Boy Meets Girl [NOOK Book]

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More About This Book

Overview

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 a legal arbitration is love. But that's the kind of thing that can
happen when ... Boy Meets Girl.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble Review
Meg Cabot, a New York Times bestseller known for her historical romances and her popular Princess Diaries series, turns her attention to the challenges of the modern age in this humorous tale of life and love gone wrong. Kate Mackenzie, human resources representative at a big New York photo-newspaper, has hit rock bottom. Her boyfriend of ten years has announced he cannot commit; she can't find an affordable studio on her measly salary; and her loathsome boss has asked her to fire Ida Lopez, the creator of the best chocolate chip cookie on the planet and the most popular employee in the staff dining room. When Ida sues the paper, Kate is forced to give a deposition in front of Ida's lawyer, Mitch Herzog, who just happens to be the brother of the man her tyrannical boss is about to marry. But if Mitch is against her, why does he keep asking her out? Cabot employs the formats of emails, phone messages, instant messages, to-do lists, and internal memos to deliver the plot, along with a big dash of contemporary office culture. Ginger Curwen
Publishers Weekly
This latest adult novel by the prolific Cabot (she's responsible for the ever-popular Princess Diaries franchise) unfolds, like 2002's The Boy Next Door, entirely through e-mails, journals, instant messages, phone mail, deposition transcripts, notes scribbled on menus, to-do lists and other hallmarks of a modern girl's life. Kate Mackenzie, an idealistic HR representative at the New York Journal, has just been forced by her evil boss, Amy Jenkins, to fire Ida Lopez, the wildly popular dessert cart lady at the company cafeteria. Ida bakes delectable goodies, but she won't serve them to priggish Stuart Hertzog, the paper's legal counsel, who happens to be engaged to Amy, known as the T.O.D. (tyrannical office despot) to Kate and her best friend and co-worker Jen. Sweet Ida sues for wrongful termination, and Stuart charges his younger brother, Mitch, with handling this delicate matter. But Mitch actually cares about justice more than his brother's bitchy fiancee (he's only working at the family firm at his sick father's request), and he quickly confounds Kate's expectations with his Rocky and Bullwinkle tie and "tie-him-to-the-bed" good looks. When the T.O.D. tries to lay the blame for her HR blunder on Kate, Mitch goes to the furthest reaches of lawyerly chivalry to save his ladylove. Studded with humorous details poking fun at social climbers and corporate drones, this book is less a novel than a collection of lighthearted barbs, gleeful clich s and panicky (but comic and brief) freakouts. Cabot's 20-something fans will likely devour this fluffy, fun urban fairy tale. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
From The Critics
Kate McKenzie, a left-leaning Kentuckian social worker transplanted to the New York Journal's HR department, struggles to do right by her employees, but it is not easy. Her "Tyrannical Office Despot" of a boss, Amy Jenkins, forces Kate to fire Ida Lopez, the paper's beloved but eccentric pastry chef, who then sues the Journal for breach of contract. In addition, Kate has just left her boyfriend of ten years, a commitment-phobic wannabe rock star, so she is staying with her best friend, Jen Sadler. But Kate's workplace, relationship, and housing woes are nothing compared to the wackiness that ensues after she meets Mitch Hertzog, the Journal's seemingly soulless corporate drone of an attorney in Ida's case against the paper. Readers will know instantly that Mitch is a total catch—he wears superhero neckties given to him by his nieces, after all—but it takes Kate nearly the entire book to get it. And that is just as well, because half the fun of Cabot's books is following her heroines from initial cluelessness to rapturous true love. A breezy Pride and Prejudice for the digital age, this novel boasts a soap operatic plot full of entertainingly convoluted twists, double- and triple-crosses, and a huge chorus of tertiary characters. The speedy pacing never falters, every character's voice is sharply defined, and the all e-mail format imbues the story with an immediate, conversational tone. This towering confection of a novel will please fans of Cabot's previous Journal-set novel, Boy Next Door (Avon, 2002), and will leave them clamoring for more. VOYA Codes 3Q 4P S A/YA (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12;Adult-marketed book recommended for Young Adults). 2004, Avon/HarperCollins, 383p., Trade pb. Ages 15 to Adult.
—Sophie Brookover

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780060588663
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 1/27/2004
  • Sold by: HARPERCOLLINS
  • Format: eBook
  • Sales rank: 65,704
  • File size: 700 KB
  • Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses.

Meet the Author

Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot
Keeping up with Meg Cabot is tricky: the Princess Diaries author turns out light entertaining novels for teens and adults at a furious pace. Which is good news for her fans, who snap them up as fast as she can write them!

Biography

Meg Cabot knows that one of the best cures for feeling gawky and conspicuous is reading about someone who sticks out even more than you do. Her books for young adults invariably feature girls who have extraordinary powers that carry extraordinary burdens. Cabot's Princess Diaries series offers up the secret thoughts of Mia Thermopolis, who discovers at age 14 that she is actually the princess of a small European country. This revelation adds significantly to her extant concerns about crushes, friendships, school, and other matters falling under adolescent scrutiny.

Cabot, a native of Indiana weaned on Judy Blume and Barbara Cartland, was already a successful romance novelist (as Patricia Cabot) before she began writing for young adults; her alter-alter ego, Jenny Carroll, began a new series shortly after The Princess Diaries debuted. The Carroll books are divided between the Mediator series, starring a girl who can communicate with restless ghosts; and the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU books, in which a girl struck by lightning acquires the ability to locate missing people.

Cabot writes her books in a conspiratorial, first-person style that resonates with her readers. She has obviously kept a grip on the vernacular and the key issues of adolescence; but what makes her books so irresistible is the mixing of the mundane with the fantastic. After all, who wouldn't like to wake up and be a princess all of a sudden, or a seer? Cabot takes such offhand notions and roots them firmly in the details of average, middle-class American life. She has also tiptoed into mystery and paranormal suspense with other YA novels and series installments.

Cabot continues to write adult novels under various permutations of her given name (Meggin Patricia Cabot): from 19th-century historical romances to contemporary chick lit. And, as with her books for teens, these romances have earned praise for their lighthearted humor and well drawn characters.

Good To Know

Some interesting outtakes from our interview with Cabot:

"I am left handed."

"I hate tomatoes of any kind."

"I really wanted to be veterinarian, but I got a 410 on my math SATs."

"Writing used to be my hobby, but now that it's my job, I have no hobby -- except watching TV and laying around the pool reading US Weekly. I have tried many hobbies, such as knitting, Pilates, ballet, yoga, and guitar, but none of them have taken. So I guess I'm stuck with no hobby.

    1. Also Known As:
      Meggin Patricia Cabot (full name); Patricia Cabot, Jenny Caroll
    2. Hometown:
      New York, New York
    1. Education:
      B.A. in fine arts, Indiana University, 1991
    2. Website:
      http://www.megcabot.com

First Chapter

Boy Meets Girl
The New York Journal
New York City's Leading Photo-Newspaper

Kathleen A. Mackenzie
Personnel Representative
Human Resources
The New York Journal
216 W. 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
212-555-6891

Ida D. Lopez
Craft Food Services
The New York Journal
216 W. 57th Street
New York, NY 10019

Dear Mrs. Lopez:

Last week, we met to address your continuing job-performance problems related to the giving out of dissemination of serving of items from the dessert cart you operate in the newspaper's senior staff dining room. These problems have persisted despite repeated counseling sessions with me my boss Amy Jenkins supervisors as well as staff training programs. Specifically, your refusal to give disseminate serve dessert to certain members of the senior staff has resulted in several written complaints from administrators at this establishment paper company.

Mrs. Lopez, your refusal to serve dessert to certain members of the paper's staff is disruptive to food service operations, and the explanations that you have provided for your behavior are not satisfactory wholly believable inexplicable acceptable. This letter is being issued as a written warning with the expectation that there will be an immediate and sustained improvement in your work attitude food service dissemination job performance. Failure to comply will result in further disciplinary action.

On a more personal note, Mrs. Lopez, please stop refusing to give senior staff members dessert, even if you feel, as you explained to me last week, that they don't "deserve it." Which members of the paper's staff do or do not deserve dessert is not your decision to make! And I would hate to see you asked to leave the food craft services department over something so silly! I would really miss you -- and your chocolate chip cookies!

Damn it.

From the Desk of
Kate Mackenzie

To do:

  1. Laundry!!!!!!!!!
  2. Finish disciplinary warning letter to Ida Lopez.
  3. Pick up prescriptions -- Allegra, Imitrex, Levlen.
  4. Get new Almay pressed powder compact.
  5. Find new apartment.
  6. Find new boyfriend.
  7. Get better job.
  8. Get married.
  9. Have successful career.
  10. Have children/grandchildren/big retirement party.
  11. Die in sleep at age 100.
  12. Pick up dry cleaning!!!!!!!!!

Kathleen A. Mackenzie
Personnel Representative, L–Z
Human Resources
The New York Journal
216 W. 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
212-555-6891
kathleen.mackenzie@thenyjournal.com

Sleaterkinneyfan: What are you doing?

Katydid: WORKING. Stop IM-ing me, you know the T.O.D. doesn't like it when we IM during office hours.

Sleaterkinneyfan: The T.O.D. can bite me. And you are not working. I can see your desk from here. You're making another one of those To Do lists, aren't you?

Katydid: It may look like I'm making a To Do list, but really I am reflecting on the series of failures and bad judgment calls that have made up my life.

Sleaterkinneyfan: Oh my God, you are twenty-five years old. You have not even had a life yet.

Katydid: Then why am I in such mental and emotional anguish?

Sleaterkinneyfan: Because you stayed up too late last night watching Charmed reruns. Don't try to deny it, I heard you salivating over Cole.

Katydid: Oh my God, I'm so sorry!!!!!!!! Did I keep you and Craig awake?

Sleaterkinneyfan: Please. Craig would sleep through a nuclear blast. And I only heard you because I got up to use the bathroom. These hormones make me have to go every five minutes.

Katydid: I am so, so sorry. I swear I will be off your couch and out of your place just as soon as I get a line on a studio I can afford. Paula's taking me to look at one tomorrow night in Hoboken. $1100/month, third-floor walk-up.

Sleaterkinneyfan: Would you stop? I told you, we like having you stay with us.

Katydid: Jen, you and Craig are trying to have a BABY. You do not need an old college roommate sacking out on your living room couch while you are trying to procreate. You did enough just getting me this job in the first place.

Sleaterkinneyfan: You more than earn your keep with all the cleaning you do. Don't think I haven't noticed. Craig even pointed out this morning that you had dusted the top of the refrigerator. Obsessive much, by the way? Who even looks at the top of the refrigerator?

Katydid: Well, Craig, OBVIOUSLY.

Sleaterkinneyfan: Whatever. You can't afford $1100/month on your salary. I know how much you make, remember?

Katydid: It's the cheapest place Paula's found me so far. That isn't on the same block as a methadone clinic.

Sleaterkinneyfan: I don't understand why YOU are the one who had to move out. Why didn't you kick HIM out?

Katydid: I can't stay in that apartment. Not with the memories of all the happy times Dale and I shared.

Sleaterkinneyfan: Oh, you mean like all those times you came home from work to find that, like, one of his bandmates had mistaken the closet for the bathroom and peed on your suede boots?

Katydid: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BRING THAT UP AT WORK? You know it always makes me want to cry. I really loved those boots. They were perfect Coach knockoffs.

Sleaterkinneyfan: You should have thrown his stuff out onto the fire escape and changed the locks. "I don't know if I can marry you after all, I have to take things one day at a time." I mean, what kind of thing is that for a guy to say?????

Katydid: Um, the kind of thing an ex-pothead who is about to land a million-dollar recording contract would say to the girl he has dated since high school. I mean, come on, Jen. Dale can get anyone now. Why would he stay with his girlfriend from high school?

Boy Meets Girl. Copyright © by Meg Cabot. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4.5
( 150 )

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  • Posted October 4, 2009

    It's Different

    This book is definitely different from the books I normally read and it certainly took a little getting used to. I ordered it online so I didn't really know anything other then the description the site offered. I'm not sure I would have gotten it if I knew what it was life before hand. The story is told, not in traditional story-like form. Instead, you read a series of e-mails, letters, transcripts and IM messages to learn the story. You read enough so you know what is going on but I constantly felt like there was more to the story then I was getting. It became very frustrating several times. I will give it props because it is certainly creative especially considering the world we live in where everything is done electronically. The problem is that I felt like there was just enough information to be sure I knew what was going on but nothing extra. That said, the actual idea was a good one and, from the information I did have, I really liked the characters. I think this is a book to borrow first and then, if you like it, buy it. I certainly would have been just fine not buying it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 30, 2007

    Amazzzing!!!

    This book is all about love, life, and taking chances! I'd recommend it to any girl!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 18, 2004

    Read It In A Day

    This book was great. I'd just read the Boy Next Door and it was interesting how some of the characters from that appeared in this story as well. The character development is exceptional especially considering the book's unconventional style (written through e-mails, phone calls, instant messages). I couldn't put it down. I hope this series continues.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 20, 2012

    Great book

    Great i LOVE this book and meg is my fav author EVER

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 30, 2011

    Okay...

    So no offense but you are honestly boring me to death with the long comments!!! I only look at these to see the reveiws not some long sapy story about how it is a wonderful experience and it is beutifuuly written!!!! Again no offense!!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 8, 2011

    Very funny and true to HR life

    I thought that this book was a great read. I would highly recommend this book.

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  • Posted June 29, 2010

    Fun for Rain or Shine

    The book highlights a working friendship that many of us experience.It written like an email exchange and many of us have done that in the office. The chic lit is not hard to figure out but the ride is so much fun. This is a great book for quick mindless reading that you may need in order to get back some of your sanity. I recommend it for a fun light read on the beach; during a rain storm; on a plane ride or just because. It is not thrilling or mindblowing but it is definitely funny, light and great read!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 4, 2010

    An adorable book to make you smile.

    You know those days when you just don't want to think? You just want to read something that will take you away and make you laugh and smile. Well, then you will enjoy this book. Sure, it's a chick lit book. Sure, you can probably figure out what's going to happen, but who cares? The fun is going along with the ride and seeing how it all unfolds.

    Meg Cabot decided to write this book in quite an original format, all through emails. As I was reading this book, I could truly picture my friends and I sending sending emails back and forth to each other that would be quite similar. I laughed out loud so many times. Each of the characters were so endearing that you rooted for all of them.

    As I said, if you are looking for a literary classic, this is not it. If you are looking to be entertained and laugh a lot, then I would definitely pick up this book. You'll read it in one day.

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  • Posted July 11, 2009

    Boy Meets Girl

    In today's email crazy world, it was fun following Meg's ping-pong style of writing in email fashion and it was different to say the least. This was a humorous, easy read that actually held my interest to the end. I even laughed out loud several times! My first Meg Cabot and I intend to read more. Yes, I recommend this cute book!

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 5, 2008

    A classic

    My friend loaned me this great book. Throughout I laughed endlessly. This is a light, fast read you will really enjoy. I could not put it down. Kate is wonderful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 23, 2008

    Great way to spend your free time!

    TERRIFIC read! I laughed out loud!! The characters are all awesome!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 26, 2008

    WOW!!!

    Way to go Kate! What a Wonderful book to read! It doesn't disappoint! Everything seems to go downhill for Kate but with a gorgeous lawyer on her side, it all starts climbing up for her!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 24, 2007

    A New Spin on Chick Lit

    I loved this book, the fact it's written in the form of e-mails, notes, journal entrys and even store recipts took me aback just a bit. I recommend it to anyone looking for something light and outrageously funny.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 10, 2007

    Excellent!

    Excellent book! All of the Meg Cabot books I've read so far have been excellent! This one was sweet and charming and it made me happy! Your the best Meg Cabot! )

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 18, 2006

    wonderful read!!!

    loved this book. the way it was written in emails and notes made it easy to follow and fun to read. it's definitely a book you want to sit down and read!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 6, 2006

    Love and Without a Home

    Katie wasn¿t having a good love life at all. Her boyfriend, of ten years, would not commit to a marriage, so she broke up with him, she then had to find a place to live, because it was his apartment. She ended up staying with her best friend, and co-workers house , since she couldn¿t afford to pay for an apartment rent in New York City. After a while living there, Katie thought she should move out because Jen and her husband were trying to have a baby. Consequently, she ends up losing her job at the same time. She got in trouble, because it was her turn to fire someone, and it happened to be Ida Lopez, the sweet lady who made bake goods. Well, she was accused by her boss of writing a paper that she never wrote, nor ever seen it. Katie ends up staying wither her co-worker Dolly for a while. Things heat up with Katie and her lawyer. There were many things I enjoyed about this book but there were also things I didn¿t really like. One of the things I really disliked was the fact that they were all emails, instant messages, journal entries, or phone calls. With all the e-mails it was confusing for me since you had to know who it was to and who it was from. I really enjoyed the act that it was very intense, and you never knew what was going to happen next.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 11, 2006

    Fun Read

    This book was so cute..it's style was so much different than the books I usually read. I loved how the the main character was just a small town girl (Kentucky) in a big city! Her love life was so funny too! It's a cute read, I definately reccomend it!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 4, 2006

    Excellent Read

    This book was so easy and fun to read. The style it's written in is a nice change of pace. Everything is in e-mails, IM conversations, notes, voice messages, and journal entries. As soon as I started reading it, I only put it down to sleep and managed to finish it in less than a day. And I'm not much of a reader at that. It's very cute and has you rooting for the main character and waiting for that special moment to finally happen. It definitely inspired me to buy more of Meg Cabot's books.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 7, 2006

    Wow!

    This book is not only fun and easy to read,but it is also romantic! I loved it.I would recommend to any girl who wants to find true love.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 18, 2006

    Fabulous Read

    This was a totally entertaining 'chick-lit' read, told completely through IMs and emails. I could absolutely relate to many of the conversations the characters had at work...and I have to say the letters and songs written by kate's ex-boyfriend made me laugh out loud. If you are looking for something light hearted to boost your spirits, I absolutely recommend this book.

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