Boy Crazy: A Fun Summer Novel About a Pact with Best Friends, Ten Kisses, and Complicated Drama

by Hailey Abbott

How to Date Like a Guy:

1. Flirt constantly.

2. Keep your options open.

3. Don't get attached.

Cassie and her two best friends, Greta and Keagan, are so over boyfriends. But just because the girls are anti-boyfriend doesn't mean they're anti-boy. So they make a pact for the summer: They'll each kiss ten different guys before school starts—no commitments, no drama, just fun. Sounds easy enough. Then Cassie meets the perfect guy (nine boys too soon), and the pact starts to seem like a terrible idea. Not to mention Boy Number One turns out to be her best friend's ex. Ugh—Cassie's summer just went from carefree to complicated faster than she can say "heartbreaker."

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Summer, Teen, Summer Reads

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2009

About the author

Hailey Abbott grew up in Southern California, where she split her time between creative writing and creative beaching. She is the author of Summer Boys, Next Summer: A Summer Boys Novel, The Bridesmaid, Getting Lost with Boys, and The Secrets of Boys. Hailey now lives in New York City.

Her first book was Summer Boys, published in 2004, the first of a series. It was described as "escapist beach reading" by the School Library Journal.

Reviews

[karla pérez cué · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will give three stars and I will explain my self why.

I'm a person that loves happy ending the guys ends up with the boy. For me, that is the only reason I read. I like to believe in happy endings.

Second: I'm a person that DISLIKES not knowing how the book is going to end. I like to know they end together, together.

I read a lot of time a head to know what happens =D

* THIS MAY SEEM AS SPOILER *
Soo.. In this book I was in half of it and I started realizing that she goes to boarding school and that when summer ends she will not see him again. I read the last chapter maybe I miss important information like maybe she stays or what ever.
But in one part when they are finally together she says something like : "to bad school starts in a couple of days."
That mean they won't be together, together. I lost complete my interest in the book


I like the author but not one of the best. Her "spoilers" (back page of the book) really seems to be something Wow, but I don't know. I still like the character is just the ending I have a problem with..






** END NO MORE SPOILER **

I just didn't like the ending that much. But I like the plot it deserve 3 stars

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Cassie just got home from boarding school where her ex-boyfriend broke her heart. She's not ready to dive into summer.

But her two best friends she hasn't seen in forever have a plan. They're going to spend the summer dating boys - and NOT get tied down. Each of them must kiss ten boys during the summer.

Cassie has the perfect summer job, giving biking tours on an island, but she and her friends go out at night to relax. Gretta and Keagan start off just fine and Cassie gets into the plan - until she meets one particular boy.

At first she tests him, but soon he breaks down her barriers and she agrees to go on a date with him. Despite the warning from her friends, Cassie soon finds herself tied down.

Now she's ditching her friends to be with her secret boyfriend, and her summer's gone from carefree to stressful. Can she bring her two worlds together as one or will she have to choose between them?

I loved this book. It's a great summer romance that makes you feel the sun and is filled with drama, boys, and having a good time.

[Fierymermaidbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

the entire book was amazing but the wrap up was too fast for me

[Trinity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The only reason I didn't really give this book 5 stars is because the beginning was just a little too coy for me. It seemed as though this was going to be a retarded book but I really ended up liking it much more than I thought I would after reading the first chapter.

-Cassie
I liked Cassie's character a lot. I liked how she was around Trey, she seemed like a real person around him other than what she was supposed to be acting like when she was trying to get a kiss from the random guys.

-Greta
Greta was a nice character to read, she always spoke her mind and was a very strong character of herself. I respect that she didn't want another heartbreak like her old one so she didn't want to fall in love. It was a relief reading a character like this one.

-Keagan
I was surprised that she was the one who the mentioned the most when she made out with someone other than Greta. She wasn't really a big character but they were all funny.

-Trey
Trey is really cute. The romance with them was adorable. I love how they always teased each other, it was really cute. I wish the romance went sooner than it did between them though.

Overall, this was a nice cute read. I would recommend this if you want a cute contemporary read and a few laughs. This book made me cry just a little, around the ending but it was an affordable read that didn't take long to finish.

[Katrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really like it.

I thought the characters were a wee bit overdone. /shudder/
There were also a lot of Hollywood references going on and the plot wasn't all that appealing to me even if I reached my first 50 pages. I also thought the writing style was a bit off. I couldn't describe exactly, but there were too much unnecessary details given out, which annoys me a lot.

I thought about putting the book down and stop reading it, but my patience won. Even if I did finish the book, it was disappointing.

It did have potential though, and Hailey Abbot could do much better than this. I just know it.

1/5 star

[Nicole Ciaramella · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters were vapid and shallow. The book was overly predictable and it seemed to be simply a list of brand names and Hollywood name dropping that isn't relatable to 99.9% of girls in the target audience.

[Samantha Silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a decent read for it being so short.
Girl comes back home after getting her heart broken at boarding school. To playing a silly game with her friends which in turn you see it coming that one of them falls in love with a cute boy. Who may or may not be boarder line stalker lmao

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first the plot interested me because it seemed exciting and different. But it still ended with a sappy perfect and unrealistic fairytale happy ending which I just can't stomach.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, very dry and boring at some parts but overall a okay novel.

[jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, summer romance. Not the best, but I did thoroughly enjoy it. It was veryyyyy cliched which was not something I was happy about. But it followed suit to a cute story.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I really enjoyed the romance, but I read it on vacation, so I was on the road and couldn't freak out about it with my family peeking over my shoulder grrr!

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little teen romance book.

[Isabella Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute!!

[Jaclyn Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

In consideration of it being meant for ages from middle school to high school, I give this book a 4.5. It was interesting and kept my interest, along with it being a quick and easy read.

[Scrill · Rating 1 out of 5]

"She was refilling her drink from the keg out back when she noticed that one of the guys standing nearby was checking her out. Cassie loved how good that made her feel."

This book was awful on multiple levels.

1. Gateway-This book is about a few girls that decide they are going to kiss a bunch of boys over the summer. Basically they figure that since boys treat them like dirt and flirt around, that it's perfectly fine for them to treat them the same way. While there is nothing entirely wrong with being single and having fun. I feel like this book (being targeted towards young girls) is essentially teaching them that its okay to be with strangers as long as you're having fun. But really, their lives were still focused around these boys, going out and finding someone just to hook up with them. Why? to make themselves feel better? Yeah...like that's the answer.

2. Shallow-Like I pointed out in my quote from the book, a lot of it was about how much the girls felt good about being checked out. As if you actually need confirmation that you are worth anything just because some guy is checking you out. What is it about girls needing to feel checked out? And on top of that, every time they were being checked out, it was because they were scantily dressed in "dresses that probably started as a tunic top". Let's be real, you don't have to wear scraps of clothing in order to look beautiful, even if you do need the confirming eyeing from head to toe.



3. Codependence-On their journey to kissing through summer, the girls don't learn to be their own person. The entire time, Cassie is working on being someone that she's not. Wearing clothes that she doesn't normally wear, saying things she wouldn't say, and going to clubs she wouldn't normally go to. Instead of being her own person post break-up she latches on to her friends as a crutch to feel good.

4. Unrealistic-Where are the parents in this book? They mention them in passing, but really where are they? Here are these 17 year old girls going to parties and clubs all through summer. How are they getting into these clubs? Who pays for all their shit? How is this 17 year old girl just driving around in a convertible BMW? Maybe it's because I'm solid in middle class, but, really how are the majority of readers going to relate to this?

5. Lacks substance-Okay with roughly 200 pages you think you would get a little bit more in the story besides: how cute this guy is and what he's wearing, this is the food I'm eating, this is the description of some famous place in LA. The underlying theme, besides it's okay to slut it up without being shamed, is "honesty is the best policy". A tried, but true tale of not lying to your friends. Big whoop.

[Patti K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where to start...well, to be fair, I'm going to review this as a YA book. The characters are young and the plot fits for that category. In that respect, the writing itself was decent and I can't complain. It wasn't too much trope and had some maturity.

However, I have a major gripe that prevents me from giving this anything more than 3 stars. I did like it. But I hate that the story detailed kids underage drinking and doing drugs, partying, going to clubs with fake IDs, doing whatever they want with no real influence from parents. Oh, and then it basically glosses over sex. WHAT? Seriously? A girl loses her virginity and it barely got a page or two, but there are details about numerous parties. That makes me think that the author is actually a teenage virgin. No joke. Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. But that's what I think when I read a story like this: the author has no point of reference to talk about it.

It also kind of bugged with the whole 'friends' thing, which I guess was the point of the story, right? Ho's before bro's? Isn't that the One Tree Hill thing? I can't really remember, it's been so long. Don't lie to your friends? I don't know. I wasn't so sure they were great friends in the first place, any of them. They barely knew each other anymore. Childhood history is what made them still friends, but for all intents and purposes, they weren't anymore. In a way, I wasn't sure Cassie owed her 'friends' anything. How solidly had they been there for her? Maybe it's because I've had the same best friend since I was 10 and in those crucial high school years, we were inseparable. It wasn't until our later years when we struggled to maintain what we'd always had, and at that time, life had intruded. We got all that here but these girls were in high school. And that makes very little sense to me.

Those are the things I didn't like about this story. It read like a brochure for Catalina and for LA but ignored a monumental sexual experience in a girl's life like she'd just had her first mocha latte and not lost her virginity. It's not always terrifying for every single person, but jeez, at least treat it like it was important. Maybe I'm just too old to read this author's work and appreciate it for what it is: a truly YA story. I'm sure the target audience will love it. It reminded me a little of the Sweet Valley High stuff I read as a teenager. Loved it when I was young (READ: inexperienced) enough to appreciate it. I'd be wary of recommending this to a girl who wasn't mature enough to handle adult material, mostly because it seems to praise underage partying and gloss over the impact that being sexually active has on a teenager.

[Justis Bazinet · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.7

[Audrey (thebookanalyst) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Boy Crazy
Author: Hailey Abbott
Genre: YA fiction
Publishing Information: 304 pages; April 28th, 2009 by Harper Teen
Series: Stand alone

Where I got it: E-book from the library

One sentence: For their first summer reunited, Cassie and her best friends Greta and Keagan decide to switch things up and leave commitments at the door as they dare each other to kiss ten different boys by the end of the summer; the only problem? Cassie may have met the perfect guy way too soon.

Themes: Romance, summer, bet, boys, high school

Main character: 2.5/5
It wasn’t that Cassie was a completely unlikable main character; on the contrary, I enjoyed her point of view immensely. I simply wished Abbott had given me more background on her, or at least developed Cassie into a multi-layered character. For what the novel was, Cassie was a very relatable character who represented a wide cross-section: a girl who liked to have fun, but was a little intimidated by the ten boys proposition.

Secondary characters: 2/5
Keagan and Greta similarly seemed very one-sided: both seem to conform to a certain stereotypes whether it was the control-freak or the flirty girl. I think the novel would have taken on that higher level if the characters had been more developed. Trey seemed slightly more complex, but insincere at times and just lacking a general likeability.

Writing style: 3/5
While the writing style wasn’t especially mature, it was easy to read and the pacing was fast enough to keep my attention, but not so fast that I was completely lost. The dialogue was down-to-earth and realistic, and made it an enjoyable style.

Plot: 3/5
A cute but overdone premise. I enjoyed the twists and turns, but there was really nothing I hadn’t seen before. Some of the background info was lost and more was needed to complete the story and make some things logical.

Ending: 4/5
Different than I expected. The entirety of the book had been very predictable, so the ending was surprisingly innovative and mature.

Best scene: The scene at the club

Positives: Relatable main character, sufficient writing style and plot, ending

Negatives: Nothing spectacular or special, boring and unlikeable secondary characters

First Line: “I declare this a ten-boy summer!”

Cover: Cute; definitely fits with the beachy-read look.

Verdict: A fun, if predictable, summer beach read; light-hearted and carefree.

Rating: 5.8 / 10

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hailey Abbott's "Boy Crazy" is a quite a YA guilty pleasure read if one could label it, but to be honest, I thought it could be a lot better than what it was for the lesson it was trying to teach. Cassie is a girl out with her friends for the summer of her life. After making a pact with her friends to see who could kiss the most guys in a "single ladies" summer, Cassie finds her plan compromised when she meets Trey, a bad boy with a "love her and leave her" past. She not only falls head over heels in love with him, but also starts to date him in secret despite her friends' warnings. And you could probably guess what kind of collateral damage that would lead to.

Let me first highlight some of the strengths of the book before I get into the negatives - there's a fully realized conflict and when the predicted collateral damage occurs, it doesn't come without weight. Cassie is a young woman determined to make things work out, and is torn between her friends and the guy she really wants to be with. The story does come full circle, and without spoiling the ending (though you can probably guess what happens), it's tied up rather well. However, there were many things about the book that slowed me down in completing it. For one, there are WAY too many pop culture and Hollywood references in this book. It weighted down the story significantly and there were many times I had to put the book down and come back to it because I felt the author name dropped too much. It's one thing to have a few references to clothing, music, TV series and the like, because it creates what the character loves, but there were times, especially in the early part of the book, where it wasn't needed. Also, with respect to the whole "kissing ten boys" part of the book, the author walks you through each kiss that Cassie undertakes - a total of four, not counting Trey. I thought that several part of the book could've been slimmed down to hit the points of the conflict much quicker than what the author played out. Still, I think after reflecting over the book's pros and cons, it's a decent story, just one that took a little too long to get to its heart.

Overall score: 2/5

[Brianna V · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hesitant to start reading Boy Crazy by Hailey Abbott because I wasn’t sure if it would have the components in what I look for in a good read. The novel was about three best friends taking on the summer of a lifetime. After wanting to leave heartbreaks and drama behind in the school year. Cassie, Greta and Keagan decide to create a pact. It entailed each of them having to kiss 10 boys by the end of summer, which left them enough time to not catch feelings for the boy and move on to another . Cute boys are all around the girls at their summer jobs, parties and exclusive clubs. All the girls were on board. The book brings you on their glamorous and super fun journey on encountering boys while finding themselves, but will they escape the drama and heartbreak?
This was such a great book. At first the title and idea of the book almost seemed cliche. But it was certainly the farthest thing from it, the author takes such an original and ingenious take on a teen summer fling novel. The author is such a great writer and I truly admired her creative ways of writing while reading. She uses a lot of references to pop culture and personally when she mentioned my absolute favorite tv series and its actors and characters it was so unexpected, it got me feeling very enthusiastic about reading on. It was all very exciting. It was simple finding individual parts of each character to connect to. I saw myself in each character at different point in the story . This is a great book for any teenage girl on the look out for a clear-cut novel that includes comedy, crushing and fun!

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book !!! Just addicting and incredible !! I wish the ending was different,we didn't see so much at all!!I love it!!This book reminds me the song "I Love It" by Icona Pop!! I adored Cassie's best friend!!Now,it's time to discuss the whole Trey thing !!Just damn it!!I was expecting a weird connection between Greta and Trey,because of the negative thoughts and opinion Greta had about Trey.At the end I proved that I was right.The one thing that I want so badly to know if Cassie and Trey are still together after the summer,you know,if they together at the school season!!I want really bad to know much more things that the writer of this book gave us !!After all,this book was what I was looking for,a break from the dystopia worlds and a madly romantic college summer story!!Really quick-paged !!Recommend this for all the girls at other !!

SPOILERS

(The ending was so...cheesy,cute and incredible)

«So…” Trey said, looking down at her, as he toyed with the front of her hair. “About this ten-boy summer.” His eyebrows crept up his forehead. “Exactly how well did you do?”
Cassie let out some of that happiness in her laughter, and then allowed herself a one hundred percent Greta smile.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she teased him.
It might not have been the summer she’d planned, or thought she wanted, but Cassie couldn’t think of a better ending.»

[Abisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good start off to the many books I will be reading this summer. There wasn't anything that I hated in the book except for those occasionally douche moment Trey had but there was only one that really ticked me off. Reading this book all in on day either meant it was an easy and amusing read (that's tends to be all the summer books I read) or it was pretty AMAZING. I feel the fact on how you find out Greta was the girl that he "played", there was either a typo on it came in the summary or you were just suppose to know and just read her reaction. So on to my next point connecting to this on there wasn't really any surprises in this book. Normally when a guy has a past of being a player I would fall in love with him, but for Trey noting was really that special. So I wasn't really in love with him.

Favourite Character: I would have to say.... Greta. She was just such a strong willed character that was so lovable.
Favourite Scene/ Quote:
Overall Rating: 3 stars. Just average.


I feel all Hailey Abbot's books are always gonna be a quick summer read. Noting to heavy that I would be obsessed
Will still read more of her books just won't expected them to be that amazing.

[Jordan W · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this book is really good it has different plots than others books ive read. the plot of this book is that Cassie and her two friends are done with boys so they decide to kiss ten boys by the end of the summer. but Cassie has a little problem with this she finds a boy then falls completely in love with him but the best part is that this boy is her best friends ex. My favorite character is Cassie so changed a lot from a no boy hater to a i love boys attitude. That is why i like her so much because she completely turned her personality around for her boyfriend. Cassie is a California sporty girl she loves riding bikes in fact she works at a bike store during the summer giving tours. When school starts Cassie goes back down to her school in the cold. But shes a true California girl at heart. I liked this book but it was a little detailed about how Cassie and her friends thought about the boys they liked. Also this book skips around a lot it will be telling one story and then all of a sudden its a couple days latter that is my only dislikes about this book. overall if you like romance books this is the book for you.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book it starts off with three friends, they are done with ridiculous boys. So they make a pact, to kiss as many boys as possible, or at least ten boys. They aren't suppose to fall in love with any of the guys to insure that they get their "goal" by the end of the summer. When the main character, Cassie, goes off to complete her goal the first boy she tries to kiss is a guy who works for her mother's friends at Billy's Bikes. His name is T.J. and of course she falls for him. She doesn't tell her friends about her falling for this guy, because she would fail at the pact and she knew that they would hate her for it. So she goes on finding guys, at clubs, parties, and coffee shops. When T.J. finds out that she is "playing" him, he ignores her and it's a whole ordeal.

This is one of my favorite books because we have all wanted to know what it's like to be a guy and "date around" and have people praise you for it. This book pretty much gives you what every girl is thinking, but of course we shouldn't do this because it would end very badly!

[Dafina]

What i learned from this book was many things but there was 1 thing that stood out to me. The thing that stood out to me was that you shouldn't lie to your FRIENDS. Because the truth is going to come around some time. And it is better to tell the truth then face it when it comes out by someone else. You shouldn't be hiding things from your friends because if your hiding things from them, then who else are you going to be able to tell your secrets to? I think Cassie learneed her lesson in the book for not telling her firends that she is going out with Trey. If she had told her friends from the beginning they wouldn't have gotten in a big fight infront of everyone at the party. But also Greta should have told Cassie that she was the girl that Trey dumped for Junior Prom. So the truth is going to come out someway sooner or later. So the best thing to do is tell the truth from the beginning because if your friends are really true friends then they will understand.

[Pamela Hubbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a good mindless beach read every once in awhile :) I'll admit that I mostly read these books for the setting. I love books set in Southern California or other beach towns. The setting conjures up so many good memories of vacations, summer time and friends (the carefree days).
In this story, Cassie is home from boarding school for the summer and reunites with her two childhood best friends. All three of them have suffered heartbreak and are ready for some fun. They decide to have a "ten boy summer" where they have to kiss 10 boys and not get emotionally involved with anyone. The story is told in a lighthearted way, but things get problematic when Cassie starts to fall for a guy who has a history of being a player. As hard as she tries, she can't get rid of him. He relentlessly pursues her, coming out to Catalina where she leads bike tours, and she gives him a chance. This risk affects her friendships and she wonders if she has made a mistake with her heart again.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read two Hailey Abbott books and neither of them disappointed me (Getting lost with boys and Flirting with Boys) even though in both books it took me awhile to actually open the book and read it, and, I have totally underestimated them and now this is the third book I have read, that she has wrote, and, once again I waited awhile before I started to read it and... IT WAS AH-MA-ZING! Seriously once I picked up this book (or any of the other 2 books I'v read by Hailey Abbott) I couldn't stop until I had finished it!

When I say that I always sort of put it on hold before I read any of her books is because the blurb is always kinda boring but once again, underestimated and I also think its now ritual for that to happen or just plain lazy.

All in all if you want a light but somehow deeply romantic, cute summer read then read any of Hailey Abbotts books especially this one!

[Danielle Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4/5 stars*
I am not sure when I read this. I think I read this book when I was in 6th grade. Yes. Really. And now, I'm going to be a sophomore in a matter of days.. well, that's me. Everyone probably knows that I am a sucker for happy endings and all. This book was awesome! I, too, am a sucker when it comes to best friends' friendship. I've always liked those kind of stories where there's this girl and her best friend, then best friend dates someone, broke up, and girl likes ex-boyfriend. Problem? Well, he's an ex-boyfriend of her best friend. Yeah, I am a sucker for those stories. I just love them! I have read mix reviews of this book. Some hate it, some loved it. But, I'm more of a lover of this book. This is just a perfect short Summer read for me, though I didn't read this in the Summer.. >.> And, I must say, the title fits me perfectly... Hahaha. Kidding! XD

[Sandra Strange · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel's a cute story about three friends who determine to "date like boys," kissing 10 boys over the summer vacation without commitments or emotional involvement. The protagonist (one of the three), however, is reluctantly drawn into a real relationship--with a guy who treated one of the other two friends very shabbily! Why do I object to this book? Well, the premise is bad enough--a lot of making out with guys who are almost strangers. The consequences of the protagonist's crush is totally amoral--sleeping with the guy for her "first time" even though they're not committed to each other, with no negative consequences, nor any kind of real value to this decision--socially correct in this amoral teen culture. Though the sex is handled tastefully (not very explicit), don't read it or encourage anyone else to read it. The values are totally unrealistic about the meaning and consequences of sexuality.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cassie and her 2 best friends are in California for summer. They vow to not have summer boyfriends. But that doesn't stop them from meeting hot guys. They have to find 9+ guys to kiss. Cassie finds the perfect boy, 9 boys too early, but Greta doesn't approve of him.
I can make a text to text connection, in Private by Kate Brian, Reed falls in love with Thomas, but behind her back Arianna is trying to break them up by scaring her. Arianna and Greta are a like in many ways, and so is Cassie and Reed.
I gave this book 5 stars. Hailey Abbott is a really good author. Her books are funny and they entertain girls. I would recommend this book to anyone (Girl, not being sexist). But if a boy wants to read this, and learn about girls and what they like, go ahead. :D