Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With doses of humor, Hoffmann (The Good Girl) lightens this story of heartbreak and obsession, which follows the first 31 days of teenage Zoe's breakup with Henry, her musician boyfriend of six months. On day one, Zoe suspects she is about to be dumped, and on day two, her inkling is confirmed. But Zoe vows to "fight to get him back." From sneaking into Henry's house with the excuse of retrieving some fungus cream to upstaging a singing performance by a girl she thinks Henry likes, Zoe's attempts to win back what she's lost are as (mortifyingly) funny as they are futile. Hoffmann has created a well-developed supporting cast: Zoe's mother, who shares some of her daughter's obsessive tendencies; nerdy Sam, who has nursed a crush on Zoe; and Zoe's loyal but concerned buddies, Julia and Shannon, who believe she has "crossed over into psycho" and who help her realize that she, like her ex, needs to move on. Despite offering moments of levity, Hoffmann gives plenty of weight and attention to Zoe's darker feelings-her broad spectrum of emotions and gradual recovery ring true. Ages 12-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8-11-After 6 months and 218 kisses, high school junior Zoe is blindsided when her boyfriend dumps her-he wants to focus on his band, he says, and not have a girlfriend right now. Obviously he's made a big mistake, and Zoe sets out to prove it to him. Her best friends discourage her efforts to win him back (which include stuffing her poetry through his bedroom window, snooping through his email, and flirting with his friends) and tell her she's acting crazy, but she can't help herself. She has been completely wrapped up in Henry since they started dating, to the exclusion of her own friends and activities, and now that he's extricated himself from her life, she has trouble coping with this loss of identity. It's a common story and realistically told. Zoe is believably self-centered, but her friends' lives center on her, too, offering advice and encouragement (and, in the case of one male friend, offering himself as "excellent boyfriend material"). The rushed conclusion shows hope for Zoe as she makes efforts to find the self she jettisoned for Henry. Girls will relate to the teen's heartbreak and healing, though her self-pity and manipulations may irritate more than amuse.-Brandy Danner, Wilmington Memorial Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
After the initial shock of being dumped wears off, Zoe embarks on a quest to win back her ex-boyfriend. Her month-long story unfolds day by day as she tries everything from poetry to jealousy to public displays of humiliation. Humor abounds, but Zoe's obsession with Henry grows tiresome, and her poems, meant to be profound, are instead cliched. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Girl meets boy, girl subsumes self for boy, boy dumps girl, and (the twist) girl goes off the deep end (for exactly one month) attempting to win boy back. Hoffmann's latest takes a close, overearnest look at the self-absorption of the newly dumped. Present-tense, third-person narration combined with short sentences is a gutsy move. However, the abundance of passive verbs distances Zo"'s pain. While Zo"'s antics and incessant obsession are occasionally amusing (befriending the new love interest, kissing the boy's best friend), mostly she comes off as sad and a bit insane (an obsessive personality is mentioned casually). Her thinly sketched best friends and the boy who loves Zo" from afar try to rein her in, but her love for Henry leads her to growing heights of idiocy, detailed day by day, until the inevitable realization that one never wins the boy by losing oneself. Quick, familiar, even appealing territory for many, but in the end Zo"'s cringeworthy behavior might elicit more disgust than sympathy. (Fiction. 12 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
