I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Gretchen McNeil

I am positive that no matter how old I get, I will always have a soft spot for high school romance stories. ahh, High school. When you're no longer a high school student, you always sigh looking back. It was just a magical bubble between childhood and adulthood.  How many romantic comedies are set in high school? Not enough.

I Am Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl was such a deliciously sweet addictive read. For days, the pages of this book infused my brain with sweet romance and pure fun. After a long day  of insane stress, this book became the fluffiest of mental comfort blankets.
The center of this novel involves the math-obsessed, Beatrice. After a summer romance that is so reminiscent of the beginning of Grease, she begins her senior year with a boyfriend and a hopeful outlook. Unlike Grease, her beau is soon snatched away by the ever bubbly, ever effervescent new girl, Toile. As in the fabric. With the aid of her friends, Gary and Spencer, Beatrice uses the power of math, indeed Math!, to come up with the formula to get her beau back.  

As it is the trend, the book does involve a love triangle where our heroine is too wrapped up on her mind to notice.  Her obliviousness comes from just being a teenager, and less on just being  derp.  She is so focused on driving her results forward that Beatrice has complete tunnel vision. In one way her ambitious goal  does come into fruition but she is unable to see the damage she has wrecked around her until it is almost too late.

As "typical" as this high school romance story is , there were so many elements that made it stand out on its own. Having the heroine be completely ruled by formulas and equations just gave me so much happiness. She understood the heart of math and was not terrified of it. Of course, this immediately drew an immediate connection to Mean Girls.  We need more female heroines like this. Where they just love a subject, they embrace it and weave it into their lives. Just like Mean Girls though, what started off as good intentions by the heroine spiral out of control.  

Even though I could relate heavily to Beatrice, I noticed the parallel connection between her and Toile. Although both girls were initially operating at different wavelengths, they still inflicted damage from their obliviousness. Whether or not one is a "manic pixie girl",  you are still a human capable of creating mistakes. It is all about consequences of you actions.

Despite its quirky charm, the novel definitely shredded the the flimsy idea of the manic pixie girl by questioning its very existence.  It is all about changing your own perspective. Not just the external features. Although it was set in high school, the idea of establishing and changing identity can still carry on into the future. Each chapter in out life will dictate a new persona to thicken our skins  and change. Even a more simpler lesson that can be gleaned is that you do not know your fellow beings and to curb the prejudice down.

All in all, I absolutely loved reading the book. The romance was satisfyingly earned. There was nice balance of the "missions' and the antics of love. I can easily picture this movie as the next great  teenage romance comedy on the screen. 

So I was so thrilled that I was able to meet the author, Gretchen McNeil, at the premiere night of Book'd. She was absolutely amazing to meet!  This was the first McNeil work I have read, so I was completely surprised to discover that her regular books are full of murder, death, scary stuff, and more murder. One of her books, 10, is currently being filmed! 

Check out  I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Girl and other books by Gretchen McNeil from your local bookstore or library!

Gretchen McNeil's website: http://www.gretchenmcneil.com/
Book's In Burbank: http://www.bookdevent.com/
Disclaimer: This book was provided as a review copy. The opinions are honest and of my own