Putting Boys on the Ledge (A Girlfriend's Guide To Boys Book #1)

Blueberry "Blue" Waller, whose parents are kind of crunch granola people who named her after a fruit (yet her siblings are Theo and Marissa, and we are never told why they get the normal names) is determined to follow the lead of her friends: put boys on the ledge.

In other words, shelve them if you don't like them, and if you do, keep room on the shelf, just in case:


Instead of you feeling all bad about yourself because a boy blows you off, you're supposed to somehow get him to fall madly in love with you, and then you can ignore him, and then he gets all bummed and goes out onto The Ledge.
And if you like a boy and he likes you, you always have to keep him teetering close to The Ledge so he never treats you badly. As long as you're holding The Ledge over his head, you're in control.


In Stephie Davis' Putting Boys on the Ledge, this theory is put to test when Blue meets an exceptionally hot boy named - are you ready - Heath Cavendish while trying out for a play. How can you put pure hotness on the ledge?

Well, it might be a little easier if you've got Colin Bradshaw, hired to help Blue's family with their myriad of animals. Colin is cute, sweet and pretty awesome in his own right.

Putting Boys on the Ledge is a fluffy little bit of fun. There isn't much substance to it, and you kind of know - okay, you totally know - where things will head. But Stephie Davis makes it a fun ride, and you find yourself entertained by Blue and her friends.

I imagine 14-year-old girls everywhere will eat this book up.

my review:
First of all, I have to stay honest, and I honestly didn't like this book.
I had lots of problems with the main character, Blue. She thinks that her life is miserable, only because of a crazy family and name. Of course, those aren't big problems, most of teens deal with crazy families *at least, I do* and sometimes they have crazy names. What's in a name? :) The minor problems don't make her life miserable, or at least they shouldn't, or there is something seriously wrong with Blue. I actually like her name, Blue is a funny name ^^ But, back to my problems with her. She is one of those girls I usually avoid talking to. A girl who does always want attention. Then there is a hot guy, who is one of the most popular boys AND is 4 years older, and what does she? She falls in love with him *sigh* This is what I call the Twilight-effect. *I didn't look it up, but is it allowed to be dating a guy aged 18 when you're 14? In the NL the 18+ one isn't allowed to 'touch' the under-18-year-old one. Don't know how that's in the rest of the world. I don't mean that they check it or something, just that you as the younger one can use it against the older one in e.g. a trial.*
Then there are her crazy-in-a-bad-way friends. All they can talk about are boys, boys and boys. I mean, they go to school, shouldn't they at least talk a little bit about that? Maybe one line in a whole book? Well, in this book they didn't talk about school AT ALL. School means a lot to me, as a 'normal' teen girl. Other things are important, too, and I don't like to talk about it all the time, but I talk about school with my friends. But whatever, maybe it's just something that has to do with me.
Then there comes the school musical. Of course, already when the words school musical are mentioned, you know that she is going to get a part. She gets to play the mother of her crush. -.-
Getting on to the next character, the only one I did like a little, Colin. He's working in the barn at Blue's house. He is honest, normal and funny. But then it gets bad, because he falls in love with Blue *noooo* and that's the end of the awesome Colin. There are some crazy scenes involving Colin in this book. He is following Blue everywhere, or at least that's how it seemed to me. Stalker-alert!
The crazy friends say that Blue should put the boys on the ledge. You know, the place you jump from when you commit suicide --' which declares the title.

There are three more books in this series, each written about on of the crazy friends.

I read a couple of 4- and 5-star reviews on GoodReads. I do understand that people liked this book. I guess I just don't like this type of books, that are about nothing... *sigh*

rating:
1 star...

Reader reviewed by two sided freek

Blue, cursed with the most embarassing parents as well as the outgoing, which she is anything but, name of Bluberry, feels put down by 3 gorgrous best friends. So when she finally meets a boy, Allie her friend suggest to put him on the Ledge, a miserable place to be, where you just might fall off and get run over flat by cars, just so you find relief. So what's Blue to do?

Reader reviewed by ReaderGirl

This is by far, one of my favorite books. It was well written and didn't have any questionable material in it.
I loved the story line! Blue is a good character to realate to.

Reader reviewed by shopgirl

Blueberry Waller, or Blue as she likes to be called, is on a mission. Number one, she wants to take part in the school musical, despite the fact that she can't sing. She wants the non-singing part! Number two, she wants to date Heath, the popular and charming boy she meets while waiting to try out for the play.

Blue easily accomplishes number one, but number two proves to be a bit more tricky. She is lacking experience with guys, especially when it comes to kissing. With some pushing and proddign frmo her friends, she turns to Colin, the boy hired to help out around her house, for help. And Colin is more than willing to oblige...

The only problem is, Blue liked kissing Colin. And it seems that maybe Colin liked kissing Blue.

This is the first "Boys" novel by Stephie Davis. It's not absolutely necessary to read it before the other three novels, but I think it helps.

In the novel, Blue and her friends are just entering high school, so this novel is obviously geared toward a younger crowd, and yet older readers can enjoy this novel as well, because it lacks the common cheesiness factor that so many younger romance novels seem to have.