The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Ruby is back at Tate Prep, and it’s her thirty-seventh week in the state of Noboyfriend. Her panic attacks are bad, her love life is even worse, and what’s more: Noel is writing her notes, Jackson is giving her frogs, Gideon is helping her cook, and Finn is making her brownies. Rumors are flying, and Ruby’s already-sucky reputation is heading downhill.

Not only that, she’s also: running a bake sale, learning the secrets of heavymetal therapy, encountering some seriously smelly feet, defending the rights of pygmy goats, and bodyguarding Noel from unwanted advances.

In this companion novel to The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book, Ruby struggles to secure some sort of mental health, to understand what constitutes a real friendship, and to find true love—if such a thing exists.  

Review:

The Ruby Oliver Noels, along with the Princess Diaries series and Shug by Jenny Han, were actually some of the novels that originally got me addicted to reading YA. To this day the Ruby Oliver series is still a favorite of mine, and Treasure Map of Boys only proves this fact farther.

In Treasure Map of Boys Ruby is in the thirty-seventh week of Noboyfriend, though that's okay because she's friends with Meaghan and Nora, she's been put in charge of Tate's bake shale, and is still going to her weekly therapy meeting with Dr. Z. But soon enough, everything comes tumbling down. Jackson's sending her frogs once again and acting like he cares, the sexual tension with Noel is getting worse and worse, especially given the fact that Nora likes him, and Gideon is becoming more and more friendly. Plus, add in the fact that she just saw Dr. Z out in public with her boyfriend, leaving Ruby creeped out and bringing the therapeutic process to an end, it seems like junior year keeps getting better and better-not.

It's a funny thing. At times I detest Ruby for the way she treats her friends, the ones who love and put up with her, but then I start to adore her wit and sympathize with her situation, and once again I'm back to rooting for her like my feelings of detest weren't even there five minutes ago. Isn't is just amazing how Lockhart can control my feelings in that way? I think so. Moving on, I have to say I love all the boys in this one, well except for Jackson, though I did like how Ruby finally, after all these months, stood up to him. Noel is his same cute, funny shelf but I hate the fact it always takes him forever to realize he likes Ruby as more than a friend, especially given the fact that he's leading poor Nora along at the same time. And Gideon! He's the sweet college boy you wish you knew, and I'm starting to think I would prefer Ruby getting together with him in the end instead of Noel in the end. Hutch is awesome as well. I loved his idea of heavymetal therapy. Meaghan is without a doubt my favorite friend of Ruby's, since she's funny, honest, and, surprisingly, very wise. Plus, I give her props for putting Ruby for this long.

Just like the others, the plot of this was addicting and always left me with questions rolling around in my head, such as; "Who will Ruby end up with-Noel or Gideon? Someone else? No one at all?" to "Will Nora ever come to her senses?" and on and on. I loved all the development in this addition, even though I know the ending is coming soon, sadly. Lastly, Lockhart's writing moved smoothly and left for more plot and character development to occur, which I love.

In all, The Treasure Map of Boys is a great, funny addition to the Ruby Oliver series, and if you haven't read this one yet or any of the series at all, I highly suggest you give it a go.

Grade: B+

The Treasure Map of Boys is now out!

Source: Random Buzzer's Blogger Program. Thanks!