Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Booked Books

When it comes to love, everyone is a potential victim. It doesn't matter how short, tall, smart, dumb, strong, or pretty you are. You can be hit with Cupid's arrow any time without realizing it before it's too late. Dominique Baylor of Anatomy of a Boyfriend had to learn this the hard way, but is there ever an easy way?


Seventeen-year-old Dominique Baylor has always cared more about grades and schoolwork than she did about boys. This is perfectly understandable since she wants to pursue a career as a doctor. Until she met Wesley, a track star from her best friend's high school, Dominique had never had any real experience with boys. Despite her bad first impression with him (involving her falling into mud), they both inevitably fall in love. Together, they learn the complexity of maintaining relationships, especially when it involves sex.

First off, I love the cover as well as the title; the cover is almost as fun as the book itself! It plays with Dominique's aspiration to become a doctor and illustrates the humor of this novel. Another cool thing about the cover is that the arrows connecting the parts of the boyfriend to its corresponding labels remind me of Cupid's arrows. Not to mention, the arrows are red, a color that represents both heart and love. It's amazing how symbolic the cover is by itself.


I also love how modern and fun this novel is. In fact, the characters get to know each other over instant messaging and email. In a world where practically every teenager uses the computer frequently, I thought this was relevant.


This wonderful coming-of-age novel center on Dominique's love life her physical experience with her first love as well as the emotions associated with it. An honest and open novel, Anatomy of a Boyfriend puts love and sex under a sensitive and perceptive light without being critical. Snadowsky captured its positive and negative aspects perfectly; the novel genuinely portrays the confusion, awkwardness, and turmoil of sex. It even covers safe sex. In one of the scenes of the book, Dominique's best friend, Amy, had a pregnancy scare. I found this significant because it illustrates the importance of responsibility. For such a light novel, there were some heavy messages within it.


Though I've read many books written in the first-person perspective, I rarely ever feel as if I'm really in the character's head. Dominique's thoughts and feelings can be very vivid as well as graphic, and I felt like I was intruding on her thoughts sometimes. This realization was rather shocking, but it helped me connect with her. Dominique does come off as angst-y, clingy, and pathetic under a critical eye at times, but she realizes this herself. The characters are so believable, meaningful, and three-dimensional that I began making comparisons with them to some people I know in real life. Dominique is overall a strong character, but she does succumb to the power of love as many would, although you probably would expect better from an intellectual premed student. That's what makes her so complex. She even considers abandoning a scholarship to be able to go to NYU with Wes, but fortunately, she doesn't go through with it.


I honestly can't find any major faults with this novel, though I suppose the graphic scenes could be toned down a notch. Still, this is a top-notch debut novel, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of Snadowsky's works.


Keep in mind that this novel is aimed at the older teens. As mentioned throughout the review, the mature content - some explicit sex scenes and language - may be inappropriate for kids and younger teens.