Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg [Review]

4.5 out of 5 Robots!

  

Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release: February 25, 2014
Hardcover: 276 Pages
Publisher: Point
My Copy: Publisher (Netgalley)
Reviewer: Shannon
Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY . . . for teens, from romantic comedy star Elizabeth Eulberg.

For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can't be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan's friends. They are platonic and happy that way.

Eventually they realize they're best friends -- which wouldn't be so bad if they didn't keep getting in each other's way. Guys won't ask Macallan out because they think she's with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can't help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?

From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again -- and one kiss away from true love?

(Courtesy of the Publisher)

Shannon's Thoughts:

Cute, cute, cute!  I liked this book way more than I thought I would, given that I didn't really like the other Eulberg book I read (Lonely Hearts Club).  But I thought Better Off Friends was exceptionally well done.  Macallan and Levi meet on his first day of middle school.  Levi is a transplant from California and unsure how to navigate the much smaller Wisconsin world he now inhabits.  Macallan is still reeling from her mother's death a year ago and has no real interest in befriending Levi.  But she sees him standing alone in the lunchroom, takes pity on him, and invites him to sit with her and her friends.  They then discover their mutual love of a obscure British TV show.  Macallan meets Levi's mom and gets invited to stay at their house on Wednesdays while her dad works.  They strike a tentative friendship that quickly grows.  Soon they are best friends and are kind of the "Macallan and Levi" show from then on.  Everyone assumes they are dating since they are so close, but Macallan and Levi insist they are just best friends even when it becomes clear that it might actually be something more.

Macallan and Levi are exceedingly likeable characters, even after they misstep and make mistakes.  But you can always tell how much they care for each other.  My favorite part is their banter, which we get at the beginning of each chapter.  I  also liked that the book is told from their alternating perspectives as they recount their friendship.  From the very beginning, we have a sense where the story is headed going to end up, but I certainly enjoyed getting there. 

Overall, I thought this was a sweet and fun book about best friends...who may be more.