Why I read it: I picked up a
review copy at NetGalley.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads):
Anna remembers a time before boys,
when she was little and everything made sense. When she and her mom were a
family, just the two of them against the world. But now her mom is gone most of
the time, chasing the next marriage, bringing home the next stepfather. Anna is
left on her own—until she discovers that she can make boys her family. From
Desmond to Joey, Todd to Sam, Anna learns that if you give boys what they want,
you can get what you need. But the price is high—the other kids make fun of
her; the girls call her a slut. Anna's new friend, Toy, seems to
have found a way around the loneliness, but Toy has her own secrets that
even Anna can't know.
Then comes Sam. When Anna actually meets a boy who is more than just
useful, whose family eats dinner together, laughs, and tells stories, the truth
about love becomes clear. And she finally learns how it feels to have something
to lose—and something to offer. Real, shocking, uplifting, and stunningly
lyrical, Uses for
Boys is a story of breaking down and growing up.
Warning: There is a sexual assault in the story – it isn’t violent
but if you have triggers, beware.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I would categorise this as YA rather than
romance, although there is a romantic thread near the end and there is a
hopeful ending, the book is more about Anna’s journey, so don’t expect the
traditional romance arc. (For example,
the “hero”, Sam, doesn’t show up until around the 2/3 mark of the book.) The story is told from Anna’s first person
POV and I wasn’t quite sure how reliable she was as narrator – at least in
relation to her relationship with her mother. Perhaps it is that I don’t want
to belief that her mother could be that self-absorbed and selfish. Perhaps it is that there is some
inconsistency with how Anna’s mother acts toward the end of the book and what
Anna tells the reader about her at the start.
