Review: Manicpixiedreamgirl by Tom Leveen

Sometimes the most dramatic scenes in a high school theater club are the ones that happen between the actors and crew off stage.

Seventeen-year-old Tyler Darcy's dream of being a writer is starting to feel very real now that he's sold his first short story to a literary journal. He should be celebrating its publication with his two best friends who've always had his back, but on this night, a steady stream of texts from his girlfriend Sidney keep intruding. So do the memories of his dream girl, Becky, who's been on his mind a little too much since the first day of high school. Before the night is over, Ty might just find the nerve to stop all the obsessing and finally take action.

My Review:

This book is a rather short and quick read that packs a great story into its pages.  The characters are complex and seem like real people.  The story is engaging and keeps the reader invested the entire time, making this a great book.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Tyler is a fantastic male POV protagonist.  He is pretty much obsessed with Rebecca Webb, and this obsession sometimes hurts his relationships.  For example, he isn't really fair to his girlfriend, Sydney.  She's a good person, yet he has such a huge crush on Becky that it can get in the way of his relationship with Sydney.  While he likes Sydney, he would rather date Becky if he ever gets the chance.  Once he and Becky become friends, he doesn't hesitate to go hang out with her at her house, even when he had to ditch Sydney to do so.

One interesting part of the story is the idea of Becky that Tyler has built up in his mind versus the actual Becky.   He has it in his mind that she is basically perfect, and he doesn't like finding out things about her that mess up that image.  He sees her smoking pot, and he doesn't like that because the Becky in his mind would never do that.  He also finds out that the real Becky does things with guys, things she doesn't really want to do, but she never says no to them.  Tyler feels maybe some jealousy about this, but he more feels her image collapsing.  I loved how, by the end of the book, though Tyler has admitted his feelings to her, the reader doesn't know if it will work out for Tyler and Becky, and if they will get together as a couple.

 I liked how this story was told.  The present storyline technically takes place over the time frame of one single night.  To give readers the full story, the book alternates between the present storyline and flashbacks into the past.  This allows the reader to get to know the story and the characters in both the timelines.

If you like YA contemporary, read this book.