My Best Friend, the Atlantic Ocean, and Other Great Bodies Standing Between Me and My Life with Giulio by Jane Harrington

Children's Literature

AGERANGE: Ages 12 to 18.

Meet high school freshman Delia, her best friend Brady, and the Italian exchange student, Giulio. Guilio happens to be Brady's boyfriend, but is Delia's potential husband. Delia has discovered that the average teenage relationship lasts only 34 days, meaning Giulio will be free to begin their courtship in a matter of days. Delia's story unfolds as she tries to fit managing the football team into hr schedule after she hears that Giulio played football in Italy. Of course, she does not realize that American and Italian football are quite different sports. Enter Richard, a football player trying to impress Delia. The tangle weaves in and out and finally unravels with everyone where they are supposed to be, and partnered with those they should be with. Harrington presents very believable exchanges between friends in high school, even with a potential discomfort level for Delia and some football players. The resolution is delightful and should be repeated at schools across the country! A perfect choice for a girls-only book club, or just for pleasure reading, though girls will appreciate this sequel to Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best-Friend Must Do in Europe more than boys. Reviewer: Elizabeth Young

VOYA

AGERANGE: Ages 12 to 18.

Delia wanted her best friend, Brady, to come home with a European hottie, but she did not expect Giulio to be Brady's boyfriend. Now she is patiently waiting for their relationship to end while positioning herself for her future life as Giulio's Italian bride. And so she finds herself the manager of the football team (not understanding that football in Italy is soccer), a costumed Rogue with a very serious group of X-Men, and a member of the Gender Neutral Alliance. All the while, she is trying not to feel bad that she fully intends to steal her best friend's boyfriend-after they break up. There are no surprises in this book. Delia keeps a journal in her English class-which is supposed to be a poetry journal but becomes a detailed record of her plan to become Guilio's girlfriend and the problems that ensue. The ending is predictable as is the trajectory of the plot and format. Delia's portrayal of herself is nothing more than a girl embracing her airheadness with something resembling pride. The other characters are stereotypes that are two dimensional-the girl jock, the European exchange student, the geeky football-player-turned-hero. Overall this book is chick-lit fluff, fun for some but done much better by Meg Cabot, Maureen Johnson, and Louise Rennison. Reviewer: Mary Ann Harlan
April 2008 (Vol. 31, No. 1)

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8- Reminiscent of Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging (HarperCollins, 2000), this follow-up to Harrington's Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best-Friend Must Do in Europe (Darby Creek, 2006) is sure to please fans. Delia must keep a poetry journal that no one will ever read for her freshman English class. This is where she divulges her secret love for her superjock best friend Brady's Euro-hottie boyfriend, Giulio. No problem; according to the Internet, the average teen relationship lasts 34 days. She can just wait it out. In the meantime, she keeps score for the football team, helps Brady figure out why she can't hit the baseball, dresses like Rogue from X-Men for Halloween, and attracts meathead football players because of her new push-up bra. Delia is solid and likable, and her voice is less self-absorbed and melodramatic than Georgia's. She resorts to humor when thinking becomes too much work, and her teen-drama observations are laugh-out-loud funny. Harrington incorporates just the right amount of adolescent lingo and technology. Side characters, like Brady and Giulio, are well developed, and the plot rescues itself from becoming mushy with clever wordplays. This is a fresh take on teen romance. Expect readers to beg for the next installment.-Richelle Roth, Wilmington Public Library, OH

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