Series: N/AGenre: Contemporary YA
Publisher: Te Da Media
Publication Date: 10/17/12
Format: eARC
Pages: 244
Source: Received from publisher, via Edelweiss.
Why the hell can’t chicks be more like guys?
That question plagues high school senior Sam Cruz. Sam is perfectly happy being a player. He just wishes girls wouldn’t change the game from sex to relationships. It makes him look like an asshole. But when Sam’s best friend, Ally Klinger, gets dumped, she begs him to transform her into someone who can screw around then screw off. No risk of heartbreak that way. It’s Sam’s chance to create the perfect female AND cheer up his best friend. Armed with Sam’s Three Step Guide to Backseat Success, Ally gets the game better than Sam thought she would and before long, Sam has his wish: the female version of himself. Too bad it’s driving him nuts. Told from Sam’s and Ally's alternating POVs, Sam Cruz’s Infallible Guide to Getting Girls is a fast-paced romantic comedy that follows these teens as they navigate the minefield of sex, love, and friendship.
This book contains strong language, drinking, euphemisms, and lots of “bow chicka wow wow.”
Why I Read Sam Cruz's Infallible Guide:
Ellen at Always YA at Heart reviewed this recently and her review convinced me that I must read this book!
I am a huge fan of those classic teen movies in which the coolest guy in school gives a hopeless nerdy, but adorable, girl a makeover. Once the magic has been worked, the boy then realizes how beautiful the girls is, what a catch she was all along, and falls ridiculously in love with her. The first movie that comes to mind is She's All That, with Freddie Prinz, Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook. Sam Cruz's Infallible Guide to Getting Girls is a story much like what I've described, but told with an unabashed realism and honesty about what guys and girls are actually thinking about sex, relationships and love.
Sam Cruz is seriously one of the funniest books I've read in a while. The reaction that Sam has to the new and improved Ally made me laugh out loud, blush, and roll my eyes. The boy seriously "stood at attention" practically every time he looked at or even thought of Ally. As the mom of a boy, I am totally unprepared to even consider that these reactions occur in guys. As a girl, I am resigned to the fact that I know it happens. A lot. The fact that the author went there with Sam, didn't sugar coat the physical desires and actions of the teens, made me appreciate the story on a greater level. It's nature, there's no need in shame, is how I tend to look at these things. Ask me if I still feel that way when I have teenagers and you may get a different story.
Another factor that made me appreciate the story was Ally's ownership of her sexuality. I loved that she took charge of her desires, that she was able to express herself. Did she always make the right choices? Probably not. But she was safe, and completely consientious of what was happening. Ally didn't just sit there and let things happen, and no matter if you think teen sex is right/wrong/or something to fight at every level, a girl who knows what she wants, and is in charge of her own body is a girl that I respect.
As for the love story...it was definitely a slow road for Ally and Sam. As lifelong best friends, there are some lines that shouldn't be crossed for the sake of the friendship. Sam, who is deep-down afraid of abandonment, knows Ally can't handle the friends with benefits situation, and is not willing to risk losing her. Ally is less cautious and once she makes up her mind, she is willing to take the leap from friends to love. And though the relationship is a huge risk, I'm with Ally. Best friends who become boyfriends are the very best.
A story of friends, love, sex, and relationships, Sam Cruz' Infallible Guide to Getting Girls will make you laugh, root for these fantastic characters, then laugh some more.
Favorite Quotes:
"I try reason. 'You faked a dead battery to trick me into coming out here so I would have sex with you.'
'Well, it's not like you said 'no', she retorts.
'Because I'm make and breathing. If there were going to be other conditions on this offer you should have shown me the small print. Beforehand.'
'If I'd done that, you would have freaked out.'
And there you have it, boys and girls. The place where my rules, carefully constructed to ensure a mutual good time, fall to shit." -Sam (eARC, 2%)
"She gives me a huge hug. Except she's still in her lingerie, making my dragon roar its head again. I pull away.
Ally glances down at my crotch and with a knowing grin, punches me in the arm." -Sam (eARC, 25%)
"Hooking up with her is like playing the home version of WrestleMania. There's rolling, tossing, name-calling, and the occasional threat. I'd put her in a headlock to get her back in line but she's just wormed her way on top of me." -Sam (eARC, 47%)
"I pass Etienne, jumping around manically in what I guess is dancing. 'It's like Labiapalooza in here,' he calls out. 'Come mosh." - Sam (eARC, 76%)
Read an Excerpt.
You can purchase Sam Cruz's Infallible Guide at:
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