Chasing Boys by Karen Tayleur

El had to change schools. It's been over a year and she's still not completely sure about it. She's holding out the hope that it is just temporary. That she'll be back in her old house, her old school, her old life asap. Meanwhile, she'll hold herself over with her secret (at least to him...or maybe not even to him) love Eric, her two friends Margo and Desi, and not talking to Leonard.

El is clearly depressed. It seems to be getting worse. Especially after Eric begins dating Angelique, a smart, nice, and gorgeous girl that El knows is clearly above her in every way. El begins to feel even more alienated from her life.

There is a lot to like in this book. El, for the most part is a great narrator. The chapters are short and kind of spare, they convey emotions precicely. El is a smart girl, even if she seems somewhat obtuse about the reality of Eric. The story has a nice arc and a believable resolution and there are a couple of plot twists, one which is clearly coming, the other which is not.

If I were talking to Leonard, which I'm not, I would ask him a question. "Leonard," I would say, "what sort of person makes up a rumor for the sheer pleasure of making someone else unhappy?" Then Leonard would look at me and clear his throat and do that tapping thing with his foot and I would get so annoyed that I wouldn't stay around for his answer. That's the trouble with Leonard. He's just so damn annoying.

My biggest complaint isn't actually about the writing at all. It is about the title and the cover. It isn't representative of the story at all. El is neither a chaser of boys nor is her story a chick-lit romp which, to me at least, the title and cover imply.