Book Review - Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot

Boy Meets Girl is the second book I've read by American author Meg Cabot, who is most famous for writing the 'Princess Diary' books that were made into popular films by Disney. Cabot is most well-known for her books for children and teens, although this new foray into the world of adult fiction is a successful one in my opinion.

This book is part of a series, although you don't have to read the books in order to enjoy them as it is more of a case that you will recognise the odd character from other books and the setting is the same, although the actual stories in the different books are otherwise independent from each other.

Kate MacKenzie works in the human resources department of the fictional New York Journal magazine. She is, as the blurb describes her, 'reluctant deliverer of termination notices and queen of instant messaging'. Ida Lopez is the creator of the most delightful cakes which she sells to the employees of the New York Journal by means of a dessert trolley, although she has her own very exacting standards of who is worthy of her treats. Mitch Hertzog is a corporate lawyer who is forever the saviour of the underdog, shunning a life of family wealth to make a difference to those less fortunate. When Ida decides that Mitch's tyrant brother is undeserving of her cakes, all hell breaks loose and Kate, Mitch and Ida must work together against the tyrants and the nepotism to find the truth.
Boy Meets Girl is a lot of fun. It is a quick and easy read that will make you smile and keep you reading fervently until the very end. If you aren't familiar with this series, let me tell you why it is such fun. Meg Cabot writes entirely in email and instant messages. We learn about the different characters and the whole story from their written interactions with each other. Writing stories in the form of written correspondence between the characters is nothing new - it has been done before. But with this book, Meg Cabot brings that writing style into the twenty-first century.

I love this style of writing because I think it makes the story seem so much more personal and it makes you as a reader feel so much more involved. Rather than just reading about a group of people who work together, you actually almost feel like one of them because you are witness to their private emails and messages.

The storyline is true chick-lit stuff; it could be true but it's just a little too exaggerated to be so. The good characters (like Kate, Mitch and Ida) are a little too sugary sweet to be real life people and the bad guys (like Mitch's brother, Stu, and Kate's boss, Amy) are a little too scheming and evil and stereotypically bad to be real. But this just makes the book more successful in my opinion. When I read fictional books like this, I am looking for a bit of fun and escapism and this is what you get by the bucket load with Boy Meets Girl. It's all there - highs, lows, romantic interests, characteristically nasty folk and, ultimately, a happy ending.

This is a great series for adults, but I also think it would make a good choice for those with teenagers who are getting a bit old for 'Lizzie McGuire', 'Tracey Beaker' and the like. It is a perfect step from teen books to adult books - it's easy to read and will keep you engaged, but there is nothing unsuitable for teenage eyes. Overall I think it is a very enjoyable book that is suitable for all ages and will make a great summer read.

6 comments:

Tasha said...

Great review! I've read some of Meg Cabot's teen books (I loved Airhead) but none of her adult stuff. I'll have to check this out.

dkm1981 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dkm1981 said...

Yes you should look out for them - they are great for easy reading!

StephTheBookworm said...

I love this book!

Didn'tEvenFinishTheWholeThing! said...

This book wasn't how i expected it to be, and Meg Cabot could have done it much better. Overall, it was boring and confusing.

France said...

I read the two books (Boy Meets Girl, & The Guy Next Door) in the wrong order. However, I found both books funny, romantic and great read.

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