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Young adult book reviews for ages 12 and up - middle school and high school students




*30 Days to Getting over the Dork You Used to Call Your Boyfriend: A Heartbreak Handbook* by Clea Hantman- young adult book review  
30 Days to Getting over the Dork You Used to Call Your Boyfriend: A Heartbreak Handbook
by Clea Hantman
Grades 6-12 176 pages Delacorte January 2008 Paperback    

The old adage is doing anything is better than doing nothing. This book proves that adage. Every teen girl who has ever been dumped by a boy will find encouragement, if not vindication, in this book. The author lays out a plan for passing through the five phases of loss, giving activities and journal opportunities to move you along the way.

First, in order to get through the denial phase, you write your own story about the breakup. Second, you learn to manage your anger, and so you move through the other steps of bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance.

If this is meant to be a humorous look at breakups, then it effectively addresses its mission. However, if it is meant to be a serious approach to dealing with this event, there are also serious issues to be considered.

The author encourages the reader to deal with emotions by journaling and by participating in specific activities that represent this moment in time. For instance, the reader is encouraged to make a “dork” box that contains all of the notes, gifts, and memories of their time together. Then the reader is to stash the box somewhere so that she does not have to see it at all. The author believes that a time will come when these items will represent good times in the past and should therefore be saved. “Dumped” girls are also encouraged to lean on friends and devote time to these friendships.

Overall, the book has its merits for this age group, although better choices must surely be out there. Another suggestion might by The Teen Girl's Gotta-Have-It Guide to Boys: From Getting Them to Getting Over Them by Jessica Blatt. It is a briefer volume and addresses both sides of the relationship for about the same price.

 
Young adult book reviews for ages 12 and up - middle school and high school students

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