Bookish Boyfriends: The Boy Next Story by Tiffany Schmidt

Summary from Goodreads:

The second book in a series where your favorite literary characters come to life, inspired by the timeless classic, Little Women!

There’s no one better than the boy next door. At least not according to Aurora Campbell, fourteen, who has been in love with Tobias May since their very first sandbox kiss. The problem is, he’s in love with her older sister, Merrilee. And Merri is already dating one of his best friends.

Rory is learning all about pining as her class reads The Great Gatsby, a book she doesn’t find “great” at all. Also not great—her GPA, something she needs to fix, quickly, if she’d like to apply for the chance to spend a week studying art with her hero in New York City over winter break. But when Ms. Gregoire assigns her to read Little Women for extra credit, Rory discovers more than she expected—both about herself and Toby. Maybe she wasn’t in love with the boy next door. . . but the boy next story.

Love is complicated, and it’s all about to get even trickier for Rory at Reginald R. Hero Prep . . . where with the help of one quirky English teacher, students’ fantasies come true, often with surprising consequences.

Review:

I wasn’t expecting to love this one as much as I did, or I guess as much as I loved book 1. Book 1 was Pride and Prejudice (and also technically Romeo and Juliet), and Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favorite books. This one was based off of Little Women, not my favorite book by a long shot. And then I learned it was also going to involve The Great Gatsby, one of my favorite books from high school. And I guess it’s not easy to see how one might combine Little Women and The Great Gatsby…

Weirdly though, this combo worked for me. I definitely found myself relating to Rory right away. She’s the awkward sister who always feels like a third, fourth, or fifth wheel. She feels left out, misunderstood, and alone. She’s also the artist of the family, and I loved all the scenes that involved her creating something. I also loved that this what connects her so strongly to her crush: their shared love of creativity. He’s into music (technically, the musical scores of movies), and she’s into painting. And I love that her longing isn’t just based off of looks and artificial things, but instead it stems from a real connection.

I also have to own up to the fact that I absolutely hated Amy in Little Women, and when I learned that Rory was the current day Amy…I was hesitant to read this. I’m so glad I read it any way. I actually feel like I have more empathy now for Amy…and sort of want to re-read the classic with new eyes. This Amy is stronger, more unique and definitely more caring. There’s a moment that compares to the moment when Amy burns a book in Little Women, but it was way tamer here, and I’m glad. Because, I’m not sure if I’d forgive Rory for what Amy did (if that makes sense).

I cried at parts of this story, both when her sisters left Rory behind in something important, and when she was bullied at school. I felt for her. And then when she almost gives up on her dream to help her parents? I lost it. There’s some definite similarities between the closeness of the family member in both books.

I enjoyed getting to know Toby more. He wasn’t really a main character in the first book. And I enjoyed seeing other characters from Rory’s point of view. It was very different from book 1. The crushing/longing/slow burn romance was insane in this book. So if the wait is hard for you, stay away. The wait kept me into the story more. I kept waiting/needing/wanting Rory and Toby to get together. Watching their friendship grow though was kind of magical too.

If you can’t tell, I loved this. I like it more than book 1 (which is crazy because Little Women isn’t even on the same scale as Pride and Prejudice for me). I loved the characters, particularly Rory. I loved the slow burn romance. I love the friendships. I love the art and creativity. I love the family relationships. I give this a 10/10.