Review: The Treasure Map of Boys

The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart
4 stars

Reasons for reading: E. Lockhart is great! 10 in 10 Chick Lit Challenge

Description: "Ruby is back at Tate Prep, and it’s her thirty-seventh week in the state of Noboyfriend. Her panic attacks are bad, her love life is even worse, and what’s more: Noel is writing her notes, Jackson is giving her frogs, Gideon is helping her cook, and Finn is making her brownies. Rumors are flying, and Ruby’s already-sucky reputation is heading downhill. Not only that, she’s also: running a bake sale, learning the secrets of heavymetal therapy, encountering some seriously smelly feet, defending the rights of pygmy goats, and bodyguarding Noel from unwanted advances.In this companion novel to The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book, Ruby struggles to secure some sort of mental health, to understand what constitutes a real friendship, and to find true love—if such a thing exists."

My thoughts: Another great book in this series. At the very beginning I wondered if I was Ruby'd out, but nope, she's still someone I like reading about. I still enjoy her footnotes and obsession with movies. And it's very funny, yay!

I have to say, though, that my teenage self cannot relate to her life at all. She's constantly involved with all of these boys - they're dumping her, kissing her, asking her out, flirting with her, using her, befriending her... For most of my high school life there were hardly any boys (or girls, really) who weren't openly mocking my weight and my weirdness. I can't fathom having her problems with boys and occasionally it got a bit annoying because she's SO boy crazy and either thinks every one is interested in her or doesn't even realize she's flirting with them.

But...that's just Ruby and she is a hormonal teenager and she is pretty badly treated by some of them. Also, her so-called friends are pretty much all fickle bitches, so I felt for her there. Trying to make new friends sucks at any age, but especially then. Ruby's parents are still weirdos and her mom is over-the-top, but their houseboat life sails along as smoothly as anyone's ever does. There's an awesome scene where Ruby stands up against the tyranny of inedible marshmallow figurines at the bake sale. In addition to that, she seems to really grow in this book, realizing which of the boys is a good one and which of her friends aren't.

The verdict: Read this series and E. Lockhart's other books (especially Dramarama)!