Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials

Reader: Kristen A
Age: 15
Title: Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials
Author: Rosalind Wiseman
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Pub Date: Jan 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The concept was good, but it was too cliché. Try to mix it up a little! It was very obvious that the main character would fall in love with her friend.
Were you disappointed with the book: As I said before, I thought it was very cliché, which disappointed me. It was hard for me to read because of this, but the story could appeal to other teenage girls who are more into books about falling in love and losing and keeping friends.
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents: The cover made me want to read the book, because the colors and bomb on it made it seem like it would be a funny, silly book that made you laugh. Instead, it was a very cliché book, where the girl has problems with friends and ends up falling in love with her oldest guy friend. The cover did not reflect the contents of the book.
Comments: The characters, especially the main character, Charlie, could use a lot more development. I felt like all I knew about her was that she was a typical boy-crazy teenage girl with self-esteem issues. It would have been nice to see more depth into her character. There were also many grammatical errors, which was annoying, but they could be easily fixed.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal