Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Victoria Jurgen is an honor student, a budding photographer with a heck of an eye, a social misfit, a movie geek (there’s a correlation of the two), who’s nicknamed herself after a SciFi movie character. All this makes her (a goal for her, a criticism for her mother) “boy proof.”
She has no real friends at school–only rivals, acquaintances, and those that she ignores. Until a transfer student rattles her cage, awakening ideas, feelings, and goals she’s not ready for.
Victoria is what Bella Swan could’ve become if she were a bit geekier, and didn’t fall in with the supernatural set. Speaking of ol’ Bella, early on in Boy Proof, there’s a scene involving a transfer student, the only empty seat in class, and the newcomer’s odor that is very reminiscent of a scene from Twilight. IMNSHO, Castellucci pulls if off better than Meyer did.
There’s nothing ground-breaking here plot-wise, but Victoria’s character and voice are so strong, you don’t care. This book is about watching her change and grow. Could the book have been more than that? Sure. Did it need to be? Nope. I wish I could remember what blogpost/tweet/whatever it was that tipped me off to this book, but whatever it was, I’m glad I read it.
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