The Book of Luke by Jenny O'Connell

Rating: 3 out of 5
If You Like: Teen Fiction, Sarah Dessen Novels
Similar To: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Any other teen book
Ages: 14-22

This book was enjoyable despite that fact that, to me, the characters lacked depth. This is the kind of book that you can put down, but you do not mind reading it because it is one of those guilty pleasures.

Emily is a nice girl. Her mother writes books about good manners, and Emily has always followed them. She has a perfect life in Chicago with her two best friends and her boyfriend. This all changes when Emily's family decides to move back to their hometown, Boston, leaving behind her dad to "figure things out" and her boyfriend, Sean, who decides to break up with her rather than have a long distance relationship.

When Emily arrives in Boston, nothing has really changed since she lived there two years ago. Her best friends Lucy and Josie are pretty much the same girls they were before Emily moved to Chicago. The only person who has really changed is Josie's exboyfriend, Luke. Luke was once the nerdy guy that no girl was interested in, but now he is the most popular guy in school. Unfortunately, the popularity has made the guy who sent Emily a Valentine in 6th grade, a jerk. Josie, Lucy, and Emily decide to write a guide on how to change guys for the better as their contribution to their senior time capsule. The call it "The Book of Luke".

Emily starts dating Luke in order to test the guide to prove it really works, but as she gets to know Luke, she starts to fall for him. Josie, still has a thing for Luke, and thinks that once Emily changes him, she will have a chance to get back together with Luke. When Luke finds out about the book, he announces to the whole Senior class what Emily has been up to. Her friends are angry, but half of the Senior class think what Emily did was cool. Emily lost her two best friends because she lied to them about not liking Luke, and she lost Luke because their whole relationship was based on a lie.

After a day of crying, Emily apologizes to Lucy, Josie, and Luke, and reconciles all of her relationships. Her dad comes home, and she ends up happily ever after.

I usually love teen books because the male in the books is so romantic and you can not help but fall in love with him. In this book, I thought Luke was a cocky, arrogant teenager who had his romantic moments, but failed to woo me. Emily's character seemed weak when she started to fall for Luke. She went completely against everything she originally believed in, in order to please a guy. Overall, the book was enjoyable, but it would not be a book I would read again.