Anatomy of a Single Girl, by Daria Snadowsky

Author: Daria Snadowsky
Publisher: Delacorte BYR
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Format: Hardcover; 240 pages
Series: N/A
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Avg. Rating: ★★★★✩

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With Judy Blume-like honesty and insight, this sequel to Anatomy of a Boyfriend is about life after first love--romance, sex, friendship, family, and the ups and downs of life as a single girl. 

After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one. 

The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered. 

 But I couldn’t avoid my future forever. 

After reading Anatomy of a Boyfriend, I was thrilled to here that there would be a follow-up. This book is shorter than the first, but it covers less of a timeline than the first does. And it's just as enjoyable, if not more so.

One of the very first things that I noticed about the story was that the writing and Dom was much more mature. It was a small point that may not have been necessary but was definitely a welcomed change, considering that Dom is older and it makes sense that she would sound a little older. And I do like the change of romantic interests and romantical situations - it's not just something that was written to sound like a repeat of the first book. Guy was a surprise as I was thinking it was going to be about Dom's guy friend, but having Guy wasn't so much of a bad thing. And of course Dom's best friend Amy is included in this story and takes a more prominent role in the book.

There is a couple of things that kept me from absolutely loving this book, though they're not so bad. Even though a shorter story is sometimes a good thing, I found that I longed for more story in this case. I think if there was more story with maybe some more characters, or a side-plot or just SOMETHING extra, it would have made this story much more enjoyable.There were also a few situations that felt a little forced to me to keep the story moving along but, like I said, it's nothing that really took away from the whole story - it's just me being super picky.

Overall, this was a great follow-up to Snadowsky's first Anatomy book and I definitely enjoyed having the opportunity to read it.

Rating: ★★★★✩
Source: Netgalley

Daria Snadowsky is the author of the novels "Anatomy of a Boyfriend" and "Anatomy of a Single Girl." She also contributed the essay "To Sir Anthony, With Love," to the anthology "Crush: 26 Real-life Tales of First Love."  

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