THE CRUSHES

Four best friends who failed to learn from their mistakes are back for a summer of boys, breakups and text messaging. In this sequel to The Heartbreakers (2007), Alexia, Raven and Sydney are all convinced their relationships are pretty good. Using their dating expertise, they come up with a list of rules for their single friend Kelly on how to properly entice a crush. Kelly needs to do as her friends say and not as they do, however, because despite their stable relationships with their stomach-butterflies–inducing boyfriends, they’re developing stomach-butterfly–inducing crushes on new boys. The Crush Code (a list of rules for crushes) puts a strain on the friendship and enhances the drama that is the microcosm of high-school relationships. Add in a little family turmoil and the end result is fun yet ultimately uninspiring, with indistinct characters and vanilla dialogue. Those who love to love will enjoy the never-ending supply of physically perfect boys and might sympathize with the girls, whose friendship almost comes to a halt over a boy. More critical romance readers will have trouble distinguishing between characters and keeping the story lines straight. (Fiction. 14 & up)