The Cute Girl Network by Greg Means, MK Reed, and Joe Flood
Review by Lauren
copy sent for review; all opinions are my own
Official Summary: Jane’s new in town. When she wipes out on her skateboard right in front of Jack’s food cart, she finds herself agreeing to go on a date with him. Jane’s psyched that her love life is taking a turn for the friskier, but it turns out that Jack has a spotty romantic history, to put it mildly. Cue the Cute Girl Network — a phone tree information-pooling group of local single women. Poor Jane is about to learn every detail of Jack’s past misadventures… whether she wants to or not. Will love prevail?
Review: This graphic novel has a very interesting premise! Imagine being a guy who has dated a variety of girls, with some not-so-great outcomes…but then you find a new girl in town you would love to go out with, but your exes are determined to affect your chances. That’s the idea behind The Cute Girl Network. These ladies think they are doing a service to other girls. They don’t want girls like them to end up dating a loser of a guy, that will only lead to trouble and/or heartache. Despite their good intentions, Jane knows what she wants in a guy and isn’t afraid to take chances.
While Jane continues talking to Jack, she experiences some of his “stupid moments” where he can’t think of the right word or he tries to skate without a board, but it’s the other girls in the network that really paint a bad portrait of Jack. He comes across as dumb, forgetful, and just not worth the effort. Everyone admits he’s not a bad guy, per se, but he’s also not worth dating.
Throughout the book, I found myself on opposite ends concerning whether I liked it or not. I was always curious to learn what would happen next and what choice Jane would make. However, a lot of the things that Jack does are a bit crazy and I kept trying to imagine going out with a guy like him. It was difficult, let me say. As the book continued though, I began to realize that this book is a great example of how you can’t dictate who a person likes. You might see the bad in a person, but somebody else may be okay with those faults and decide to focus on all the good.
In the end, I did enjoy this one. I thought it was amusing, and I liked the detailed black and white drawings. I thought it was great that both Jack and Jane had groups of friends surrounding them that were always trying to make their opinion heard. Some of the things they said made sense, while others were purely wrong. It just goes to show that you have to learn to think for yourself!
I will say that this is suitable for older teen readers and up, because there is cussing, drinking, sex, etc. Nothing too extreme or graphic. It makes a nice book for college-aged readers!
I'm glad you eventually enjoyed this but it does sound like it was quite hard going.
That's an interesting premise, but I'm not sure this one appeals to me. (I'm not super into the art on the cover.)
Fun premise and glad you enjoyed
That would be a bummer to have all your past dating experiences tacked up online for any new interest to see! I feel for this guy. I totally agree with you that you can't dictate who or why a person would like someone else. Wonderful review, Lauren. 🙂
I'm not into the graphic novel aspect, but I'm not sure that the story would work either, it sounds like Jack is a bit different. I'm glad you ended up enjoying it though.
Huh, I see what you mean about the premise! That is interesting and I can see why it would be a good concept for a graphic novel. I definitely agree that you can't choose who you or someone else likes. There's a lot of different people out there and there's something for everyone. Great thoughts, Lauren!
I don't think I'd want to know everything. We all make mistakes, after all.
This is something I would read.
This sounds like something I would like. While people can have huge flaws, it's up to their peers to notice them or not.
Fabulous review, Lauren! <33
I don't know how I would feel about this one, but heck I am always willing to take a chance. Jack does sound interesting!
Hm… not sure if this one is for me, but I would love to check out the artwork. 🙂
This sounds different and I am glad you ending up enjoying it. It sounds quirky and fresh with humor. Lovely review 🙂
Wow, I'm so surprised that the concept for this one is pretty original. It's cool that the MC goes through listening all these things about the guy, but like you said, focuses on the good and decides to go out with him and forget the flaws. =) I think that adds a ton of perspective to the book, and would definitely make me think about the perspective I have in my own life. Also, it's great that you ended up enjoying this book in the end, despite having mixed feelings! I'm curious to see what crazy things this MMC does… 😉
Lovely review! You have my interest piqued with this book.
I haven't read a graphic novel before but the premise does sound really interesting and I'm intrigued as to how the story would affect me as opposed to literary novels or movies. Sort of sounds a bit like Scott Pilgrim vs the World haha
I kind of like the premise of this book – it sounds so relevant and easy to relate to – especially in this day and age.
xx
Sounds like an interesting premise.
Sounds like a twist of Scott Pilgrim, with all the exes hehe