One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva - Ashley's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BYR) on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: One Man Guy
Author: Michael Barakiva
Publication Date: May 27, 2014

Synopsis: Alek Khederian should have guessed something was wrong when his parents took him to a restaurant. Everyone knows that Armenians never eat out. Why bother, when their home cooking is far superior to anything "these Americans" could come up with? Between bouts of interrogating the waitress and criticizing the menu, Alek’s parents announce that he’ll be attending summer school in order to bring up his grades. Alek is sure this experience will be the perfect hellish end to his hellish freshmen year of high school. He never could’ve predicted that he’d meet someone like Ethan.

Ethan is everything Alek wishes he were: confident, free-spirited, and irreverent. When Ethan gets Alek to cut school and go to a Rufus Wainwright concert in New York City’s Central Park, Alek embarks on his first adventure outside the confines of his suburban New Jersey existence. He can’t believe a guy this cool wants to be his friend. And before long, it seems like Ethan wants to be more than friends. Alek has never thought about having a boyfriend—he’s barely ever had a girlfriend—but maybe it’s time to think again.

Michael Barakiva's One Man Guy is a romantic, moving, laugh-out-loud-funny story about what happens when one person cracks open your world and helps you see everything—and, most of all, yourself--like you never have before.

Why?: This book sounds like a really cute summer romance, and it's been a while since I've read a good one. The synopsis also promises humor, which is always a plus! 

Expectations: Other than a light, humorous, contemporary romance, I'm not really sure what else to expect. I've never read anything from this author, so I can't say anything about what I hope the writing will be like or anything, and it's been so long since I've read a book like this that I don't know what to compare it to as far as what I think it will be like. 

Judging a book by its cover: I kind of like this cover. I like that the boys are paper dolls, and I like how bright the yellow is. I think the yellow would help it stand out on a shelf, so I'd probably at least notice it and maybe pick it up.


--Ashley