Real Live Boyfriends: Yes. Boyfriends, plural. If my life weren't complicated, I wouldn't be Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver, #4)

by E. Lockhart

From E. Lockhart, author of the highly acclaimed, New York Times bestseller We Were Liars, which John Green called "utterly unforgettable," comes Real Live Boyfriends, the fourth book in the uproarious and heartwarming Ruby Oliver novels that finds Ruby Oliver as neurotic and hyperverbal as ever as she interviews her friends for a documentary on love and popularity and while doing so turns up some uncomfortable truths.

She’s lost most of her friends. She’s lost her true love more than once. She’s lost her grandmother, her job, her reputation, and possibly her mind. But she’s never lost her sense of humor. The Ruby Oliver books are the record of her survival.

• ISBN10: 0385734298
• ISBN13: 9780385734295
• Publish Date: 27 December 2011 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Ember
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780385734295

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

It's been quite a journey with Ruby, and I am so happy to have taken it with her. She grew so much, learned so much about herself and others, and was well on her way to developing and fostering healthy relationships. I am not going to pretend that I didn't want an epilogue or something at the end, but I did love that Ruby left us with one more list, and it brought a smile to my face.

It was wonderful getting to know you Ruby Oliver, and I will miss you.

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[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



When I originally picked up The Boyfriend List, I wasn't all that impressed. I found Ruby to be a bit annoying and one of those people who magnified her problems until they were insurmountable. I'm not sure why but I stuck with the series and it paid off. Maybe it was because she started out as a character I didn't love, that I enjoyed Real Live Boyfriends by e Lockhart as much as I did.

Ruby Oliver is a quirky kind of girl. Think Jess Day from New Girl. Ruby is finally getting to a stage in her life where she starts making decisions for herself and for what will make her happy. And really? Mad props for that because a lot of us go a lifetime without learning that skill.

I have to say I'm pretty proud of Roo in this book. When things start to head south she has normal reactions. She doesn't fall apart completely which was her old MO. Instead Ruby toughs out the hard stuff and while she does stumble around a bit, she still makes good choices. i have to say that my heart did hurt for both Roo and Noel. They both had a little growing up to do.

Overall, I'd have to say that the Ruby Oliver series was a good time investment. I enjoyed it and it made me giggle. if you're looking for a quick light read, this is the one you want.

[Jo]

I have just finished this book, the fourth in the Ruby Oliver series, and I am sad. Really sad. Sad with a capital S. It's the last book in the series, and I won't get to read about Ruby anymore. I feel like someone has died. I think I might have got too emotionally involved in these books.

Real Live Boyfriends is just as brilliant as the other novels in the series, but it's also different. It's a pretty sad book. Sure, the others in the series weren't exactly bright and breezy, but this is sad in a different way. There is still Ruby's amusing outlook and witty voice, her lists and her funky words, but sad and sometimes scary things happen, and it's different. Maybe slightly better.

Why? Well, Ruby gets with Noel at last. (At last!). But then he starts being all weird for no apparent reason, and things end up not so great. And then Ruby has another boyfriend. That's not a spoiler, see the title; Real Life Boyfriends - plural. Follow this by complications, warped views of things and confusion, and well, you have Ruby Oliver's life as we expect it. But more. Better. I can't ellaborate, you'll just have to read it.

And now no more Ruby! No more Doctor Z, no more Noel, no more nutty parents, no more Meghan or Nora or anyone else. Despite the fact that these books are fairly short, so in the great scheme of things, Ruby hasn't been in my life long, there was something about her voice, her therapy sessions with Doctor Z, her story that I fell in love with, that touched me. Despite the deceptive light, comedic seeming surface, so many serious things happen in these books, and with the therapy element, they actually made me, as well as Ruby, look at things differently. And I'm devastated they're finished! This is a seriously fantastic series, and one that will be with me for a long time. I cannot recommend this series enough!

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog

[Stephanie]

Ruby now has a real live boyfriend, Noel, and she is in love. That is until Noel stops calling her and answering her emails while he's on a trip to New York to visit his brother. When Noel gets back from New York, he acts like nothing is different, and tries to go on without explaining anything to Ruby. And that drives Ruby insane. Why wasn't he answering any of her phone calls? Why wasn't he emailing her back? Why was he ignoring her? And he has the audacity to act like nothing has happened? On top of that, Ruby's dad is depressed and not bathing, and Ruby's mom is experimenting with meat in the kitchen every night when she knows Ruby is a vegetarian.

This is the fourth and last of the Ruby Oliver books. All though it wasn't my favorite, it still had the Ruby Oliver humor to it that makes reading it just as enjoyable as the rest. When I first started reading, I really wished I read the first three over again to refresh my memory, but I didn't, so I was a little out of it in the beginning. Which may or may not have had an effect on how I felt about the book overall.

I really got annoyed by Ruby's mom. It seemed like Ruby and her mom switched places at times and her mom was the teen and Ruby was the mom. Ruby's dad is depressed after his mom (Rudy's Grandma) passed away and cries in his dinner and doesn't move away from the couch for days. The story involves a lot of sad characters (OK, maybe only 3 characters, but oh well). That's just what I remember the most. It seemed like the book had a sad atmosphere for the majority of the story. But then again, that's how life is, right? And the whole reason I love this series is because it's realistic enough that anyone can relate.

Real Live Boyfriends was a great ending to the Ruby Oliver series and I will be happy to reread the series as a whole next time.

Also, it really bugs me that this book cover does not match the rest of my books in this series. They just HAD to change the covers! Not that I don't like the new covers, I just don't like that this book doesn't match the rest of the books I own in this series.