I. Freaking. Love. This. Book. I was seriously just short of rolling on the floor laughing out loud. What I did do was laugh so much that my family thought I was going nuts. Needless to say, my mom demanded to have full rights to reading the book after I finished, so she can see what the deal is! (And because she knows if I loved the book, then she’s going to love it too!)
The story is told from the alternating points of view of Kelly and Hunter. I like this because it shows how the boy recession impacts normal girls like Kelly who want to find a good guy and slacker guys like Hunter who become hot commodities seemingly overnight. Kellly wishes her life were more like Grease and that she could find someone to love her, but with the boy recession all the girls are out to find dates for the status of having one. Many are so desperate that they are turning to boys they would never have considered date material before. Hunter is the one girls only hooked up with in dark corners and never for long term. Now, as one of the more decent guys left and with his musical talents becoming more well known, he’s becoming somewhat of a star.
While this story starts from Kelly’s perspective, this story is really about Hunter, and he is the one who captured my heart. He starts off as a slacker who idles his days away, not caring about getting a job or doing his homework. If people weren’t reminding him, he wouldn’t know what day it is. After meeting Kelly, however, Hunter changes. He starts caring about what he does and what image he presents. He wants to become deserving of her. To her joy and dismay, he starts becoming something and drawing attention from other girls. Hunter’s voice is well portrayed. He’s an easygoing guy and doesn’t like being put on the spotlight. Throughout the novel, he just wants to do his thing, but with the motivation to impress Kelly he cleans up his act while trying to remain true to himself.
The best part of this book is, of course, the humor. I don’t typically enjoy books filled with girls chasing after guys and talking like they have no brains. In this book, it was priceless. With the boy recession going on, I want to see girls chasing after guys, fighting over guys, and being bitchy about other girls over boys. I loved seeing Hunter being clueless about what to do about girls fawning over him. The Boy Recession is filled both hilarious scenes and some really sweet moments between Kelly and Hunter.
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Alyssa Susanna says
I love the first line of this review. I guess I will soon freaknig love this book as well! I have to read it. And it's only about 250 pages, which is really short. I'll get it on Kindle. It seems like a funny book, not laden with plots and intricacies and superpowers. I need a book like that every now and then. I will add this book to my TBR list and read it soon. Thanks for the review!
Gaby says
Man I don't know what I'd do if the was a Boy Recession here. For one thing I sure as yeck won't be distracted anymore LOL
Lili says
I honestly feel like the YA world needs more humorous books out there that make you bust your gut from laughter. I rarely come across one that can make me laugh out loud, let alone die on the floor laughing. If you loved this book, I can't wait to give it a shot myself! Thanks for the review!
DeeDee Griffin says
Thanks for the review. This book sounds like a riot! I love the originality a boy recession.
Lilian says
Thank you for the review!
I'm usually not a contemporary chick, but if it made you rolling on the floor in laughter, I NEED TO SEE WHAT THE DEAL IS TOO! So I can join the party.
I always feel theres a dire lack of humor in YA, I see too many post-apocalyptic, dark paranormals now. After all the zombie apocalypses I need a recovry book, and The Boy Recession just might be the thing!
Plus, the cover is super cute.
Lilian @ A Novel Toybox
Crystal says
I agree. There needs to be more books with humor out in the YA market. I love this book so much, I've checked out a copy of Bloodthirsty, also by the same author. It looks just as hilarious.
Emily says
I was about to give this one the pass, but then I looked up the author and remembered that she wrote Bloodthirsty. I tried to pass that one up too but I loved it once I gave it a shot, and that's what I intend to do here!
Crystal says
When I visited the library today and saw Bloodthirsty on the shelves, I immediately added it to my bag of books to check out. The Boy Recession was so good! 🙂
Katja Weinert says
When I saw this cover I thought it would be a fun read, and it sounds hilarious! Will definitely pick this up. I'm getting into contemporary novels more than I'd expected!
Crystal says
I knew it was going to be a fun read when I saw it, and it's even better than it looks!! There are a fair number of wonderful contemporary reads coming out, aren't there? 🙂
Anonymous says
I have not heard of this book, but I must say, it looks FREAKING HILARIOUS! I love books that can make me laugh like Bumped! Everything about this book sounds fantastic. The top line of the summary is hilarious! WHERE HAVE ALL THE BOYS GONE?
Great review.
Crystal says
Freaking hilarious is the perfect description. I cannot count the number of times I freaked out over something that I found funny!!
Kapri (Book Fanatics) says
I haven't heard much about this book, but it looks super cute and extremely funny. I'm always looking for a book that can give me a good laugh, especially since they are so hard to come by for me. And the characters sound really great, especially Hunter!
If I can, I know another great, funny read that I can recommend (don't worry; it's more than just a bunch of girl chasing guys and being stupid). Smart Girls Get What They Want is probably the funniest book that I've read in quite a while.
Crystal says
Thanks for the rec. I've actually already read that book, and I adore it!! It does have a lot of laugh out loud moments! 🙂