"Manicpixiedreamgirl" by Tom Leveen

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Leveen, T. Manicpixiedreamgirl. New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books. 2013. Print. ISBN: 9780375870057. Hardcover. $16.99.

Annotation: Tyler Darcy is pining for the quirky, aloof Becky Webb; something about her is just so alluring, even if he doesn’t have the courage to say so to her face. Of course, the situation is slightly more complicated by the fact that Tyler has a girlfriend of two years, Sydney, who is not as clueless as he hopes she is.

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Why do we fall in love with the people that we do? Tyler Darcy doesn’t really have an explanation for why he’s in love with Becky Webb; he just has, since the moment he laid eyes on her, been completely obsessed with her. She’s beautiful, sure, but there’s just something about her that he can’t get enough of, and he works for three years through high school to get closer to her and just know this girl. Of course, his girlfriend, Sydney, isn’t exactly thrilled by it, and neither are his best friends, because all of them know Becky isn’t the amazing, perfect princess that Tyler’s writer mind has created her to be…

This book is awesome because it tackles unrequited love from the male perspective. It’s told in alternating time settings between present day and the past, and gradually the story comes together like a puzzle. There are no bad guys in this story; Tom Leveen created lovable characters in the clueless Tyler, charismatic Sydney, goofy best friends, and the hopeless, broken Becky. We watch all of their relationships evolve, and it’s hard to pick who to root for, because just like real life, not all of them are going to get the happy ending. 

Watch the book trailer for Manicpixiedreamgirl!