** spoiler alert ** 
 I need to get this off my chest...The cover of this book drives me crazy, because the Ryan Dean character looks like Joel McHale, who played Jeff Winger in the TV show Community, and that's just too many parallels. Anyway- I would give this book 4.5 stars. Loved that it was a sequel to another book that I also very much enjoyed. Andrew Smith creates substantial characters who feel real emotions, and especially MALE characters that have emotional depth beyond being obsessed with sex. I loved the theme of consensual sex (even though it comes from the weirdo health teacher), the fact that Ryan Dean was the team captain because people respected him, how he still acted like an asshole at times but was able to identify it (and apologize), his supportive girlfriend who encouraged him to seek help with a counselor to deal with his anxiety attacks, everything! Nico's character was a great addition, and the complicated nature of his relationship with Ryan Dean was nice too. They weren't just BFFs because of Joey, but were able to be honest with each other and talk about tough issues. I wished there was more in the book (could have done without the whole cheese stand incident at the end) but I'm glad that Smith didn't pack an entire academic year into this book. I would definitely recommend this book.