Publication: September 2, 2014, by Atheneum BFYR
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, LGBTQ
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Sixteen-year-old Wren has been content to stay in her best friend Ally’s shadow. It doesn’t bother her that Ally gets the cutest guys, the cutest clothes, and even a modeling gig—Wren is happy hanging with the horses on her family’s farm and avoiding the jealousy of other girls. But when Tim, the most intriguing guy in school, starts hanging out with Ally and Wren, jealousy is unavoidable, but not the kind Wren expects. Because even though Ally is way into him and Wren hasn’t flirted, not one little bit, it becomes increasingly clear that Tim prefers Wren’s company above anyone else’s.
Tim’s unexpected devotion comes at the exact time Wren’s home life is about to be turned upside down. But at least there is Tim...always a gentleman and ever dependable. But as his own seemingly perfect world comes spiraling down around him and he tells Wren his biggest secret, Wren must decide what she’ll really do for love.
My Thoughts:
Here is a fact about my reading habits that I just love: I love reading books that are good, and that are underrated. Nina de Gramont's The Boy I Love perhaps could make you expect this to be the cheesiest, most predictable book that you will ever read in the history of books. The cover is extremely cheesy, if I do say so myself. Forget about all of those negative thoughts pushing you away from reading this. Forget about the HATERS, you know? But honestly? I don't even see too many haters hating on this satisfying, utterly enjoyable story, because there is this one FREAKING PLOT TWIST that turns the table around and has you addicted for the rest of the book because you know that what you expected to happen will not happen at all. But of course, there is that single voice in your head telling you, "Who knows?" as you read. Nina de Gramont is now an instant-buy for me. I already own two other books by her, and I will hunt for everything. *hears thunder in the distance showcasing my seriousness*
The Boy I Love has this table-turning title and cover. We see a beautiful cover model sitting by a campfire, looking like an Abercrombie model. Most girls want to poke his chest, I bet. I wouldn't blame them. This guy is supposed to be the male protagonist of this story, named Tim. Wren, our female protagonist, basically falls head over heels for him in a way when she meets him in her new school, that she transfers to alongside her best friend, Ally, who also has her own personal demons. Ally wants to become a model, but her parents do not let her follow her dreams. We haven't seen that story before, right? *giggles* Ally has a huge crush on Tim, who prefers to spend time with Wren.
LOVE TRIANGLE? I think we all predicted that when we started reading. There is this one secret that could change the way you look at the whole book and I could never spoil it here, or else the whole book is ruined. When this was revealed, I was ten times more addicted and intrigued to the novel than I originally was. Honestly? If this stayed a cutesy romance, I still would've enjoyed it because Nina de Gramont is just a good writer. She creates relatable characters who certainly do not live in a perfect world where relationships always work and they certainly are not able to always follow their dreams. This is absolute realism.
I love the setting of this story: North Carolina. I've travelled through the state when I head on road trips to Florida, and it honestly is one of my favourites to travel through. I love the summer-year-round atmosphere and the nature. It's been a while since I've read a book set in the Carolinas (I honestly don't remember the last one, or if there has been one in the past) and it just made me giddy. I love the summer feeling that this book inherited. You could read it any time of the year and instead of seeing snow outside of your window, you could imagine green grass, scorching temperatures, an alligator in your river (haha) and a bonfire. That's summer. This book could seriously be called, in other words, summer.
This headed in a direction that I never imagined was possible. I keep saying this, but Nina de Gramont took us to a different world. I loved how each of the characters had their own problems (not that I would wish anyone to have problems), including Wren's issues with her parents, Ally's dream issues and Tim's issues that I will of course, not reveal. That is what contemporary should always feature.
Wren was just a fabulous protagonist. She was fearless, real, selfless. Her friends and family came first, and when everyone kept coming to her with their problems, Wren kind of forgot about her own issues and eventually, all of that came splattering at her. That frequently occurs to people in the real world, and it touched me. TIM AND WREN EQUAL FRIENDSHIP GOALS. Tim is your perfect example of a good boy best friend. I wish I had one of those.
Nina de Gramont experiments with a lot of examples of friendship. Ally and Tim both have to share Wren at different points of the book, and Nina showcased the difference between girl friendship and boy and girl friendship. They each had each other for different reasons, to hold different secrets, but in the end, friendship occurs for the same reason: for loyalty. Whoever said boys and girls cannot be friends are so wrong. This is a perfect example of how that actually works.
The Boy I Love by Nina de Gramont is a book that has been sitting in my bookshelf for quite some time now, and when I decided to read it on a road trip, it was the perfect book. It shouts summer, bonfires and mistakes. It screams out romance, but that wasn't a main idea of the story whatsoever. The most important thing? Friendship. Nina illustrates the theme of girls not having to love boys for romantic reasons, but that they could love them as friends. Aw. My heart is fluttering. PLEASE READ THIS, SECOND-GUESSERS.
The Boy I Love has this table-turning title and cover. We see a beautiful cover model sitting by a campfire, looking like an Abercrombie model. Most girls want to poke his chest, I bet. I wouldn't blame them. This guy is supposed to be the male protagonist of this story, named Tim. Wren, our female protagonist, basically falls head over heels for him in a way when she meets him in her new school, that she transfers to alongside her best friend, Ally, who also has her own personal demons. Ally wants to become a model, but her parents do not let her follow her dreams. We haven't seen that story before, right? *giggles* Ally has a huge crush on Tim, who prefers to spend time with Wren.
LOVE TRIANGLE? I think we all predicted that when we started reading. There is this one secret that could change the way you look at the whole book and I could never spoil it here, or else the whole book is ruined. When this was revealed, I was ten times more addicted and intrigued to the novel than I originally was. Honestly? If this stayed a cutesy romance, I still would've enjoyed it because Nina de Gramont is just a good writer. She creates relatable characters who certainly do not live in a perfect world where relationships always work and they certainly are not able to always follow their dreams. This is absolute realism.
I love the setting of this story: North Carolina. I've travelled through the state when I head on road trips to Florida, and it honestly is one of my favourites to travel through. I love the summer-year-round atmosphere and the nature. It's been a while since I've read a book set in the Carolinas (I honestly don't remember the last one, or if there has been one in the past) and it just made me giddy. I love the summer feeling that this book inherited. You could read it any time of the year and instead of seeing snow outside of your window, you could imagine green grass, scorching temperatures, an alligator in your river (haha) and a bonfire. That's summer. This book could seriously be called, in other words, summer.
This headed in a direction that I never imagined was possible. I keep saying this, but Nina de Gramont took us to a different world. I loved how each of the characters had their own problems (not that I would wish anyone to have problems), including Wren's issues with her parents, Ally's dream issues and Tim's issues that I will of course, not reveal. That is what contemporary should always feature.
Wren was just a fabulous protagonist. She was fearless, real, selfless. Her friends and family came first, and when everyone kept coming to her with their problems, Wren kind of forgot about her own issues and eventually, all of that came splattering at her. That frequently occurs to people in the real world, and it touched me. TIM AND WREN EQUAL FRIENDSHIP GOALS. Tim is your perfect example of a good boy best friend. I wish I had one of those.
Nina de Gramont experiments with a lot of examples of friendship. Ally and Tim both have to share Wren at different points of the book, and Nina showcased the difference between girl friendship and boy and girl friendship. They each had each other for different reasons, to hold different secrets, but in the end, friendship occurs for the same reason: for loyalty. Whoever said boys and girls cannot be friends are so wrong. This is a perfect example of how that actually works.
The Boy I Love by Nina de Gramont is a book that has been sitting in my bookshelf for quite some time now, and when I decided to read it on a road trip, it was the perfect book. It shouts summer, bonfires and mistakes. It screams out romance, but that wasn't a main idea of the story whatsoever. The most important thing? Friendship. Nina illustrates the theme of girls not having to love boys for romantic reasons, but that they could love them as friends. Aw. My heart is fluttering. PLEASE READ THIS, SECOND-GUESSERS.
What is a book that features boy and girl friendships? What is your favourite contemporary novel that does not feature romance?
Darn. Well, I was on board right up to the point where you mentioned a love triangle. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteNOOO don't worry about that! Trust me! It's definitely not what you expect, and I honestly have no other way to convince you without spoiling the TWIST. Give it a try! :P
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