Real live boyfriends
This symbolic title of the novel represents the main character’s analysis of her relationships with the opposite sex. Real live boyfriends are true boyfriends, those who answer the phone when you call them, those who don’t avoid you, don’t look at the phone while talking to you and are genuinely interested in what you have to say. They are live boyfriends because they feel like a real person in your life instead of an occasional confusing occurrence.
Making lists
The main character makes various lists throughout the novel. These lists are significant because they represent a way for Ruby to gather her thoughts and prevent chaotic overthinking. She makes lists of possible choices she has, like the possible stereotypes of boyfriends at the beginning of the novel:
1. Scamming mate: you fool around, but you don’t hang out. Ever.
2. Friend with benefits: You fool around, and you do hang out, but you are not going out.
3. Kind-of, sort-of, it’s-all-very-confusing boyfriend: Self-explanatory.
What is love?
The interesting aspect of the novel are excerpts from Ruby’s videos she films for her college project, asking people around her what love is. During her creation of this project, Ruby finds herself in quite a love predicament, which makes her question everything she knew about love. Ruby is a girl only just discovering herself as a woman, and this is an important learning process for her.
Nora: “Love is when you have a really amazing piece of cake, and it’s the very last piece, but you let him have it.” And Noel, saying: “I want your updates. I do. I want all your updates, Ruby.”
Flushing down self-loathing
As an interesting form of therapy for Ruby, Doctor Z tells her to write everything that bothers and gives her heartbreak on a piece of paper and flush it down the toilet. Ruby shrugs it off at first, but soon discovers that it works to some extent. A significant scene in which she reunites with Nora, her friend from childhood, shows the two girls bonding over heartbreak - Nora because her friends betrayed her and Ruby because of the general state of things in her life. They decide to flush down their worries, and Nora encourages Ruby to flush down her self-loathing. This is significant because it is a start of Ruby’s emotional and mental healing.
