How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-boyfriend

Janette Rallison
Putnam Juvenile (2007)
ISBN 9780399246173
Reviewed by Erin Keith (age 17) for Reader Views (4/07)

Who doesn’t love a little competition? Giovanna Petrizzo seemed to; at least she did until it caused her to lose the boy of her dreams. Her brother, Dante, decides to run for class president against the mayor’s son and in a heat-of-the-moment incident Giovanna breaks up with her boyfriend Jesse because he is supporting the opponent’s side.  Now she has no boyfriend and the whole school thinks she is a criminal because of a political statement gone wrong. 

Soon after, she regrets the break up and goes on a mission to get Jesse back. She goes on some of the craziest dates, dealing with everything from boring jocks to cheapskates and guys with gambling problems all in an attempt to make Jesse jealous. What she doesn’t realize is that this fails to make Jesse jealous, instead it just makes him wish that things would go back to the way they were.  This aspect of the book was pretty entertaining. When everything seems to be falling apart and Giovanna feels like she will be dateless for the rest of her life, things take an unexpected turn and turn out pretty good. Readers will root for Giovanna and her mission throughout the story.

If you like some romance along with a good comedy, “How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-boyfriend” is a great novel. I would recommend this for ages twelve and up.

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