Anatomy of a Single Girl (Anatomy #2) by Daria Snadowsky

Release date: January 8, 2013
Author info: Website | Twitter
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 227
Source: Received via author for review
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one.

The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered.

But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.

In Daria Snadowsky’s daring follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Dominique explores the relationship between love and lust, and the friendships that see us through.

Anatomy of a Boyfriend was an interesting read for me, in that I enjoyed it and could especially see the value in it, but I couldn't say I'd want to read it again. But, Anatomy of a Single Girl was a very different experience! Not only did I really enjoy it, but I can definitely say I would reread it. To me, everything about this one just worked so much better than in the previous book.

Anatomy of a Single Girl picks up a few months after its predecessor. Dom is finishing her summer at Tulane and is heading home to spend a month with Amy and with her parents before school starts again. She is doing well with her breakup with Wes, and has the prospect of a new boyfriend, but she's just not feeling into it. Then she meets Guy. He's attractive, he's into science, and Dom can't get enough of him. Soon, she's experiencing a relationship completely unlike anything before. But in this relationship, Dom quckly learns what she expects and what she needs in a romance, and what just won't cut it.

I think part of why I didn't enjoy Anatomy of a Boyfriend as much as I would've like to was that I couldn't get comfortable with Dom. Every decision she made went against my better judgement and I could see her disaster from miles away. Here, though, Dom is eons more likable. She's got a bit more life experience and she knows what she wants and what she won't settle for. Even though some of her decisions definitely weren't what I would've done, she was still completely in her own head and didn't let outside pressure change that. I respected her for the things she said and did.

Though you don't necessarily have to have read the first book to enjoy the second, I think the two really complement one another. Seeing Dom's progression in her relationships with her significant other, best friend, and parents is refreshing and enlightening. She's figuring things out that most teenagers are struggling with as well. In order to know who is right for you, you first have to know who you are.