Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky

Release date: January 9, 2007
Author info: Website | Twitter
Publisher: Ember
Format: Paperback
Source: Via author for review
Pages: 272
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body.

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love.

And then came the fall.

Anatomy of a Boyfriend was an interesting read for me. I liked reading about Dom and deeply enjoyed her awkward times and the realness of her relationship with Wes, weird moments and all. It gave me a lot to think about, and in the time since I finished the book, I've decided I liked it more than I originally thought.

What sets this book apart is how unflinchingly honest its depiction of a first relationship is. There's no glitz and glamour to Dom and Wes' relationship. Each milestone in their time together is awkward and never works just right. You understand why Dom is so hung up on Wes; he's her first everything, but you know--as does she--that he's not the right person for her. I loved reading about a first love who is just a first love, not a forever love, because I think that's what most first love is. Most people do not marry and live happily ever after with the first boy that really looks their way, and I think YA emphasizes that idea way too much. It does happen sometimes, but it is not the norm. I liked seeing that here.

I do think some people will be shocked by the sex here, and if you're offended by graphic (not graphic in a romance novel kind of way, but kind of like an anatomy class with some slang terms for body parts thrown in) sex, then this is not the book for you. But teenagers do have sex. No matter how much education they have or what religion they are, there are going to be teenagers having sex. I don't want to offend people, but it's the truth and we can only try to prevent it and, if that fails, protect them. Anyways, the way the physical aspect of Dom and Wes' relationship is described is very clinical; I believe that's partially because Dom is interested in medicine and partially because she doesn't necessarily have the experience or the passion and impulsiveness to describe it in any other way.

While I don't believe this is a book that I will find myself returning to over and over again, I found it to be an entertaining and enlightening read. It helped me remember a few of my own ideas about relationships and how they should be, which I think, in many ways, is exactly the point. I liked Dom a lot and I think I will like the sequel, Anatomy of a Single Girl, even more than this one.