Rating: 
Summary: A boring, generic waste of time & paper!
Review: I brought this book with me to the beach to read this weekend. Instead of whiling away the afternoon engrossed in its pages, I was enraged that I had been "taken" by such a trite, uncreative attempt at writing, especially by someone who in the past has shown extreme talent. This book trys so hard to be hip and yet it fails miserably. Its almost as if Ms. Goldsmith is trying to cash in on all the readers of books about young singles such as Bridget Jones, Confessions of a Shopaholic or Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married. However, the differences between this book and those was that the others were GOOD! And they were probably good because the authors knew what they were writing about and were closer in age to their heroines. They had their fingers on what was going on in their worlds around them. Ms. Goldsmith certainly does not have her finger on the heartbeat of the twentysomething Seattlites she is attempting to write about. In fact, she is so much older and so much further removed that her poor attempts to portray these people and their words and actions at times made me physically wince. (It was kind of like a dorky junior high health teacher wanting to talk with a 9th grader about rap music - instead of being cool, the teacher just looks like more of a dork.) This book was fomulmatic and extremely predictable. Somewhere around page three you can decipher the rest of the story. I just kept hanging on thinking there would be some twist of fate, but once again I was let down. Obviously, this is not her genre. Not only would I not recommend this book to anyone, I would tell others to RUN in the other direction from it. Don't let it ruin your trip to the beach!
Rating:
Summary: Hurrah!
Review: Finally folks are getting the courage to say what I haven't had the guts to say! Why is it that bad books are published just because the author has had a previous success? Bad Boy is a perfect example where I feel my money was taken by a publishing house under false pretenses. It is time for publishers to JUST SAY NO to bad books! Bad Boy really is a BAD BOOK! I have been steaming for months over this very issue and this very book, and hope Goldsmith's editor and publisher stand up and take notice. Bad Boy isn't worth the paper it was written on, and it is clear that not much thought was put into the outline, completion and editing of the manuscript. As a serious and copious reader, I think I deserve better. Read Goldsmith's other books, they are pretty darned good. This one really is a stinker.
Rating:
Summary: Whiney Boy
Review: I didn't find much "bad" about Olivia Goldsmith's character, Jon. I found him rather annoying. All he did was whine. "Tracie WHY don't the girls like me. Why why why." Because you are an annoying character that should have never been written, that is why. I wanted to smack him across the head. Seriously, I am most relieved that the initial hype this book has generated has worn off, and most readers are now starting to see that this is a book that indeed was hacked out rather quickly to make a bit more money off the success of Goldsmith's previous work. It is not a good piece of fiction. And as for the comparisons to Bird's "The Boyfriend School," indeed they are justified. Goldsmith has taken a fine piece of humorous fiction, and changed a few minor details (enough to destroy the heart of TBS), and called it her own. The main characters have the same occupations, Tracie/Gretchen both work as newspaper feature writers, they both have boyfriends that are in the music business, and from beginning to end the similarities would take a book to list. And the book is called "The Boyfriend School." I guess it is legal in literary circles, but it doesn't seem quite ethical. As has been said about "Bad Boy," and quite succinctly, save your money. If you want a funny read, find "The Boyfriend School." It is out of print, but will be WELL worth the effort to locate it.
Rating:
Summary: Not What I Expected From Goldsmith
Review: If I had not known that Olivia Goldsmith had written "Bad Boy" I would have thought it was a first time novel from a novice writer. I really have enjoyed her previous novels, but this one left me puzzled. It was missing something important---heart. That spark that makes us really care about her characters. I didn't care about Tracey. I didn't care about Jon. They both seemed rather insipid, and if they were actually friends of mine, I would dump them in a heartbeat. The only remotely interesting character in the entire book was a formulaic waitress that recurred throughout the book, and frankly, I can't even remember her name, so she wasn't all that remarkable. After the first two chapters, things really got slow. I think naptime at the nursing home would be more lively. There was just no life in this book. And quite frankly, I don't know how the author ever thought she knew anything about the great state of Washington, but she doesn't have a clue! Here's hoping that Goldsmith's next book makes up for this clunker.
Rating:
Summary: I Love The Cover!
Review: Based on the wonderful early publicity on Bad Boy, I eagerly picked up my copy. What a horrible shock! I am pleased to see some more realistic reviews coming out. Bad Boy really truly is a bad copy of Sara Bird's "The Boyfriend School!" There is so much that is wrong with Bad Boy, I can honestly say the only thing I liked was the cover design.
Rating: 
Summary: Rather Pointless
Review: I was looking forward to a wickedly fun read, and was very very disappointed. This was a rather dull and rather long drawn out affair, which seemed hastily written and full of characters with pointless lives, and who exist in the book for pointless reasons. The cover is nice, but as has been said, you can't judge a book by it's cover. Olivia Goldsmith can write, and can write very well, but took a dive on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Indeed, A Boyfriend School Ripoff
Review: My stars, I am glad I am not the only one who was very uncomfortable by the incredible similarities to Sara Bird's wonderful book, "The Boyfriend School." In "Bad Boy," Goldsmith has indeed taken almost indecent liberties with Bird's work. I know that it is very common to borrow ideas, themes, characters and plots and recombine and rewrite them into a new story. But in this case, Goldsmith has so many things that are exactly the same, that it defies the explanation of "mere" coincidence. Perhaps Goldsmith read Bird's work years ago, and subconsciously kept the storyline alive, and it has come forth in a (barely) new incarnation. Don't know the answer to this question, but I do know that the publisher and/or editor should have sniffed this out before the book went to print. Indeed, Goldsmith and her editor and publisher owe an apology to first and foremost to Sarah Bird, and secondly to her fans, who have paid their hard earned money for this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I'm a huge Olivia Goldsmith fan. I reread _First_Wives_Club_ from time to time, and I adore _Bestseller_. I even keep copies of her lesser works around, on the theory that there will be another long winter night when I need some high-quality mind-candy to keep me company in front of the fire. This book, however, went to the used bookstore as soon as I finished it. And even finishing it was a struggle. What's wrong with this book? A better question would be what's right about this book, and the answer to that is "not much". Basically, the writing style is fluent and the first 70 pages are enjoyable. My specific quibbles with the book are: -- shoddy research: you cannot fly from Tacoma to Seattle, since the Seattle-Tacoma International airport serves Seattle AND Tacoma -- more shoddy research: people in Seattle talk about locations in it by neighborhood name, not by intersection -- more shoddy research: the Mother's Day journey Jon undertakes is almost certainly not possible on a bicycle -- more shoddy research: Jon's experience at a high tech powerhouse is unlike anyone's experience at any high tech powerhouse I have ever worked at, heard about from employees, or can imagine -- still more shoddy research: what kind of newspaper reporter gets to work regular hours, let alone never be at work? what kind of full-time newspaper writer produces only four or five fluff pieces in a several-month period? (All this shoddy research makes me wonder why she bothered to set a book in a location and setting she knew nothing about.) More things that are wrong with this book: -- stupid plotlines, unresolved issues and weird digressions -- unlikable, unbelievable, unrealistic characters -- a foreshortened ending, which was entirely unsatisfying and unbelievable (All of which makes me wonder why she wrote it so fast, so short, and so poorly.) I'm sorry I bothered to finish the book. I only did so because I just couldn't bring myself to believe that Olivia Goldsmith could write such a bad book. But she could, and she did. I will be buying her next book in paperback. I hope it's better than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Could Have Been Better
Review: Kind of slow reading, with conversational gems few and far between. Not up to Goldsmith's normally witty style--seems kind of tired, and plods along at times like an old horse at the end of a hard work day. Needed major editing. I would not recommend purchasing this book, perhaps borrow from a friend or library, but not worth adding to your own collection. I would not recommend. Read only if extremely bored, or while snoozing at the beach.
Rating:
Summary: Bad Boy, Bad Book
Review: Bad Boy, Bad Book. I heard in my library discussion group it was taken from an earlier book by another author, and I read the Boyfriend School, and boy oh boy it is lifted right from it. Geez! Is this legal? Bad Bad Author. Don't spend your money on a bad boring book which the author cannot even come up with her own ideas. If she was caught shoplifting this book, she would be in jail for ten years. Can books be given a negative star rating? -10.
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