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Boy #2

Boy Meets Girl

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Meet Kate Mackenzie. She:
- works for the T.O.D. (short for Tyrannical Office Despot, also known as Amy Jenkins, Director of the Human Resources Division at the New York Journal)
- is sleeping on the couch because her boyfriend of ten years refuses to commit
- can't find an affordable studio apartment anywhere in New York City
- thinks things can't get any worse.

They can. Because:
- the T.O.D. is making her fire the most popular employee in the paper's senior staff dining room
- that employee is now suing Kate for wrongful termination, and
- now Kate has to give a deposition in front of Mitch Hertzog, the scion of one of Manhattan's wealthiest law families, who embraces everything Kate most despises ... but also happens to have a nice smile and a killer bod.

The last thing anybody—least of all Kate Mackenzie—expects to find in legal arbitration is love. But that's the kind of thing that can happen when...

Boy meets girl.

383 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 2004

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About the author

Meg Cabot

240 books34.8k followers
Librarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels).

Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.

She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.

Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.

Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.


Series:
* Airhead
* The Princess Diaries
* Mediator

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,317 reviews
Profile Image for kamxx.
8 reviews2 followers
January 16, 2009
One thing that struck me most is when the father of the Hortzags said: “..I can see how this information might be upsetting to some of you. However, I had a near death experience a year ago, and it taught me one thing: Don’t waste your time on astupid shit. And frankly, all I seem to hear from some of you people is stupid shit.

“..Now I would appreciate it if you would all quit calling me, e-mailing me, FedExing me, faxing me, and leaving messages for me at the hotel desk. I am on VACATION. I will let you know when it’s over. But I can tell you, it won’t be anytime soon.”

My eyes popped out, because it is exactly the thing that God is telling me to do! Don’t waste my time on stupid shit! I spend most of my time in stupid things: being annoyed to my brother, registering to new websites knowing I will not use it in the long run, contemplating about my life in the past (the happy and sad moments) and dreaming about my future. I want to live my life in a day. I want to live it here and now.

Lesson learned and I want to live it.

Profile Image for Keris.
Author 22 books523 followers
February 24, 2008
Ten pages into this book and I was ready to give up. But I persevered and found myself getting into it despite myself. The most important thing to realise before starting this is that it's not a novel. That is to say there are no chapters and no dialogue. Instead, the entire book is made up of letters, emails, transcripts of instant message conversations, minutes from meetings, diary entries and just about anything else that can be put down on paper.

If you're not expecting this clever style of construction, it can take a while to get used to, but once you do it soon becomes apparent how much skill it must take to work a plot into such a complex array of formats.

To cut a long story, the magical Ida Lopez is responsible for the dessert trolley at the New York Journal. Unfortunately, she doesn't deem everyone worthy of her baking, and when heartless lawyer Stu Hertzog is refused a

To read the rest of this review (and more!), please visit Trashionista
Profile Image for Kaethe.
6,507 reviews514 followers
March 22, 2022
16 Apr 2004
1 May 2016

These books do not particularly embed themselves deep into my psyche; I have, in fact, forgotten even the broad plotline. But reading them delights me. The are funny, they are charming, they beguile an hour or two which might otherwise be fraught with angst or sadness.

***
21 Mar 2020
21 Mar 2022

There is a whole secondary plotline that hasn't aged well. I understand Cabot has updated editions of some of her books. Since I am making a habit of rereading in the spring (2 times in a row on the same date is weird, right?) it is clearly time to add a copy to my collection. It's odd how many books I adore and return to seasonally. It's odder that I don't own copies of all my most beloved books.

Library copy
Profile Image for Jennifer.
101 reviews
November 25, 2008
In a continuing "series*" of modern epistolary romances, we have added IM conversations to the mix, and journals kept mostly on scrap paper. Again we have a recently jilted protagonist who bumps into an extremely eligible bachelor only in this book, over the course of a fortnight they interact maybe four times for maybe an hour each time. But they still manage to fall madly and deeply in love, overcoming several obstacles (each of them dealing with their families and their work, but not particularly with each other or each others' families 'cause they never actually spend time together) in the process. Yeah.

The story isn't nearly as strong as the first book, "Boy Next Door" and mostly seems to serve as a way to peripherally catch up on the lives of the supporting cast from the first book.

That said, I thought that the addition of the IM conversations was a great addition to the emails. We didn't need any "oh, I overheard you talking and..." emails this time to forward the plot :o) The journaling also gave a good balance of exposition that you wouldn't necessarily email even to your best friend and "I'm writing this while waiting, on the only scrap of paper I could find" was well done.

* with subsequent employees of the same newspaper staff falling in love and telling their also-employed-by-the-newspaper, engaged best friend all about it.
June 13, 2014
Meg Cabot is an old acquaintance of mine. She features in my bookshelves ever since I was in my tweens, with The Princess Diaries. At the time I found her phenomenal but that feeling has since died down.

Not to say I don't appreciate her writing. Her young adult/adult novels are some of the most entertaining that I've read. But that's as much as it goes: entertaining. Most of what she writes is predictably witty and funny; there are usually some little plot twists that allow one to fantasize over her brilliance to convey stories but it gets old fast. As one actually looks at previous works, it's easy to find a pattern with both plot and characters and that's not something a writer would want. Some of the dialogue and quotes are also easily recognizable. Her chick-lit style is overall very distinctive, even in her period novels.

With this particular book, I was hoping for a lot more. I'd read the first installment, Boy Next Door, and adored it. It was cute, funny and had just the kind of romance that makes me swoon. It made me want more. So I got this one, and became deeply disappointed. It just felt like it was recycling the previous story and its characters (literally, because there are characters from the first book in this and even the setting is the same). It was just trying too hard on the humor and downgrading everything else. I didn't sigh in delight at the main couple's interaction, nor did I have any empathy for the main girl. Unlike Mel Fuller, who felt as genuine and down-to-earth as a twenty-five gossip columnist can be, Kate just came off as a dumb bimbo to me.

The author makes it seem like most of what happens to her is a result of sheer bad luck, but it's not. It's really a product of her big mouth and inability to be an adult. She's not smart, despite the many attempts of Cabot to make her look so, and she doesn't actually try hard at anything. All she does is whine to her friends, scribble down everything she thinks (which at times is very painful to read) and use her sex appeal to impress guys (which Cabot wants us to think it's totally unintentional). Sure, she's a nice person and cares for others but so does Vivica. So does a bunch of brainless characters one could care less about. The main character should be someone memorable or at the very least, tolerable. She shouldn't be taken as a nice girl from a small town who hasn't been able to leave her idiot of a boyfriend even though she's practically his slave.

About Mitchell, the main guy, I didn't even want to go there. At first he seems ok, is described as a good-looking man with good qualities and a steady job. A few family problems but overall, a catch. I didn't feel any of it as I read the novel. He doesn't seem to know what he wants. He acts more like a teenager than a man. He doesn't know Kate but of course he's instantly attracted to her - and nothing bad about that - except I can find no reasons why he would like her. None. And yet he falls madly in love with her, because that's how it's supposed to be. I couldn't possibly think of two people with less chemistry together.

So this was a disaster as a follow-up in the Boy series. I was so bored sometimes I couldn't wait to finish it. It just wasn't doing it for me. It's not a very good thing when all you want to do is ignore the main characters and focus on the others, because they're a lot more interesting. For instance, I loved Mitchell's father. And he made one single appearance in the entire book.

Unlike many others, I liked the format of this book. It was dynamic, engaging and innovating. The cookie recipes were a bit too much, but I liked the idea behind it. The menus were brilliant, as were other many other sources of Kate's ramblings. The only thing I didn't like were Kate's ramblings.

Regardless of this fiasco of a book, it's very easy to like Ms. Cabot. Her main characters/narrators are also very likable because they are relatable. Her material is great when one requires a good laugh, an easy reading that will not cause a headache. It's quick and leaves one feeling good about themselves. Her work transmits very good vibes and I, against all judgement, cannot help but wanting to read more of it as it comes out. I know it will be predictable at places, but I also know it will make me laugh and enjoy myself for the rest of the evening. But I know not to get my hopes up, as the happy ending is a given and the depth is not.
Profile Image for Anne.
41 reviews16 followers
July 19, 2009
As a fan of Meg Cabot, I know that her books can be funny at times, but I was surprised at the number of times I actually laughed out loud while reading this book.

Although this is definitely a stand-alone book, I did appreciate the return of several characters from Boy Next Door in minor roles as well as the chance to see just how vile Amy Johnson (unlike most of the HR professionals I know) really is.

I also appreciated the diary entries (some of which were very creatively written between the lines of other handy documents), IM & voicemail transcripts, letters, & PNG notices in addition to the main narrative of email messages between characters. I think that this made the book a bit more interesting and well-rounded than Boy Next Door.

Once again, a great light book to read through quickly. If we had real beaches where I live (and I didn't sunburn quite so easily) I would definitely recommend this book as a must to pack in your beach bag.
Profile Image for Mela.
1,772 reviews236 followers
November 9, 2022
[Small edit: I forgot to add that in this piece there was a brilliant example of a terrible text of song. Really horrible. It could be used as an example in lessons ;-) I copy it at the end of the review.]

It was funny and entertaining like the whole series but I have found it a little less witty than the two previous books. I am not sure why. But still, it deserves four stars.

Like with all books of the series,
The most important thing to realise before starting this is that it's not a novel. That is to say there are no chapters and no dialogue. Instead, the entire book is made up of letters, emails, transcripts of instant message conversations, minutes from meetings, diary entries and just about anything else that can be put down on paper.
If you're not expecting this clever style of construction, it can take a while to get used to, but once you do it soon becomes apparent how much skill it must take to work a plot into such a complex array of formats.
- quote from Keris's reviews

The atmosphere/plot was amusing and engaging.

The love story was nonetheless 'weaker' than in two other books (The Boy Next Door and Every Boy's Got One).

I agree with Sophie (Blame Chocolate)'s descriptions of Kate and Mitch. But when she thought it made the book bad, I think it made the book more valuable. Kate and Mitch were so much not perfect heroes for a simple chick-lit romance that one asks a question: Perhaps they are just like us (a bit spoiled, a bit selfish, a bit lazy, sometimes not professional at work, sometimes short-sighted - sounds familiar? ;-) ). I think it was the best aspect of the book. I admit it can be hard to like them but I don't need to like main heroes to be able to like the book.
Profile Image for Alaina.
6,683 reviews213 followers
March 16, 2021
I definitely have a like/dislike relationship when it comes to Meg Cabot's books. Unfortunately, I need to dive into book 3 for a certain challenge but if I didn't have to do so - then I would have continued ghosting the heck out of this series. Not even sure how I felt about book one because I was too lazy to do the actual research.

It was simple. I saw that the audiobook was available to dive into. I dove into it.

Other than that, I will admit that the chatting parts made me laugh because it's just completely relatable. Especially when you are at work. My coworkers and I have so many group chats and we just talk so much crap throughout the day. It could honestly be about the weather, sports, or work in general. They also crack me up so the parts in this book were pretty good and relatable.

Then there's the romance which had it's cute moments but I was mostly there for the friendship. I definitely enjoyed laughing/snorting throughout this so I'm hoping this little happy trend will continue in the next book
Profile Image for Sara.
143 reviews120 followers
March 14, 2016
As the first book in the series, this novel is written as a modern epistolary. With texts and emails exchanges, notes, letters, and reports.
I loved the second book in the boys series. It is just as witty, fun, and smart as the first one. The epistolary interactions were so clever and fun to read.
The only missing part, compared to the first book at least, was maybe a bit of a mystery to solve. I also did not care for the recipes.
Mrs. Lopez shenanigans about pie distribution were hilarious.

Overall, Boy Meets Girl was an extremely enjoyable romantic comedy, i would recommend it to take your mind off things for a short little while.
392 reviews342 followers
July 26, 2010
This book left me in a really good mood. It was a light hearted, fun and entertaining romantic comedy that had me laughing out loud several times.

It is the first book I have read that is written entirely in the form of emails, journal entries, receipts, instant messaging, menus, memos, dispositions and receipts and I was suprised at how well it worked. The story was easy to follow and it didn't lack details despite it's format. This book had a huge cast of characters. Sometimes when there are so many it can get a bit confusing but because of the way it was set out it worked well and didn't take me long to sort out who was who.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people who are looking for a quick, light read that will cheer up your mood.
Profile Image for Kathleen Baldwin.
Author 22 books891 followers
February 1, 2022
Charming! I love Meg Cabot and this was a reread but I still found it delightful. Full of lines that made me laugh.
Profile Image for Arlene.
1,191 reviews636 followers
October 29, 2009
Boy Meets Girl is the first book I've read by Meg Cabot, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Typically, books written in the form of letters between characters do not appeal to me, but this book was cleverly designed and I couldn't help but fall into the storyline and be captivated from the get go. It is a compilation of emails, journal entries, voice mail messages, transaction receipts, deposition transcripts, memos and corporate communications between over a dozen characters. You would think with that mix, it would be difficult to follow. Well… not at all.

The storyline was easy to understand, the characters were identifiable, the main characters were extremely likeable, and it didn't lack the emotional or humorous element you would think wouldn't translate well in that style of writing. Boy Meets Girl had all the elements of a story well told that kept me laughing and rooting on the main characters the whole way through. Great book!
Profile Image for HeyT.
1,024 reviews
June 9, 2019
I feel like this book is the very definition of Your Fave Is Problematic

I really had fun reading this but omg so much trans/homophobia and antisemitism. Granted most of it stemmed from the "villains" but it is definitely hard to overlook in a book that is supposed to be light and fun. It was great to see some of the supporting cast from The Boy Next Door make an appearance in a different way. I liked Kate and Mitch and all the goofy people they worked and interacted with. But the blatant isms took a lot of the fun out.
Profile Image for Carla.
32 reviews
January 22, 2015
In whichever angle, this is definitely not The Book for guys. xD

It is, however, the perfect mirror for women. Everything about this book is just silly girlish. I swear if it isn't about anything a woman undergoes through then I'm not sure I'm a woman myself. By that, I mean EXes, soon-to-be-boyfriends, fiancees, and girl bestfriends combined with life and conflict rolled into a single book of pure and non-stop gossip. Top that.

As a matter of fact, I unexpectedly liked it.

Meg Cabot - the very same author of The Princess Diaries - has reflected through her story the daily thoughts of women and their opinions on anything, literally. The story, from beginning to end, was actually told through - get this - through a series of email messages, voice mails, journal pages, job memos, letters, receipts, and other random written statements exchanged along the course by the different characters. I was amused how the author has played a story so well without sticking to the traditional point-of-view manner of telling it. It was amazing - how she did that, I mean. Characters talk via email, text messages, chat boxes, and whatnot, but you actually catch the story. It might take time getting used to, yes, but sooner or later you'll get the hang of it.

And well, I wouldn't have applauded and praised her fantastic skills if it was just the execution of the storyline. There's more to that. The characters were all sooo well-defined and very carefully developed that you really distinguish who they are and their personalities by the way their dialogues were written. You could actually "hear" them utter the words. How genius is that?

The plot is ever so SIMPLE and STRAIGHT TO THE POINT but the author has made it interesting enough to hold the reader's attention. I may have to admit it isn't that exciting during the first part, but what the heck. I have reached the succeeding pages and couldn't put the freaking book down. It could've been the humorous lines that tickled the heart, I guess.

This book goes along with that chicklit list!

So ladies and damsels in distress, this might be especially written just for you. Meet the tough soulless lawyer who turns out to be the complete-utter-fool-of-a-woman's knight in shining armor. Feel like that girl to be rescued by this sarcastically sweet and good-looking man with that rescue complex you just couldn't resist. I may sound waaay overreacting now, but wait til you read the book and find out for yourself. :p
Profile Image for MJ.
341 reviews64 followers
January 28, 2008
You might know the name Meg Cabot from the Princess Diaries series but this book is nothing like Princess Diaries. It centers around Kate who is working as an HR rrep for a New York Newspaper called The Journal. She has a horrible boss and works with her best friend Jen. Her boss Amy asks her to fire the most popular person at the Newspaper Ida (the desserts cart lady). Ida refuses to serves desserts to people she thinks doesnot deserve them (mainly Amy's boyfriend Stuart who is also cheif legal counsel to the paper). A wrongful termination suit is brought against the paper and Kate. Enter Mitchell, Stuart younger brother, who has a nice butt for a lawyer who is going to reprsent the company against Ida. The only problem is Amy agrees with Ida and is completely distracted by Mitchell and his strong shoulders, cute butt and nice lips. Whats a girl to do?

This book was a lot of fun to read. The whole thing is writen in the form of emails, IMs, phone messages, interdepartment memos, dispostions and Kate's Journal. There is even a section where Kate and Jen are in a meeting and they are writting notes back and forth on what appers to be the agenda for the meeting. If you have ever worked in corporate America or want a good laugh on how we communicate in todays electronic world. I highly reccommend this book.
Profile Image for Caroline D. (CarolineReads).
86 reviews16 followers
February 22, 2020
Yikes. If the only way you can differentiate the villains of the story is by their explictly written homophobia, antisemitism and a plenty of other terrible things, I certainly have a hard time reading your book. The usage of the d word to describe lesbians and a very transphobic word were used. Wow. And the transphobic word (used multiple times) from someone that wanted to be a therapist. I actually screamed at my book, "YOU SHOULDN'T BE A THERAPIST IF YOU USE THAT WORD!" I also found that I wasn't really invested in the story at all. I'm kind of surprised that I finished the book. I understand this was written 15 years ago but it certainly doesn't age well and I'm finding that with a lot of this author's books (especially the Mediator series and Heather Wells), which is a bummer because I grew up on The Princess Diaries and it was my favorite book series.
Profile Image for Rebekah.
613 reviews39 followers
July 8, 2021
I enjoyed Boy meets Girl, the second one in the "Boy" series, as much or actually more than the first. I loved the reappearances of the main characters from Boy Next Door. There was more tension in the office politics and the book benefited greatly by some real contemptible villains for the good guys to vanquish. I liked the super-nice, if a little too ditzy heroine, and liked Mitch Herzog, the hero, even more. There were more interesting characters than in the first one. I am so glad I finally tried Meg Cabot. Although I am going to take a break now, and read something with a little bit more substance, I will certainly keep her in my pocket whenever I am in the mood for a light as a cream puff, quick read.

https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings....
Profile Image for Morgan.
293 reviews59 followers
September 12, 2017
I enjoyed this one much more than the first book in the series. However, this is a companion novel, so we saw many of the same characters. Which in my opinion was a GREAT decision!! We saw much more of Stacy and she has become my favorite character, with Dolly close behind. I loved Kate and Jen, they were the epitome of best friends. It doesn't hurt that they are big Charmed fans (we are ALL salivating over Cole Turner). The crazy Hertzog family was also a nice addition. Mitch and Stacy's conversations were HILARIOUS. (Need I say it? Siblings!!)

I cruised through this one and it was exactly what I needed to detract from all my school/moving/sister's wedding stress!
Profile Image for Vidumini Pamuditha.
51 reviews12 followers
October 25, 2016
*4.5* stars

Boy Meets Girl is yet another amazing book written by Meg Cabot. I really haven't read a book that is written in the form of e-mails,IMs, Voice Messages and Notices before except for Love Letters to the Dead which I haven't still finished yet. So, I think this my first ever finished book of that type. It really grabbed my attention from the first page itself. I loved this book so much. Really enjoyed it!!! Way to go Meg Cabot!
278 reviews41 followers
August 18, 2017
Ha. I had forgotten how awesome and entertaining Cabot's books are.

Boy Meets Girl was hilarious. it had me laughing my ass off and it's been a while since I've read a funny book.

the story was okay But the writing style got me because it was so easy to read. I read it in one day itself, it was that easy and fast paced.

witty characters with a sense of humour made this book a thrill to read.
Profile Image for Lynn Spencer.
1,337 reviews86 followers
December 23, 2018
This novel, told through emails, IMs(remember those?), journals and assorted documents, is just tons of fun to read. Originally published in 2004, this book reminded me of the work world I encountered when I left school and I enjoyed the nostalgia trip.

The story revolves around Kate Mackenzie, an HR assistant at the New York Journal who finds herself in the hot seat after carrying out her boss' order to fire a very popular kitchen employee. Said employee sues the Journal, and Kate finds herself having to deal with Mitchell Herzog, the company lawyer.

Against this backdrop, we also see the travails of Kate trying to find a place to live now that her long-term relationship is over and she is basically living on her best friend's couch. Add in a tyrannical and truly awful boss(that would be awful as in treats people badly, makes racist/anti-semitic remarks and can't imagine why anyone would be offended, etc..), the entire dysfunctional Herzog family, all manner of social awkwardness and some over the top plot points, and you've got a story of being young and single in the city that is truly a lot of fun. This book was adorable and I had a blast reading it.
Profile Image for fay.
91 reviews
July 9, 2022
i love meg cabot. the first in this series may be better than this one, but this one is pretty good too. once i got into it (today), i loved the characters, except the family, who were AWFUL. but that’s the point, i guess. very 2004. i thought the ending was kind of abrupt, but that’s fine. i liked it. meg cabot is the best.
Profile Image for Emir Ibañez.
Author 1 book674 followers
October 17, 2017
Amé de principio a fin, Meg Cabot jamás decepciona a la hora de escribir novelas ágiles, divertidas y con muchísimos enredos.
October 18, 2020
I was obsessed with this book in middle school and found it just as engaging and inspiring now. It’s aggressively 2004 (casual bigotry included), but it still has its charms. 3.5 star actual.
Profile Image for India.
178 reviews4 followers
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October 28, 2022
nobody writes a male love interest like meg cabot god i swoon every time
Profile Image for Sarah Hadd.
223 reviews7 followers
October 19, 2017
Better than the first one as it wasn’t all emails - this book included emails, instant messaging (old school 😄), journal entries, etc. It broke up the monotony a bit more!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,317 reviews

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