Did I like it? Yeah.
You'll love it if you liked: Castraction Celebration by Jake Wizner, maybe?
Aura: Snarky-humorous, light
Read If: A story full of sass and lightness but with some meaning
Narration: First Person
Main Characters: Les Eckhardt, 14-year old male
Themes: Transitions, Friendship, Sexuality
Plot: 8.5/10
Narration: 9/10. Funny.
Characterization: 7.5/10
Overall: 8/10
Did I get bored anywhere? Nope.
Did any part confuse me? Nuh.
Line/ Page Skippability: 1/5
Writing Style: Average Sentences, Informal, Snarky, Straightforward.
Uniqueness: 9/10
Predictability: 1/10
Imagery: 8/10
Song(s) to go with book: American Idiot by Green Day, Over My Head by Sum 41, Here In Your Arms by Hellogoodbye
Favourite Quote: "Wait, is it possible this pelvic inflammatory disease is another name for AIDS?"
Cover: 5/10. Me no likey.
Ending: Hopeful, Realistic, Light.
Reading Priority: Read
Reading duration: Fast readers-Approx. 4 hours, Slow readers- Approx 7 days.
Synopsis:
LES WANTS the girl. He thinks she’s amazing, exotic, perfect. But he doesn’t know how to talk to her, kiss her, or make her realize that he’s the best and only guy for her in the whole wide world.

Once he masters these things, she’ll be his! Easy-peasy, right? The gulf between dreamgirl and realgirl is explored and made somewhat less vast in this bawdy yet romantic not-quite-coming-of-age. Teens will relate to 14-year-old Les’s hilarious and squirmy longings, and the fulsomely awkward efforts he puts forth to make his real life match his fantasies. The story also
portrays the perils of unexamined hero-worship, and the strength and humanity of people that may seem plain and boring, but who stand up for what is right when called upon to do so. It is a tale both hilarious and thoughtful, in which, to paraphrase the old Rolling Stones adage, one boy figures out that even if you indeed can’t always get what you want, if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need.

WordVore Prod's Review:

Boy Minus Girl is very unlike a usual YA novel. The narrative is absolutely fearless and real, and the story does not shy away from topics that may be considered taboo. Les is a character struggling with the restrictions of his conservative religion and the changes he is going through as a teenaged boy. He is just another confused teen coming to terms with the changes occurring within him. Les’ voice is very relatable—definitely not of another fantastically sugarcoated hero. Uhlig is successful in achieving a very important end—that of bringing out the real behind every face. Even through the crass and snarky humour of the novel, he touches sensitive topics such as homosexuality and the discrimination that comes with it, religion, being one’s true self and the awkward encounter of a teenager with his physical changes. The novel very deftly projects everything from an open perspective, where the lines between what is “right” and what is “wrong” are questioned. By the end a depth has been given to each and every character. I was extremely proud of Les when he finally grew a backbone and dared to be himself without any qualms rather than swallowing everything fed to him.
My complaint is with the plot. I thought there could be more substance to it, but then again, the novel is meant to be lighthearted. However, since some deep issues were approached, just a little more substance to the plot would have done the book better justice. The novel’s pace is pretty impressive—you can easily breeze through it.
Boy Minus Girl relates to the concept of growing up and coming of age in ways that no other novel has. Definitely not for the conservative-minded who would be scandalized by sensitive so-called taboo issues related to teenagers, the book definitely receives my appreciation because of its uniqueness and nonconformity.

Labels: Boy Minus Girl, Friendship, Richard Uhlig, Sexuality, Transitions, WorDissection