The Next Door Boys

Today, I am doing a book review of a real book. This is a first for me. Sort of. AND my lovely wife Ann Marie (Ammii for fun) will also be doing the review. First, the book is The Next Door Boys, by Jolene Perry. It's an LDS romancy sort of book about a college girl. Why am I reviewing it? Because I wanted to finally read one of Jolene's books, and...well, you'll see.

Ammii and I had a conversation about this review the other day. It went something like this:

Ben:  Would you like to do the review on video?

Ammii:  Why?

Ben:  It would be funny. You could make fun of me.

Ammii:  Like "Ben likes chick books and romance?"

Ben:  Or when I admit that it made me cry.

Ammii:  *looks at Ben like he's crazy* It made you cry? *laughs*

Ben:  See? Now I've wasted that reaction. It would have been hilarious on video.

Ammii:  Oh, I could do it again. It really made you cry?

Ben:  *talking with his hands, as usual* Not really cry. Just, you know, a little extra water in my eyes. Maybe some throat, uh, spasms.

Ammii:  *laughs* You are such a girl.

But we're not quite ready to show our faces on video. (Also, it's more work.) And I hate listening to my own voice, so we're just going to pass the laptop back and forth and have a typed discussion. It's just like when one of us is upstairs and the other is downstairs and we have conversations on Facebook.

Ben:  What I liked about this book was, as mentioned, the emotional impact it had for me. What happened didn't surprise me, but how it made me feel did. Part of it was that Leigh is a well-developed narrator, but at the end, it was mostly that I could really relate to Brian, chicken that he is.

Ammii: Yes, Ben, you are a chicken. Just come out and say it. You LOVED all the mushy gushy stuff. Okay, so it really wasn't all that mushy gushy. It was a fun romance and the ending was great.

Ben:  Well, I wouldn't say I LOVED it. Not in capital letters, that's too strong.

Ammii:  I should have said ADORED.

Ben:  I'm not exactly in the target audience.

Ammii:  Yeah you are.

Ben:  Ahem. It's really a book for 1) young 2) Mormon 3) women. I meet only two of those criteria.

Ammii:  Maybe one and a half.

Ben:  Anyway, you're right in the target audience, aren't you?

Ammii:  Yes, all three. Definitely young. It's the perfect book for girls looking for clean, fun, romance that introduces them to the game of college dating.

Ben:  A game you know better than I. But we're getting off topic. Let's sum up by saying that we both enjoyed the book, and yes, I'm more of a romantic than my wife.

Ammii:  I'd recommend it to any teenage girl.

Ben:  And sensitive, good-looking, slightly-over-29 men who...

Ammii:  ...cry over hymns in church.

Ben:  Okay, we'd better stop. You can find more about The Next Door Boys here, along with links to buy it.

Comments

  1. Jolene PerryOctober 13, 2011 at 9:34 AM

    I'm dying laughing, and maybe (ahem) wiping tears, and having . . . throat spasms??
    OK. I'm laughing too hard to make this coherent.
    Ben, you rock.
    Ammi, you're awesome.
    you two together=hilarity.
    next time Mike and I are in town, we will stalk you down so we can get together.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kerri CuevOctober 13, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    You two are funny. I must go see what made Ben cry, lol. I bet you and Ammi watch chick flicks together.Lol. Thanks for the fun today :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kelly BrysonOctober 13, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    That's so funny. How cute. Ben, this explains why you liked my book, I think;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Krista Van DolzerOctober 13, 2011 at 1:22 PM

    You two are hilarious! I bet you make great dinner party guests:) Actually, you remind me of my home teachers my sophomore year of college. One wrote for Divine Comedy (BYU's skit comedy troupe), and the other acted in it. They played off each other so well. For once, home teaching was actually fun:)

    This definitely makes me want to read Jolene's book (and do a post with Honey Bear on my blog).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jenny S. MorrisOctober 13, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    This is the funniest book review! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jaimie TeekellOctober 13, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    Haha, I am so not a romantic. It's always weird to see guys who are. I'm an anomaly like they are, except... a more negatively-viewed anomaly.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SpendloveOctober 13, 2011 at 5:52 PM

    Oh, he cries at everything.

    ReplyDelete
  8. TrishaOctober 13, 2011 at 9:28 PM

    Nice review - I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Angela CothranOctober 14, 2011 at 8:25 AM

    You two are hilarious :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. RuthOctober 28, 2011 at 8:42 AM

    Actually, Jaimie, guys who are romantic and gals who are not are not the anomaly. Studies have shown (no, really!) that guys approach relationships with their hearts, and girls with their [undamaged] brains.

    ReplyDelete

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