REVIEWS: ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND and ANATOMY OF A SINGLE GIRL by DARIA SNADOWSKY

Series: Anatomy #1
Category/Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 9/23/08
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 4 - 4.5 stars

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.

I'm going to make this short and sweet: Anatomy of a Boyfriend is one of, if not THE most realistic portrayals of teen sexuality and the emotional aspects of falling in love, that I have ever read.

Anatomy is not a romanticized account of the pleasure and pain of falling in love for the first time. It is an unflinching honest portrayal of the physical and emotional aspects, how they affect and reflect on one another. There are questions, and doubts, joy, and happiness. This story has sex-again, not unrealistically romanticized, and it even has (gasp!) masturbation. It is about remaining true to yourself and maintaining identity.

The story entails Dominique's journey with honesty, humor, and heart. This is a story that I wish had been available to me as a teen. It is a story that I will make available to my own children as teens. It is a story that can open dialogue, or serve as a gesture. It will speak to those it represents. And that is powerful.


Favorite Quotes:

Amy will sometimes accompany us on the boat, but she's too squeamish even to handle live bait. That she won't touch a shrimp with her hands but will take a random boy's dick into her mouth has always seemed bizarre to me.    ~pg. 26

  I feel dizzy and light-headed, like every cell in my body is pushing my arm that final inch. I'm just about to rest my hand on his crotch when a thunderous bang echoes through the car.

  Did he just ejaculate?    ~pg. 105

Series: Anatomy #2
Category/Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 1/08/13
Format: Paperback
Pages: 227
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 4-4.5 stars

With Judy Blume-like honesty and insight, this sequel to Anatomy of a Boyfriend is about life after first love--romance, sex, friendship, family, and the ups and downs of life as a single girl.

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.

There's really no way to review Anatomy of a Single Girl without spoiling Anatomy of a Boyfriend. So... here goes.

Dominique has survived her freshman year at Tulane, and is back in Florida for the summer. She's not quite over the pain of her first heartbreak, but determined to move on and experience a fun summer as a single. It doesn't take long for Dom to meet a potential Mr. Right (for now), which brings a new set of questions and complications. This is a summer to have fun, discover, explore.

Once again, Daria Snadowsky has delivered what I consider to be the perfect depiction of a smart, healthy coming-of-age story. Sometime I question my "expertise" on the subject, considering  the fact I met the guy I married at eighteen. But, this series is one I will undoubtedly hold onto and hand it over to my own daughter in the (waaay distant) future. Yes, it is that good.

The most important aspect to the Anatomy Series, one that will make it or break it for most readers, is to realize this is not a love story. Sure, there's romance, and sex, but the heart of the story is Dominique. Her search for love and pleasure, friendship and growing up, and most importantly, her search for self.

Anatomy is a brilliant series. I really hope we haven't seen the last of Dom.

Favorite Quote: 

 

  "Damn, Dom. Are you crying?"

  "Hmm? No."

  But I brush my fingers across my cheeks, and sure enough, there're tears. My hands are quivering, too. I look back at Guy.

  "I came!" I yelp.

  "No shit, Sherlock. I could feel it." 

  "It was like...time-slowing, space-curving--"

  "Now you're speaking my language."

  "So...how many other people know about this?"     ~pg. 159

 

Purchase Anatomy of a Boyfriend

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Purchase Anatomy of a Single Girl

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About the author

Daria Snadowsky is the author of the novels "Anatomy of a Boyfriend" and "Anatomy of a Single Girl." She also contributed the essay "To Sir Anthony, With Love," to the anthology "Crush: 26 Real-life Tales of First Love." 

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