability.

Writing style: 3/5
While the writing style wasn’t especially mature, it was easy to read and the pacing was fast enough to keep my attention, but not so fast that I was completely lost. The dialogue was down-to-earth and realistic, and made it an enjoyable style.

Plot: 3/5

A cute but overdone premise. I enjoyed the twists and turns, but there was really nothing I hadn’t seen before. Some of the background info was lost and more was needed to complete the story and make some things logical.

Ending: 4/5

Different than I expected. The entirety of the book had been very predictable, so the ending was surprisingly innovative and mature.

Best scene: The scene at the club

Positives: Relatable main character, sufficient writing style and plot, ending

Negatives: Nothing spectacular or special, boring and unlikeable secondary characters

First Line: “I declare this a ten-boy summer!”

Cover: Cute; definitely fits with the beachy-read look.

Verdict: A fun, if predictable, summer beach read; light-hearted and carefree.

Rating: 5.8 / 10