That. Was. So CUTE! It was the fluffiest, cutest book I’ve ever read. It was a great contemporary, romantic friendly read. (Har-har.) It didn’t get too mushy for me, it was clean, and I LOVED the main characters.

Title: Better off Friends

Author: Elizabeth Eulberg

Publisher: Point

Publication date: February 25, 2014

Source: library

Synopsis: 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?

Let me just start off by saying that I NEED a Levi. He was so sweet! All thirteen-year-old boys need to take him as an example. Granted, he is a fictional character, but who cares?! I think I’ve fallen hard. 😉

The first thing I loved about the book, right off the bat, is the switching perspectives. It was done really well. The story is told in past-tense, through the eyes of Macallan and Levi, so in between each chapter there’s a conversation between the two, looking back on what happened in the chapters. Their conversations were so funny! They really are adorable together, best friends or more than just friends – either way, I loved their relationship. Read this snippet of one of their (epic) conversations in between a chapter:

Macallan: What is it about guys and having to out-bench-press or outrun one another? Why does everything have to be a comparison?

Levi: I don’t know – testosterone?

M: That’s your excuse for everything.

L: It is? Well, does it at least work?

M: No.

L: Okay, what about you girls?

M: What about us, the clearly superior gender?

L: Yeah, you’re not biased.

M: Of course I’m not. We women are a rational, nonjudgmental breed.

I think it’s clear I love Macallan, too. She’s also someone I wish I could be more like. Even after losing her mom in the fifth grade, she had a “quiet strength” about her (to quote Levi.) She stood up for her friends and thought things through carefully… and she was super quick, and witty. (small spoiler) And she also had the guts to punch a football player in the face! I was rolling laughing! 😀 (spoiler over)

Even though the book was a great example of how girls and boys CAN, indeed, be the best of friends and not have to date… being that Macallan was a girl, and Levi a boy, there are just some things the opposite gender doesn’t understand. But it made for some pretty funny chapters!

Both Levi and Macallan were both very distinguished. I’m not quite sure if that’s the word I’m looking for, but what I’m trying to say is that their personalities were very uniquely written, and they were hilarious! As a whole, the book was swoon-worthy, and incredibly funny.

I liked the time span of the book, as well. The good first bit of the book was brief, important moments in Levi and Macallan’s friendship that led up to the big question – should they be more than friends? It started off when the two first meet, at eleven, and ends when they’re sixteen. It kind of dragged out for a little bit… I got kind of tired of the whole “boy likes girl/girl’s not interested/girl likes boy/boy’s not interested/girl and boy both like each other/now they don’t” kind of thing.

Buuuut for all the ups and downs of the book, the ending was smooth and easy. Plus, it left room for a sequel… and if Elizabeth Eulberg decided to do that, I would be all for it! 😉

[box type=”warning”] There were a few parts that included some kissing. It didn’t bother me too much (in fact, the few times Macallan herself walked in on her friends kissing, she referred to it as “face sucking.” It totally grossed me out, but I had to laugh!) but I thought I should give some of you a heads-up. Also, there was one scene on page 206 where there was a not-so-nice word used. Other than that, there wasn’t anything too inappropriate. [/box]

So here are my initial thoughts:

• The FLUFFY adorableness that is Levi & Macallan made the book so, so cute.
• The humor was a riot. I cried laughing. 😀
• There were some great lessons in the book. For me, I don’t think dating should just be “something you do” when you like someone in middle and high school, so I really liked the point Better off Friends made – that guys and girls really can be “just” friends. Even though there was some romance in the book, I loved that.

[learn_more caption=”(Small spoiler)”] And more importantly, the lesson that instead of falling for a friend AS you date, if you take time to be friends first, then you fall for your best friend. And THEN date, and it’s even better. (Sorry for getting kind of rant-ish here, but I really do feel strongly about that.) ;)[/learn_more]

Four stars for this book! I’m thinking I’m going to buy a copy of my own, since I liked it so much. 😀

so have you read/heard of better off friends? what do you think?