This was a cute read by Sarah Stromhmeyer, who I already like because of her book Smart Girls Get What They Want. Both books feature smart teen girls (yay for good role models) who are also trying to navigate the dating world.
In This Is My Brain On Boys, Addie is smart…like genius smart (they never said it, but it seems like she has high-functioning Asperger’s). She goes to a special boarding school where she’s trying to the Athenian Award, a full-ride scholarship awarded to a high school student who has made a breakthrough in the field of neuroscience. Addie’s project, the Brain Adrenaline, Dopamine, and Amine Synthesis System (or B.A.D.A.S.S.), focuses on manufacturing the feelings of love through stressful situations. Her life in on track, but there’s one minor problem…she’s starting to have feelings towards one of her test subjects who just happens to be the person behind a vandalism and bullying situation surrounding Addie the year before.
It’s just a fun, rom-com read for teens. There’s nothing really objectionable (no language, no romantic situations beyond kissing), but it just felt like an okay read. I really liked the characters and thought that they were very believable. Some of the situations felt like a stretch (like the fake shark in the water gag or the fact that they have a fully funded research lab at a high school) but it didn’t take away from the story. The story swaps from Addie’s point of view to Kris, her love interest, so we get to see both sides of the story and what they are thinking. This does add to some background but takes away some of the “will they, won’t they” romantic tension.
For any girls who love Kassie West, this may be a good book to pick up next.
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