The Making of Dr. Truelove

Derrick Barnes

Jun 2008 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

A teen boy invents a smooth alter ego in his quest to win back his ex-girlfriend in this funny, off-beat novel.

Diego is a sixteen-year-old boy with a problem. When he breaks up with the girl he loves due to his insecurities, he is crushed. Will he ever win Roxy back? On the trusty advice of his best friend, Diego invents an alter ego known as Dr. Truelove, a sex and relationship e-columnist who knows how to treat the ladies.

Ratings and reviews

When Diego's plans to lose his virginity with his girlfriend, Roxy, don't go the way he wanted them to, he pushes her away. Too late, he realizes his mistake, but he has no idea how to get her back. She's a great girl, being chased by one of the hottest young athletes around, and Diego is a jazz-loving math geek--a jazz-loving math geek who understands Roxy like no one else, but still. There's no way, he thinks, that he can compete with popular, athletic John-John McAfee. However, his boy J-Live has a plan. A rather insane plan, sure, but it's all Diego's got, so he agrees to go along with it. J-Live wants Diego to start writing an anonymous column about love and sex online. The plan, he says, is foolproof. Diego will learn his stuff from girly magazines, write it all as the anonymous Dr. Dexter Truelove, and then, at the height of his popularity, Diego's identity will be revealed, and Roxy, realizing that he really does have a way with the ladies, will want him back. Any sensible person--Diego included--would realize the insanity of this plan, but Diego will do anything to get back with Roxy. Of course, like all good plans, it has serious potential to blow up in his face... Derrick Barnes' smart, funny, debut novel will appeal to all teens. Barnes holds nothing back here, so in case the previous summary isn't enough, beware of some racy content. However, if you're comfortable with that, you will love this book! Barnes is a talented author who really brings his characters to life--my personal favorite is the always scheming J-Live. I can't wait to see what Derrick Barnes comes up with next!

About the author

Derrick Barnes is the author of the New York Times bestseller The King of Kindergarten, as well as the critically acclaimed multi-award-winning picture book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, which received a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, the 2018 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, and the 2018 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers. He also wrote the bestselling chapter book series Ruby and the Booker Boys. In 2020, he became the only author in the history of the award to have won the Kirkus Prize twice with his twelfth release, the New York Times bestseller, I Am Every Good Thing. Derrick is a graduate of Jackson State University and was the first African American male creative copywriter hired by greeting cards giant Hallmark Cards. He is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, but currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his enchanting wife, Dr. Tinka Barnes, and their four sons, the Mighty Barnes Brothers.