Review: The Boy Recession

By Flynn Meaney
Rating: 4/5

Where have all the boys gone? The population of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, is shrinking as families move to cities and towns with greener pastures, and the local high school is hurting: nearly all of the area's most eligible guys have moved or transferred schools. With little competition, the remaining boys find their stocks on the rise, and even the most unlikely candidates have a good chance at making the team and getting the girl. Guitar-strumming slacker Hunter Fahrenbach has made an art of blending into the background, but now desperate coaches are recruiting him and popular girls are noticing his scruffy good looks. With a little help, Hunter might even by boyfriend material... Down-to-earth Kelly Robbins has a simple wish for her junior year: "one normal, nice boy to crush on." Kelly and Hunter have always been friends, but is there something more to their platonic relationship? And can Kelly overcome the odds? After all, dating is hard enough without a four-to-one ratio

I picked up Bloodthirsty last year and despite hoping for a sequel featuring Luke pretending to be a werewolf (please?), this is not about that at all.

We have two points of view, a girl Kelly and a boy Hunter. And continuing with the theme of looking at guys differently. Kelly and Hunter's school goes through a Boy Recession. A large number of the already small male population of Julius P. Heil High School leave the school. To add insult to injury most of these are the older and sportier guys. So basically most the hot guys leave.

Which means that the less attractive guys now need to be viewed in a different light. Hilarity ensues.

I really liked both Kelly and Hunter as characters and they were realistic people. I was able to empathise with Kelly as someone who felt ignored by guys. Actually now that I think about it my highschool years were all like this. We had a class of twenty (small school) for our whole year level and about 6 or 7 of those were guys. And most of them I wouldn't want to date anyway because I remember what they were like as kids.

But moving on. Hunter is a slacker who likes music. And despite the fact that he really doesn't start off as great crush material, he changes throughout the story and by the time Kelly realises she's crushing on him, I kinda was too. Now all we need to do is wait until he's old enough to consent. LOL. Seriously he was a surprise, he had all the wit and snark that was great to read but he really was a slacker, he only started doing homework for the first time in the second half of the year.

My favourite moment, as the Boy Recession hits, Hunter and his friends get invited to a party with girls for the first time and this happens:

“I’ve been asking around to find out what girls are into,” Eugene tells me, really pleased with himself. “So I’m gonna get a spray tan and make red-velvet cupcakes.”

This is a cute, hilarious read from the author of Bloodthirsty. I know I'm looking forward to more from Meaney.

Currently Listening: Breakin’ Bones in ABC Order – Dropout Year