How to Ruin my Teenage Life & How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation

I just finished this series up this weekend. I picked it up on the recommendation of a fellow BOTM moderator and I really enjoyed it. I'd be lying if I said I was all gung-ho to read the series at the get go, it seemed like it might be a little formulaic, but I was proved wrong. As I stated in my review for book one of the series How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, the plot follows a familiar pattern, but Elkeles writing and her ability to really let you inside the charecters, flaws and all, really made it an enjoyable series to read.

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In this sequel to How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, EVERYTHING in sixteen-year-old Amy Nelson Barak's life is going wrong! Her mom got married and moved to the suburbs, and now they are going to have a baby. Amy moves in with her dad in Chicago and signs him up for an online dating service. His first four dates are that night . . .
What else? Her dog Mutt impregnated her grumpy neighbor's prized poodle, so Amy will actually have to get a part-time job to pay for half the veterinary bill. And there's this totally annoying boy, Nathan Rubin, who just moved into her apartbuilding. Luckily, Amy has a cute boyfriend named Avi. Only he's more like a non-boyfriend considering Avi is in the Israeli army for the next three years.

What's a girl to do when everyone is conspiring to ruin her life? (from Goodreads.com)

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This was a great follow up to How To Ruin my Teenage Life. Here Amy finds herself back in Chicago and trying to pair her old life as a bit of a teenage diva, with all the stuff she learned over the summer in Israel. It was a great look at all the social wrangling that comes along with being in high school, especially those moments when you feel like absolutely nothing in your life is going right. It was fun to see Amy try to figure it all out, how to live with her Dad, how to deal with a long distance relationship with Avi, how to handle her Mom's marraige and pregnancy. I really enjoyed it.

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Guess who's jetting to the Holy Land this summer!

Remember me, Amy Barak-Nelson—a.k.a the queen of disaster? In case you forgot, my boyfriend Avi is in the Israeli army. A visit is definitely in order.

Somehow my grandmother convinced me to sign up for two weeks of pure hell in a military training base. Getting up before dawn, peeing in a hole, and playing war games in the desert isn't my idea of fun. But what's worse? Our team leader turns out to be Avi! (From Goodreads.com)

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In this last book of the series, Amy decides to go with some friends to a boot-camp in the Israeli desert, in hopes that she will get to spend some time with Avi. Again Elkeles handles all the drama that comes with being a teen with humor. Thinking this will be a piece of cake (with some time with Avi as the bonus), Amy quickly realizes it will be anything but, especially when she realizes that her being there will compromise Avi's reputation. I loved how the series worked out. It showed that not everything, or everyone, is perfect, but that if you are better with someone then you ever are without then it's worth putting the effort in to see if it can be forever.

I'd love to read more about Avi and Amy (and all the friends and family that surround them), but if this is the last book I'm happy with the resolution. Everyone's not having their happy ever after yet, but you can tell that they are on the right path.