Review: That Boy (That Boy #1) by Jillian Dodd

Title: That Boy

Author: Jillian Dodd

Published: May 16th 2011

Ready synopsis: Goodreads

Rating: 5 stars! 

I've been eyeing this book for quite a long time but was a little reluctant to read it since, you see, it involved two boys. You know how I avoid love triangles because it definitely give me headaches and heartaches. And well, I'm scared I might fall for the wrong one and end up being disappointed. BUT all the reviews I see were quite contradicting what I was thinking, not one was actually complaining about a love triangle because, really now that I've read it, there wasn't actually any love triangle. And although ,as expected, I liked the other boy (Danny), I wasn't really disappointed. I didn't have a hard time appreciating the love story and I definitely enjoyed and swooned over how it ended. And that's what made this book really great. You can definitely enjoy both boys without getting disappointed. They both had their fair shares and it was awesome. With the way the story was told it was easy to accept and understand everything. It was definitely a well thought and written book about love, friendship and growing up. 

When I started reading it I wasn't caught up instantly. At one point I even asked myself what the readers loved about this book. I find JJ a bit whiny and naive and I didn't really loved her right away. Those were my first impressions but as the story progressed, as I saw JJ, Philip and Danny grew up, how they learned stuff and experience new things, JJ eventually grew on me and I started to appreciate the story more. She's more like expressive than whiny and though sometimes she could be a little dumb, that's the thing that actually made her more adorable. Her relationship with Philip and Danny was really funny and cute! And to tell you the truth I was so freaking jealous of her! It was also very heartwarming to see how much those boys loved her and cared for her. I enjoyed every moments between them. It was just really wonderful. 

One thing I also really loved about this book was that it was fast-paced but still was able to show all the essential parts of their lives starting from their childhood. Well, I tried to do the math and I think the story has a span of 10 years, the first scene was when they were 12 years old and in the ending they were already 22. Right? Uh, not so sure but you see, it was great because you really see how they went to different phases in their lives and how their experiences formed their characters. And that made it easier for me to know and understand them better. It was great when you reached the ending and when you go back to some parts you'll say that wow, they really did grow! It was like you were also reminiscing the past like you were the one who experienced it and that would just made you smile. 

The ending definitely made me so happy! It was one of the sweetest and most heartwarming endings I'd ever read. It convinced me this is worthy of a 5-star rating. I applaud Jillian Dodd for making such an awesome story and wonderful characters. There were a lot of moments that made me really swoon, laugh so hard and warmed my heart. I highly recommend this! You're gonna love Danny and Philip! And JJ too, of course. It was a fun, sweet and very touching read! :))