Book Review: Anatomy of a Single Girl by Daria Snadowsky

Pages: 227

Genre: New Adult/Realistic Fiction

Pub. Date: January 8, 2013

Source: Author for review

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one.  The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered. But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.  In Daria Snadowsky’s daring follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Dominique explores the relationship between love and lust, and the friendships that see us through."

Dominique, or Dom, is spending the summer at home in Fort Myers in between her semesters at Tulane.  She is a little nervous to return home, as it is the location of her most recent heartbreak.  Nonetheless, she is excited to spend the summer with her BFF, Amy.  Dom has a decent internship at a local hospital and while there, she meets new guy, Guy.  She is immediately attracted to the smart hottie and is hoping this will be the guy to help her get over her ex-boyfriend who broke her heart into a million little pieces.  But can she just have a wild and hot summer fling without any strings attached? Can she really have another relationship after what happened with her ex?  Daria Snadowsky's Anatomy of a Single Girl, is a fun frolic into the world of a college student and that one summer that really shook things up.

We have all been there.  We have all had our hearts broken by some guy and Snadowsky does a great job portraying that through Dom and showing how hard it can be to get over someone, especially the first person you have ever loved.  It takes time and sometimes it takes a new guy to help you forget the old one and that's where Guy comes in.  Guy is totally right up Dom's alley in Anatomy of a Single Girl. He's smart, good looking, a frat boy, but not your typical frat boy.  He has experience, but not too much, and more importantly, likes Dom and wants to spend more time with her.  Of course, Dom self-sabotages things, which in college is a move that we have all played a few times, but once she really allows herself to enjoy Guy, she learns a lot about relationships, sex, and having fun.

I kind of wish I had Anatomy of a Single Girl when I was in college as I would have really appreciated it then.  Dom has to deal with a lot of real-life issues that many new adults have to face head on. For example, the whole can boys and girls be JUST friends conundrum. She also deals with intimacy verses sex, birth control, STDs screenings, going to the OBGYN, and the big question of how does sex affect relationships?

I didn't have to read book one, Anatomy of a Boyfriend, to understand and appreciate Anatomy of a Single Girl, so if you are looking for a fun read with some frank sex talk, this book is for you.  I kind of felt like I was reading Judy Blume back in the day and I mean that in the best way possible.