The Treasure Map of Boys

July 6, 2009
Smart, funny, neurotic Ruby Oliver (from The Boy Book
and The Boyfriend List
) is back, still struggling with confusing boys, former friends who now shun her and, of course, panic attacks. When her shrink asks her to create a treasure map showing “positive relationships with peer group,” Ruby again focuses on the boys in her life—like Jackson, her first boyfriend, who cheated on her with her former best friend but now may want her back. In the process, she overlooks some of the true gems surrounding her. Fans will continue to root for the authentic if self-centered narrator as she relates both the hilarious and painful moments of her life (which sometimes coincide, such as when her mother comments on her breasts and her back pimples while they are in a Nordstrom changing room). Readers may get occasionally annoyed by Ruby's emotional upheavals, but they will appreciate her honest insights about the good and bad in everyone—including “hyperverbal and reasonably good looking” people like her who “get confused about what and whom they want”—and about the possibility of loving them anyway. Ages 12–up.