REVIEW: Girl Meets Boy edited by Kelly Milner Halls

Review by Kulsuma fron sunshine and stardust

Girl Meets Boy interested me as it offered two sides to the same story- the boy’s side and the girl’s side. This was an exciting concept as everyone loves to know what both parties think and where miscommunication really occurs in a relationship. I was expecting light-hearted, funny stories but instead got a diverse range of stories about a striking group of characters. Girl Meets Boy is made up stories that challenge the reader’s expectations.

In Love Or Something Like It and Some Things Never Change, John and Wanda respectively tell their sides of the story. John wants to stop attracting the wrong type of girls- the needy type, that is and Wanda offers to ask her psychologist for advice on his behalf. Inevitably, the two fall into a whirlwind romance that starts off wonderfully but soon has John questioning whether he’s fallen for the wrong girl. These stories really surprised me as it was very unconventional and had surprising twists.

Falling Down To See The Moon and Mooning Over Broken Stars were about realising that you’re crushing on someone you’d never expected to like. The stories were very cute and I enjoyed reading them.

Want to Meet and Meeting For Real were very surprising stories. Max is a gay boy trying to find love online but when he meets the object of his affections, it’s totally not what he expects. These two stories were about being brave enough to take the next step. Alex was an interesting character who could have been explored more. The story ended rapidly with all the loose ends tied up pretty nicely.

No Clue, AKA Sean and Sean + Raffina were sweet stories. If Sean and Raffina want to be together, they will have to cross racial boundaries to do so. Sean worries that his family will be opposed to him dating a black girl and Raffina is getting impatient with waiting and decides to make the first move.

There are six lots of short stories from the girl’s and boy’s point of view in Girl Meets Boy. Some of the stories were sweet, some were shocking and surprising, with twists I could not see coming whilst others fell short of my expectations. Overall, while Girl Meets Boy had twists in many of the stories, it’s not one I’ll remember. I prefer longer stories where characters are more fleshed out than it is possible to be in collections of short stories such as Girl Meets Boy. However, if you’re looking to be surprised, Girl Meets Boy is the book for you.

Thank you for that Kulsuma!