by Terra Elan McVoy
Expected Publication: 5.1.12
From Goodreads:
Charlotte and Oliver have been friends forever. She knows that he, Abe, and Trip consider her to be one of the guys, and she likes it that way. She likes being the friend who keeps them all together. Likes offering a girl's perspective on their love lives. Likes being the behind-the-scenes wordsmith who writes all the lyrics for the boys' band. Char has a house full of stepsisters and a past full of backstabbing (female) ex-best friends, so for her, being friends with boys is refreshingly drama-free...until it isn't any more.My Thoughts: I was immediately drawn to this book because of the title. I kind of agree, being friends with boys usually does mean less drama, but in Charlotte's case that's not so true anymore.
When a new boy enters the scene and makes Char feel like, well, a total girl...and two of her other friends have a falling out that may or may not be related to one of them deciding he possibly wants to be more than friends with Char...being friends with all these boys suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.
This book is all about Char and her relationship with the many boys in her life. She and Oliver have been friends for years, and when he starts a band he gets Char to write the song lyrics and manage the band. Then there's Trip, whom she's quickly gotten close to as a friend, but throws her for a tailspin when he quits the band. New boys enter the her life as she helps find new members for Sad Jackal.
I loved how real this book is, Char has complicated, but realistic, relationships with those around her. Although a lot of the focus is on her friendship with boys, we also get to see insights into her family life. Her older sister is away at college, and now it's just her and her stepsisters. It's not a Cinderella story, but up until recently Char hasn't spent much time with them. I love the relationship they build, and I think it shows that while boys can be great friends, sometimes a girl just needs some girlfriends too.
Because Char's boys are all kinds of drama in the book. Oliver has a fragile ego, and the one thing I disliked about the book is how often Char bends to his and other friends needs. It really takes awhile, and some growing up on Char's part, for her to start living her own life and not just be a people pleaser. Of course, I am a people pleaser myself so maybe that's why I was so upset with Char putting so many people before herself.
Trip and Char have a notebook they pass back and forth, which was easily my favorite part of the book (except for the scene when they write Hansel and Gretel's Crumbs). In the notebook they are able to communicate in ways that I don't think most boy/girl friends do. But even with the notebook there's still some misunderstands and miscommunication. Because it turns out boys and girls are different.
When her friendship with some of her boys starts to crumble, Char begins to go outside her comfort zone. She makes new friends, which is both good and bad. Good, because Char needs to expand herself more, and bad because Char tends to hide from her problems. When friendships get rough, she walks away from the situation instead of confronting it. Again, totally something I do. And something I find annoying about myself too.
Being Friends With Boys was not exactly what I expected, but it was better because it was real. I really loved Char's band, and her new friends, but most importantly I loved the ending, even if it felt a bit rushed.
Being Friends With Boys gets a Midnight Book Rating of:
The cover gets a Midnight Book Rating of:
*I received a copy of this ARC as part of the Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.
