It's Not Me, It's You

Gr 7 Up—Avery is blonde, popular, athletic, and smart. So is her boyfriend, who dumps her before their senior prom. Since Avery has always been the one to end relationships, she wants to interview her ex-boyfriends and figure out how such a horrible thing could have happened to her. She decides that this will also double as her oral history project, despite the teacher's protests that Avery's dating history doesn't meet the assignment requirements. The concept of soul-searching by looking at past partners has worked more successfully and humorously in other titles, such as John Green's An Abundance of Katherines. This story is formatted as an interview in which no one is asking actual questions. Avery flips between making editor's notes and joining in the conversation, resulting in a disjointed read and adding to the implausibility. The characters are largely stereotypes who don't receive much help from dated pop culture references. Readers might find it difficult to root for such a person.