Okay, here's the deal. When did people become "that" instead of "who?" I hear this on the radio on the TV ( and shouldn't news reporters know better )? and unless my memory is wrong, have even read it in places. Why? How hard is it to remember that people require a "who"? And here's another--myself instead of me. My boss did this all this time and it drove me crazy. Are we so afraid to be in the spotlight that we have to say, "So-and-so and myself did such-and-so?"
True Love's First Kiss, Heartbreak and Single Again- Review of Anatomy of a Boyfriend, Anatomy of a Single Girl, Interview with Daria Snadowsky and Giveaway
Available Now
Publisher: Delacorte Books For Young Readers
Received from Author for review
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Amazon/ Kindle/ Barnes and Noble/ Book Depository/
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Goodreads Synopsis-
Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body. Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love......... And then came the fall.
This book is just like your first love. You're all giddy as you read about Dominique and Wes. The back and forth "Does he like me?" "Will he kiss me tonight?" "Is he going to call?" Oh those firsts!! It made me smile fondly as I remembered my firsts. And of course with the ups, usually in high school, come the downs. And Dom has to go through the pain of heartbreak. Ouch! I remember that, too. Really well. This was a sometimes funny, sweet, honest look at first love through the eyes of one high school girl. Those of us who are older will see something familiar in the story. Those who haven't been there or are going through it will find some comfort in Anatomy.
Dominique starts out as we all hope to, confident, sure of ourselves and our place in the world. And then comes Wes. Rescuing her from a fall in the mud in front of the Porta Potties at a football game. And suddenly, Dominique is flustered by him and unsure of his feelings. She's in/on Science Quiz and pre-med. Well as much as you can be in high school. So in brains and her future, she's very sure of herself. But he's a mystery to her. This is the first time she's been interested in a boy and when Wes becomes her boyfriend he becomes her bestfriend. Everything is a first for her with him. And being a teenager it's THAT MUCH MORE. Because EVERYTHING feels that way when you're a teenager. It's like your feelings are on LOUD when you're a teenager and there's no way to turn it down.
Alot of us that read YA have already been through many loves and break ups so this story isn't new to us. But you'll find yourself shaking your head an nodding. You'll remember waiting by the phone or these days, checking your text messages. You'll remember checking your email, your facebook page. Wes and Dom do a lot of "chatting" through email and instant message or some type of chat service. But when they are together, they both get tongue tied. Their relationship eventually gets started and I'd say the only thing missing is Wes' point of view. But this is Anatomy of a Boyfriend and Dominique leaves nothing left unexplored in her relationship with Wes. Snadowsky does a very thorough job of unveiling all the mysteries of a relationship and a breakup from the girl's perspective.
One of my favorite lines in the story is one Dominique types in an email she never intends to send to Wes after he breaks up with her.
"Meanwhile, every corner of this city is laced with memories of us together, and I'll never be able to leave the house without hoping and dreading the I'll run into you. You stole Fort Myers from me, and I lived here first, you (bleeping) thief." (p239).I think that is one of the truest phrases I've ever read in a book about breakups. Whether it's your first or your last. Sometimes you just torment yourself and visit your old special places so you can feel even more miserable. So glad those days are over!!
So, I would recommend this novel for 17 and up as there are mature sex scenes in it although very safe.
And of course, there is some language because what's a breakup without a few f-bombs.???
Published January 2013
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Hardcover 227 pages
Received from author for review
To Buy Links-
Amazon/ Kindle/ Barnes and Noble/ Book Depository/
Indiebound/ Kobo /Goodreads
Build your own Boyfriend Website!!!
With Judy Blume-like honesty and insight, this sequel toAnatomy of a Boyfriend is about life after first love--romance, sex, friendship, family, and the ups and downs of life as a single girl.
After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one.
The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered.
But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.
In Daria Snadowsky’s daring follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Dominique explores the relationship between love and lust, and the friendships that see us through.
Dom is post breakup and has fared pretty well compared to what I went through after my first breakup. But then Dom has a very logical mind and looks at things differently. She analyzes things and reasons things out. Of course, the heart and love aren't reasonable and aren't logical so in the long run, ya got nothin' whether you're analytical or emotional. Dom is just as likable in this novel as she was in Anatomy of a Boyfriend. She is focused on her studies of course, having gotten an internship of sorts at the local hospital. But she discovers that life as she knows it, or life after high school is full of changes. Not just college, but high school friends change, relationships with your parents change and she has to see that even relationships with boys can be something different.
It's a summer filled with possibilites, romance, reconnecting with her best friend and growing up. Leaving behind the high school world and embracing the college Dom. With that she'll have to leave all her familiar comfort zones and step outside the box of what she's thought and believed if she wants to have what she wants. She realizes there are many ways to look at relationships between men and women and they don't all have to be happily ever after. They can be just about right now and getting what you need and having fun.
This is a funny, sometimes frustrating, but always entertaining look at life as a single girl navigating her feelings and the dating world through the eyes of one girl. It is refreshingly honest, Daria leaves no thought unspoken and it is definitely for Mature YA readers, 17 and up.
Below are some questions I asked Daria Snadowsky the author of both Anatomy of a Boyfriend and Anatomy of a Single Girl:
ME-So Daria, in ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND, we get to watch Dominique and Wes tiptoe around each other not knowing if the other one liked them and then not knowing what to do about it. Let's say you're on a third or fourth date and your date hasn't made it any clearer whether he likes you as anything more than a friend or not. What would you do?
DARIA-I’m no relationship expert, but I think it’s best to be honest and straightforward early on. It may be difficult to risk rejection by asking someone outright, “Do you like me that way?” But if the person does reject you, at least you know sooner rather than later.
ME-Also in ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND, Dominique really asserts herself. She may be very inexperienced but she's very aware of what can happen and what she wants to happen. It feels like Wes is just kind of starry eyed through most of the book while she directs the relationship. And I mean that in a good way. Do you think girls today know better what they want and how to get it than they did than when say, Judy Blume, started writing for girls this age?
DARIA-Perhaps. I’m sure recent advances in technology, access to information, and women’s rights contribute to young women today feeling more empowered than ever before. But one thing that never changes is emotions, and the highs and lows of falling in love and getting heartbroken remain constant throughout generations.
ME-So, we know already there is a break up scene in ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND. Did you take any of your own personal break ups into account when you wrote that scene?
DARIA-Oh, sure. I once had guy break up with me over Instant Messenger, which seemed so unreal because there was no one to look at, no voice to listen to, nobody to tearfully hug goodbye. But whether you’re dumped in person or over a computer, it feels powerless. You can’t reason with someone to fall back in love with you. I guess in that scene I tried to show that neither person did anything bad—it was just a bad situation where hurt feelings were inevitable. Unless a breakup is truly mutual, there is no fun way to end a relationship.
ME-Your writing has been compared favorably to Judy Blume's. How does that make you feel?
DARIA-AH-MAAAA-ZING. She’s my inspiration, and I dedicated my first book to her because of how shamelessly and truthfully she wrote about YA issues.
ME-I loved Dom's voice in both books but her honesty is so refreshing. In ANATOMY OF A SINGLE GIRL. She doesn't just latch onto a guy for the sake of not being alone. She's okay with being alone. She thinks about everything. Analyzes it. What made you decide to keep Dom single instead of rebounding with someone?
DARIA-Thank you. I simply thought it was true to her character. Dom loved being in love with her first boyfriend, but she also recognizes the faults in that relationship, so she doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes. Dom is holding out for something both exciting and romantic as well as healthy and mature.
ME-Dom has the same philosophy I had when I was dating no matter what age I was. If he didn't have potential marriage material, he wasn't worth my time. Why fall in love with someone who would eventually break my heart? Let's say you are Dom and want a summer fling, no strings attached. Do you throw your principles out the door for a summer of fun?
DARIA-If there were a way to guarantee that neither my crush nor myself would get more emotionally attached than the other, then summer flings would be a blast. But that rarely happens in practice, so I’d probably elect to avoid the whole minefield. That being said, ideally everyone should have one summer romance experience, even if the end is bittersweet. You learn a lot about yourself, and the memories get better with age.
ME-What is your favorite kind of date? Movies? Picnic? Day at the beach?
DARIA-I like good ole dinner-and-a-movie dates, especially if they end with long, talky walks and getting ice cream cones.
Daria had a long wait between her first and second book due to 3 editor changes and a complete discarding of her first draft of Anatomy of a Single Girl which was actually called Anatomy of a Break up. Believe me, this one is much better. I don't want to read a book about her wallowing in her misery. We've all been there right? This book is much better than that!
ME-One last question, will there be more books in the series? Dom is only a Sophomore at Tulane??
DARIA-At this point, no. I really like where the story leaves Dom, but ask me again in a few years!
Author Bio-
Daria Snadowsky is the author of the novels Anatomy of a Boyfriend and Anatomy of a Single Girl. She also contributed the essay "To Sir Anthony, With Love" to the anthology Crush: 26 Real-life Tales of First Love. Visit her at www.daria-snadowsky.com. She is a full time lawyer and has no new projects at this time.
Giveaway
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