Reed is a senior in high school who has never been on a date. Not one. His best friends, fraternal twins Lonnie and Ronnie, create The Girlfriend Project. Their friendly advice and handwritten lists of dating do's and don'ts evolves into a website - thegirlfriendproject.com - where kids can leave feedback.

When Reed starts acting more confident, girls from both school and work notice him. Before he knows it, he's gone on his first date - and his second date the very next day! But Reed is ultimately unimpressed by the girls that are interested in him, and he falls for the girl next door instead.

As opposed to Pygmalion and stories of that nature, where the character changes to be more socially acceptable and/or more attractive, Reed did not intend to change his looks and become popular. He simply got taller and got a haircut - basically, literally, he grew up. He feels uncomfortable in his new height and stature. He is incredibly smart and incredibly shy.

Throughout the story, Reed's grandmother tries to come up with the perfect entry for the New Jersey state motto contest. Keeping with this theme, each section of the book is a numbered exit, rather than being called a chapter, and has a funny title. His gran's creativity extends to the kitchen, and she's constantly supplying the teens with tasty treats.

His parents are also in the picture, though peripherally. His older sister is married with four kids of her own. Reed honestly loves baby-sitting his nieces and nephews, earning him more points in the nice boy handbook.

Though this book is all about one teen's quest for romance, it stays fairly clean. Reed wants to find a girl that likes him for him, not for his appearance, and he would rather have a heart-to-heart talk than a naughty rendezvous. Were the book a film, it would be given a tame PG rating.

If you want a cute story about first dates and gentle break-ups, if you liked Saved by the Bell, or if your heart belongs in New Jersey, give THE GIRLFRIEND PROJECT by Robin Friedman a try.

Read my exclusive interview with author Robin Friedman!

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THE GIRLFRIEND PROJECT is a realistic, modern-day romantic comedy about a high school boy who has never, ever gone on a date - and his two best friends, one boy and one girl, who decide that senior year is high time to change his dateless status. (Read my full-length book review.) The book gets its name from the website Reed's buddies set up for him.

Fittingly, Robin Friedman, the author of PROJECT, contacted me after she found my blog online. I hope you have as much fun reading this interview as I had conducting it, and that you have as much fun reading the book when it comes out in April as Robin had writing it!

Was it easy or difficult for you to get into the mindset of a seventeen-year-old guy?

It was easy for me to write from a boy's point of view, but it was hard for me to trust my own instincts, which is why I showed the novel to several teenage boys, for their feedback. My editor, who very conveniently has a seventeen-year-old son, did the same, and I was thrilled to get "the okay" from this audience, whose input I value so much.

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Visit the author's official website and MySpace. At the book's website, thegirlfriendproject.com, you can read the first chapter of the book, discover the dating disasters of other YA authors, and read an interview with the author conducted by the book's main characters.