Dear Mrs. Zrihen,
I currently just finished a book called The Boyfriend List* by Michael L. Printz who is actually an honor winner it says on the book cover. Which I actually found interesting that made me like this book in the beginning. My favor passage in this book was located on page 135, "Everyone sat in a circle. In the middle was an empty plastic pop bottle, resting on a big atlas someone had borrowed from the camp's small library of nature-related books. A boy would spin the bottle, and when it came to rest, it would be pointing to a girl. If it pointed to a boy, he got a redo. Sometimes, if he didn't want the girl he got, he'd claim it was pointing to a boy sitting next to her, and redo. Or the bottle would skid off the atlas, and he'd redo. Or, he wouldn't get a good spin, and he'd redo. Or, the girl he got would claim there was some kind of technicality that made his spin invalid (because she didn't want to kiss him), and he'd have to redo." I found that passage hilarious because there is so many ways to get out of kissing in spin the bottle in her game.
My first strategy I used before reading was making a prediction on what this book would be about boys and her having lots of past boyfriends. I was correct but I didn't think there would be a therapist in the book. I also used looking at the cover I noticed a girl and a subtitle under the title it read "*15 guys, 11 shrink appointments, 4 ceramic frogs, and me Ruby Oliver". I also saw that it was a ruby Oliver novel, which made me, interested that it is a series and if I like this book I can read the series.
My during reading strategy I used first was thinking after every chapter. I thought the same thing that was easy to manipulate by boys. I also used made a prediction before every chapter I read on what I think it would be about like "1. Adam (but he doesn't really count)” I thought that it would be about a boy named Adam that didn't mean much to her like a short relationship.
My after reading strategy was fist writing this readers journal to explain the book and show that I comprehend what I read. I also reread what I read that I didn't understand. I did this because I got confused often. These strategies did help me.
The genre of this book is realistic fiction because it could happen in real life but it didn't. I knew that because in this book it says" For my dear old high school friends, who were (and still are) excellent and hilarious-and who never did anything like the bad stuff people do in this book".
The main character in this book was Ruby who's conflict was man vs. self which is because she is over coming her obstacles in her past with relationships she had. There were boys as foil that she dated, her mom, Kim BFFL since kindergarten, and Doctor Z. In this book there was NO protagonist.
This book was in Seattle, Washington. The weather is usually very nice, not too cold and not too hot and a little humid at times. I think that she was in higher class because she went to a private school. The time was in her life.
In this book the issue was as I wrote internal and man vs. self. The tone and mood in this book is happy because she is talking about times in the past. The theme of this book is boys and her motif is boys to.
I think she has low self esteem that she feels like when someone wants her it will only happen once which is untrue. The moral of this story is don't change yourself for a guy.
The P.O.V in this book is first person and the P.O.O is chronological order. The author’s purpose is to entertain and the author’s perspective is bias and subjective because it only talks about how she feels about the guys not how they both feel. They are the guys. I this book I only saw a metaphor.
I would rate this book a 5 out of 10 because I got confused often and it was not age appropriate for me maybe adults would like this I would NOT recommend this book to the kids in my class.
Love,
Gabriella Goldstein <3