Book Review: A Good Boy Is Hard To Find by Suzanne Young

SUMMARY:

It's the semester leading up to the state championships, and the Smitten Kittens have admitted their former nemesis Chloe Ferril to the squad. So when the cheerleaders are exposed as the SOS (their secret spy identity) and humiliated by the football team, they have to wonder: Is Chloe a true kitten or a saboteur?

Head cheerleader Tessa Crimson must again tease out the truth while navigating her own less than strawberry smoothie love life. Should the squad continue to catch cheating boyfriends and bring them to justice? Or have they really been using sleuthing as a romantic crutch?


OPINION: 5 STARS

As with the previous two books in this set, A Good Boy Is Hard To Find maintains the same bold voice, quirky characters, and mix of fun and serious. Tessa is back , working to handle things after the closing of So Many Boys. Between her cheerleading, the Smitten Kittens, and the continued drama with Aiden, she has a lot on her plate. The substitute swear words continue, a few new ones even being added in that provide an extra element of entertainment. From dealing with panty hose to Empire Strikes Back!, Young continues to add spark and flare.

Tessa continues to be peppy and positive, even when things seem out of control. A pyramid mishap resulting in an ankle injury throws a new hurdle at her but true to her style and character, Tessa continues to strive for perfection and keep everyone else upbeat. With her captain’s title in question, and things with Kira still tense, Young finds plenty of new ways to challenge her main character- and Tessa holds up to the pressure, and continues to show strong personal and social growth and development from the start of The Naughty List.

Aiden is fighting to set things right and handling himself and the situation in surprising ways. At times when the reader expects Aiden to show he doesn’t and other times he comes out of nowhere. His character is as strong as in the previous two novels, and Aiden also shows tremendous personal growth in this book. He, along with other returning characters, will again make the reader change their opinions on them, showing once again Young’s incredible writing ability and connection to the readers. Chloe, in particular, plays a surprising and well thought out role in this book, building on the twisty character we've met previously.

The plot has a few surprising twists and new elements, some of which were certainly needed and maybe predicted and others completely unexpected. Young brings up old story lines and characters and inserts new ones, tying everything up by the end in a fantastic way. Her writing is as bold and brilliant as before, setting the same upbeat mood despite the situation which adds to the tremendous voice she puts into Tessa. A Good Boy Is Hard To Find is a great ending to The Naughty List series, tying things up that So Many Boys left the reader with and settling things across the board.

Details:
Source: Manuscript received from author
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: November 25, 2010
Pages: 256

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