Thursday, August 02, 2012

Review: The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney

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The Boy Recession
Flynn Meaney
Release date: August 7th 2012
by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

 

It’s all about supply and demand when a high school deals with the sudden exodus of male students.

The boy recession has hit Julius P. Heil High, and the remaining boys find that their stock is on the rise: With little competition, even the most unlikely guys have a good chance at making the team and getting the girl. Guitar-strumming, class-skipping Hunter Fahrenbach never wanted to be a hot commodity, but the popular girls can’t help but notice his unconventional good looks. With a little work, he might even by boyfriend material.

But for down-to-earth Kelly Robbins, the boy recession is causing all sorts of problems. She has secretly liked her good friend Hunter for a while now, but how can she stand out in a crowd of overzealous Spandexers?

As if dating wasn’t hard enough without a four-to-one ratio!

*A copy was provided by Hachette Book Group Canada for review purposes*

If you’re looking for a really light, fluffy, funny read, The Boy Recession will give you just that. At a very small school, after an awful lot of boys have moved away, the girls are left with a very limited number of date and prom choices. Providing quite a few chuckles and even some laugh-out-loud moments, it’s an overall satisfying, quirky novel.

Combining the dual perspectives of Kelly and Hunter, we meet two students at this school who are both on different grounds. One is striving to get noticed by the opposite sex, while the other is fighting them off. Despite the characters being quite enjoyable, I didn’t find them particularly complex. We’re only shown the surface of what they are both like, nothing deep rooted that truly gets our emotions involved. Both POVs are fairly well done and end up intertwining quite wonderfully. When it comes to Hunter’s POV, though, I found some of his inner monologue extremely typical, making it obvious it was written by a female author.

*Giselle in a husky voice impersonating Hunter* “I’m a guyyyy, I sleep until 2 and I eat Fritoooos. I wrestle my with my friends and play World of Warcraft all niiiiight. I like to be a slacker and be irresponsibleee.”

Ahem.
Yeah, so Hunter is a pretty stereotypical teenage boy. His personality is a bit hard to grasp, as well, as he does things that are contradictory to his slacker behaviour – like suddenly joining a school play. Oftentimes I simply felt awkward reading his perspective. Eventually, once passed a certain point, he does get a better development where he seems to come out of his shell; becoming more endearing and keeping up with the humoristic jabs that got me laughing.

Kelly’s character is a bit more convincing, coming off as having more substance. She’s not the most popular, nor the loner, just a normal everyday kid who realizes she’s got a crush on a boy. She’s a sweet girl that also got some laughs out of me with her clever sense of humor. Together, they surprisingly fit very well. Their relationship from the start — as friends — is adorable. It’s not a steamy, all encompassing romance, but an honest teenage relationship that can be both cheesy, and endlessly romantic.

A fun kookie adventure that is sort of a guilty pleasure drama fest, The Boy Recession is recommended for those who want a quick, no frill, read.

3 Hot Espressos
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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27 Responses to “Review: The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney”

  1. Krazzyme(Young Readers)

    This looks like something I might like! Pity about the GUY’S POV though 😛

    Love this line
    😛
    *Giselle in a husky voice impersonating Hunter* “I’m a guyyyy, I sleep until 2 and I eat Fritoooos. I wrestle my with my friends and play World of Warcraft all niiiiight. I like to be a slacker and be irresponsibleee.”

    Krazyyme @ Young Readers

  2. The Teen Book Guru

    OMG Giselle you are too funny. I was giggling so hard when I read you impersonating Hunter! LOL. It’s true, some female authors just make their male characters really stereotypically male and it’s frustrating sometimes. -.- This seems like a really nice and light read! Sign me up! Lovely review Giselle!

  3. Nick

    This sounds like fun! 🙂
    It’s really too bad about the characters not being overly developed though.
    LOL for you imitating Hunter! 😛
    Sounds very annoying!
    Great review, Giselle!

  4. Amy

    This sounds like a fun and mindless read. If I didn’t have a million other books to read I would probably pick this one up. Sounds like a good book to read on a beach day or lounging by the pool. Awesome review chick!! Love your stereotypical boy talk too lol!!

  5. Eileen

    Great review! I hate when characters aren’t the best and not too complex, but I totally laughed when you were impersonating Hunter! It’s great that he got better, too, and that Kelly has more of a personality 😉

    And in total seriousness, how can you write such fantastic reviews and still be hilarious? Are you not telling us something? o.O If I didn’t already stalk you online (What? Stalking? Me? Nooo. Well, I can make an exception for Giselle ;)) I would probably think you were a robot. -.-

  6. Mary @ BookSwarm

    It’s hard for a woman to capture the voice of a teen boy without coming off as stereotypical and, even though the author does hit the stereotype, it still sounds like a really cute story. I like that it’s not a “forever love” story but one that’s more realistic while still being romantic.

  7. Mel - Thedailyprophecy.

    Hmmmmm, this might be a nice book to read sometimes. Fluffy, funny and light reads are sometimes all I ask for, so I’m going to remember this one! Thanks for sharing, I haven’t heard of this book before 🙂

  8. BecAlora Walker

    Your review made me laugh. I’m definitely going to be keeping my eyes out for this one. If I come across it I might just pick it up. I need some light reads as of late. 🙂

  9. Christina

    Teehee, I love your impression of the guy. You should write a whole review like that at some point. I would die of laughter. Then again, I want to live, so maybe you shouldn’t.

    I don’t think I’m going to read this, but it does sound fun.

  10. Meg K.

    Great review, Giselle! It’s sad to hear that the characters were quite shallow, but it’s also nice to hear that you enjoyed this book! I think it’d be nice to read if I wanted to sit under a palm tree next to a beach or something. XP

  11. Katie @ BlookGirl

    Ahem. I request that you use that husky guy Giselle voice in your next Vlog… Please?! 🙂

    Great review, love muffin! I don’t think this is a book for me, but it sounds like a lot of people will probably love it.

  12. Jennifer Messerschmidt

    LOL I loved your impression of Hunter! Would be weird for a school to have such a lack of boys but I was never into the boys at school anyway. I tried to find boys outside of school. Sounds like one of those great quick and fun fluffy reads. I like to throw some of those into the reading pile.

  13. Candace

    This book sounds hilarious! But its too bad that the guy wasn’t better. A stereotypical male just might not work for me. But I think I would still give this a shot cause the funny stuff.

  18. Camille Picott

    The premise and title of this book just cracked me up! Sounds like a fun story. We have a girl recession in the town where I live — my poor daughter is always completely outnumbered by boys at her daycare!

  20. Vegan YA Nerds

    Hee, I had a laugh at your boy impression! It’s a shame when characters are just too stereotypical but, I would still like to read this, the cover alone would make me pick it up!

  21. Sam

    LOL! Great impersonation, Giselle. 😉 I totally read that in a husky Giselle-pretending-to-be-a-guy voice. 😀 This sounds like a fun read! I wouldn’t mind giving this a shot some day, maybe when I’m looking for something that requires little effort on my part. 😉 Lovely review my dear! 🙂

  23. Chel

    LOL what a hilarious title! I’ve never heard of this book until now and it sounds really fun. And, does Hunter really speak like that? Because if he does, I’m going to pre-order this now. I’d like to read his POV in that husky voice. XD

  25. Jenni @ Alluring Reads

    Your feelings on this one sound a lot like my feelings on Wicked Sweet. It was ok, for a fluffy read that you get absolutely nothing out of but then your left feeling…. like you got nothing out of it LOL I don’t think this one is for me. I think in your vlog this week you should say that statement in a manly man voice. 🙂

  26. Alexa

    This does sound a lot of fun to read! I’m definitely interested in checking this out, if only for something a little lighter in between all my other reads.

  27. Alexa

    I just saw this book on a different blog yesterday and was wondering about the story. Too bad that the characters felt very sterotypical of what a guy and girl would sound like in high school. Love the concept but it sounds like it was lacking.

    Thanks for the awesome review!