Girl Meets Boy -- edited by Kelly Milner Halls

Summary (courtesy of GoodReads):What do guys and girls really think? Twelve of the most dynamic and engaging YA authors writing today team up for this one-of-a-kind collection of "he said/she said" stories-he tells it from the guy's point of view, she tells it from the girl's. These are stories of love and heartbreak. There's the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl, and the flipside, the toxic girl who never learned to be loved; the basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; the gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen. Each story in this unforgettable collection teaches us that relationships are complicated-because there are two sides to every story.

And here's what I thought:  I think it's an interesting way to write a story --- 2 people, each writing one character's side of the story.  All of the stories are relatively short, so it's like one short instance out of two people's lives, but you come at it from two different viewpoints.  And, depending on the people, it can seem like two completely different occurrences.

I thought all of the authors did a good job of collaborating on the stories.  Although I liked some stories more than others, I found all of them interesting.  And the nice thing about a book of stories is that you can easily finish one and if you put the book down, you don't feel lost when you pick it up again.     The other thing I really liked about the stories was that they weren't all completely predictable.  What I mean is: I couldn't predict that I knew what was going to happen, or what a character thought had happened.  Every so often, I'd get thrown for a loop.   It's also nice that the characters are diverse in background and ethnicity --- I think that a lot of readers will find at least one character they feel they sync with (or find a story by an author they know and like).

First lines (from the first story):  My name is John Smith, and though I'm aware that an overwhelming number of men use my name to check in to motels they shouldn't be checking in to, I try to be a man of virtue.  Okay, I'm sixteen; a boy of virtue.

Thoughts on the cover art:  I like how the two are entwined, and up in a tree --- and I like wondering about these two: is he just staring up at the leaves, sighing, and she's sleeping?  Is she listening to his stomach rumble?   Nice, and suits the book.

Please note: I received an ARC of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers -- as a result, any and all quotes and page numbers may differ upon final publication.