Book Review: ‘Red Girl, Blue Boy’ by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Bloomsbury’s contemporary If Only romance line is very hit or miss. Red Girl, Blue Boy completely missed the mark; not only that, but it obliterated anything that bore even a slight resemblance to the mark, leaving cheese and shudders in its wake. I initially thought nothing could mess up a cute romance with politics, but turns out I was wrong. No matter how hard I tried to like the characters or the dialogue, I just couldn’t get over the fact that Katie and Drew seemed like immature elementary school kids playing pretend. (Honestly, what sixteen year old says “Yippee!” or uses High School Musical to justify their actions?)

Sixteen year old Katie and Drew are destined to be mortal enemies. Her father is the republican nominee for President of the United States, and Drew’s mother is at the top of the Democratic ticket. But fate intervenes by throwing them together in a joint interview on a morning talk show, and there’s something that resembles cheese more like chemistry between them. With an entire nation tuned in and taking sides in their parent’s fight, how can they fall in love with each other?

Katie and Drew are the most unrealistic characters I’ve come across in a while. My issues with both of these characters is that they don’t seem sixteen, and I should know because I’m sixteen… Katie is naive to the point that she doesn’t know what a landline phone is, but she still manages to call herself a brilliant political analyst. She doesn’t seem like a teenager; some of her mannerisms make her seem much older, but at the core, Katie still seems like a ridiculously bratty kid. As for Drew, he’s one of those boys who complains about the two P’s: parents and privilege. How he manages to fall for Katie is astounding.

Honestly, Red Girl, Blue Boy is just another one of the romance novels that botches up what seems like a really fun plot. If you can get over the incessant whining of the characters and their really annoying dialogue, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this novel. But my recommendation is just to skip reading this book and turn to a more interesting read instead, one with characters who actually act their age instead of acting like ten year olds.

Rating: 3 out of 10
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (October 20th, 2015)
ISBN #: 9781619635005
Length: 304 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Netgalley