The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney

Title: The Boy Recession
Author: Flynn Meaney
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Poppy; 1 edition (August 7, 2012)
Length: 256 pages
Format: Hardcover

Description from Goodreads:

It's all about supply and demand when a high school deals with the sudden exodus of male students.

The boy recession has hit Julius P. Heil High, and the remaining boys find that their stock is on the rise: With little competition, even the most unlikely guys have a good chance at making the team and getting the girl. Guitar-strumming, class-skipping Hunter Fahrenbach never wanted to be a hot commodity, but the popular girls can't help but notice his unconventional good looks. With a little work, he might even by boyfriend material.

But for down-to-earth Kelly Robbins, the boy recession is causing all sorts of problems. She has secretly liked her good friend Hunter for a while now, but how can she stand out in a crowd of overzealous Spandexers?

As if dating wasn't hard enough without a four-to-one ratio!

My Thoughts:

The cover for The Boy Recession drew me in. It really stands out compared to the rash of girl-in-pretty-dress covers that seem to be the trend of late. I had some pretty high expectations for The Boy Recession, but it just didn't live up to what I expected and the hype I've heard. I was expecting some seriously funny hijinks and a boatload of good teenage male deprived drama. The book is told from the alternating perspectives of Hunter and Kelly. Let's start off with Hunter. He was definitely my favorite person of the book and had the most personality. His constant "slackerness" was hilarious and I absolutely loved his inner dialogue. Looking back I wish the book had been told solely from his point of view. Compared to Hunter's awesomeness Kelly was kind of bland. I didn't really understand why she was so special or what drew Hunter to her other than the fact that she was nice and wasn't a psycho. The minor characters helped bolster Kelly's lack of appeal. Eugene, Darcy, and Aviva livened things up a bit. Eugene especially with his crazy money making schemes.

Onto the actual story. There is a boy recession going on and I was expecting a lot of silliness and drama, but the book just didn't deliver. Some wishy washy insta-like between the two main characters and fake significant others and the book was over. There wasn't any real conflict and readers never really get to see Hunter and Kelly interact as a couple. All in all it was just the general lack of action that brought the book down for me. That said, the book wasn't all bad. It was cute, light, funny, and would make the perfect novel to read right before school starts. Taking everything into consideration I give The Boy Recession a barely there 3 STAR rating.