How to Break a Boy by Laurie Devore // This Took Me Out of My Reading Slump!

How to Break a Boy, by Laurie Devore
Publication: January 31, 2017, by Imprint
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

Keep your enemies close, but your friends closer.
Olivia Clayton has mastered the art of tearing others down to stay on top. She and her best friend, Adrienne, rule their small southern town like all good mean girls do--through intimidation and manipulation.
After Olivia suffers a family tragedy and catches Adrienne sleeping with her boyfriend, Olivia is over it. She decides to make a change--but it's impossible to resist taking Adrienne down one last time. Up to her old tricks, Olivia convinces golden boy Whit DuRant to be her SAT tutor and her fake boyfriend. But when it starts to feel real, Whit gets caught up in Olivia and Adrienne's war.
Olivia may ruin everything she touches, but this time she won't go down without a fight--not if it means losing Whit.
And definitely not if it means losing what's left of herself.

My Thoughts:

How to Break a Boy literally is something else. When I first saw the cover, I freaked out because it looks so retro and cute and chick-lit-y and amazing… you could say I went out of control. For the third book I read this year, this was a hit and extremely enjoyable. To all of the girls who feel that they need to get a little bit of revenge in their lives… this is for you. After reading Olivia’s story, I feel that I might just want to get a little revenge on my own in order to find a guy like Whit. *winks* Laurie Devore is the debut author YOU ALL HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR. I feel that I will be enjoying every single book she writes from here onward. How to Break a Boy has a harsh title, yes, making you feel that this book will be all about drama and deception (which, yeah, it kind of was) but it also was about learning lessons in life and just coming of age. I can totally relate to it because Olivia was in the time of her life where she did not know who she was or what she wanted to do. Thanks to her lovely guidance counsellor who she constantly made fun of and Whit, every girl’s dream golden boy, throughout the duration of the book, we saw and sensed that Olivia was becoming the person she wanted to be. 

"It's always going to be like this, me and you against the world" (191).

To quickly summarize this beauty, it basically is a summer (or winter, whatever you prefer to make you feel better) read that is all about a girl named Olivia Clayton. She is sixteen and couldn’t care less about school and her education, because in her life, she is currently undergoing struggles that act as her personal demons. She doesn’t want anyone to know about them because she doesn’t want to be judged or even be in the centre of attention. As for the centre of attention, that is her best friend Adrienne’s job. They have a difficult and toxic friendship that makes you wonder if your friends are really loyal to you, haha. One day, Olivia catches Adrienne sleeping with her boyfriend—the guy who was there for her after her family tragedy. SOOOO… Olivia wants revenge on Adrienne, so she begins hanging out with the school’s smartest and hottest golden boy, Whit DuRant. He’s basically Adrienne’s enemy for some reason, and at first, isn’t too inclined to become Olivia’s SAT tutor.  OBVIOUSLY… love brews. 

So you may be wondering why Olivia needs a SAT tutor if she doesn't care about school and instead, is the second most popular girl in school. Olivia is one of those characters who is two-faced, who has a more calm character underneath all of the lies, bullying and garbage that she says after being manipulated by Adrienne. She has always wanted to leave her North Carolina small town. From the beginning of the book to practically the end, I was wondering why she complained so much and why she had such a hatred-filled relationship with her mother. It all became clear and I realized why Olivia let herself be manipulated so much. And for a huge chunk of the novel, I somewhat disliked Olivia and her actions. I wanted her to stick up for herself the way she did when the family tragedy occurred. When Adrienne comes into the mix, we sense that Olivia immediately becomes weak and… crumbles. Like a cookie. I just wanted to give her a huge hug. She’s one of those characters who we as readers feel so much sympathy for that occasionally, we feel that the only reason we’re reading the book is to get closure and to make sure that the character succeeds. That was part of the reason why I ended up loving How to Break a Boy so much; we had a main character who was having such a difficult time in her life and who actually had the strength to get by it.

"Some sins can't be forgiven" (8).

 he novel, I somewhat disliked Olivia and her actions. I wanted her to stick up for herself the way she did when the family tragedy occurred. When Adrienne comes into th. SO. Devore's writing was fast-paced and straight to the point. Occasionally, I find that some chick-lit books are boring because the plot is slow since there is just filler of the situation, though this? This was almost perfect. Almost a five star read, if you know what I mean. I immediately fell in love with Whit and every single character (except for Adrienne, because OBVIOUSLY). The side characters like Claire were all great and added so much depth to the story. All in all, this was not just a chick-lit story, it was a mix between Mean Girls and the deepest out of the deep. You will certainly not regret falling in love with everything Devore offers here.

NOW IT'S TIME TO TALK ABOUT THAT ENDING. I was completely satisfied by the end because we as readers got a closing. Some books leave us off with a hook and we begin to feel like there will be a continuation... until we discover that there won't be one. THIS HAD THE OPPOSITE EFFECT and I was completely satisfied. Thank you, Laurie, for writing such a gorgeous story.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What have you read so far this year? Are you enjoying the books?