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2009 edition of The Boy Next Door featuring Mel and Paco
The Boy series are four "loosely connected" novels.[1] Each novel is mostly told through emails between the budding couple and their friends, family, and coworkers. The Boy Next Door follows the developing romance between Melissa Fuller and John Trent, while Boy Meets Girl tells the story of Kathleen Mackenzie and Mitchell Hertzog, and Every Boy's Got One focuses on Jane Harris and Cal Langdon.
Main characters[]
Melissa Fuller[]
Melissa "Mel" Fuller is a journalist with the New York Journal, her specific title being Page Ten Columnist.[2] She is originally from a small town called Lansing, Illinois. Mel moved to New York City just after college. She became best friends with her coworker Nadine Wilcock. After her neighbor Helen Friedlander was attacked and put in a coma, Mel contacted her nephew to have him take care of her pets. She developed feelings for him and began dating. Thus, Mel was devastated when she learned he was lying about his identity and was actually John Trent.
John Trent[]
John Trent is a grandson of Genevieve Trent of the wealthy Trent family. He has an older brother, Jason Trent, whom he is particularly close to. John works as the Senior Crime Correspondent at the New York Chronicle.[3] His college roommate Max Friedlander asked him for a favor, entailing him to pose as Max. John felt obligated, but soon regretted agreeing to the favor when he began falling in love with Melissa Fuller. Nevertheless, John continued with the charade, afraid that he would destroy their relationship.
Kathleen Mackenzie[]
Kathleen "Kate" Mackenzie is a Personnel Representative in the Human Resources department of the New York Journal.[4]
Mitchell Hertzog[]
Mitchell Hertzog
Jane Harris[]
Jane Harris
Cal Langdon[]
Cal Langdon
New York Journal staff[]
Nadine Wilcock[]
Nadine Wilcock is Mel's best friend and coworker at the New York Journal, where she works as the resident Food Critic.[2] She is engaged to restaurant owner Tony Salerno. Insecure about her weight, Nadine made several attempts to slim down to a size twelve in preparation for her wedding. Aside from Tony, she dislikes men in general and is overprotective of Mel. She was one of the few to have suspicions about John and voiced them repeatedly to Mel.
Dolly Vargas[]
Dolly Vargas is the Style Editor at the New York Journal. She "comes from money" and lives a wealthy lifestyle, despite her $75,000 a year salary.[2] Dolly is sexually free, engaging in several office romances, including an affair with editor in chief Peter Hargrave. She also pursued Aaron Spender, though he initially resisted her due to his heartbreak over Mel.
Aaron Spender[]
Aaron Spender is the New York Journal's Chief Correspondent[2] He was once in line for a Pulitzer Prize for a story he wrote about an Ethiopian boy. Aaron dated his coworker Mel for three months. She broke up with up with him when he admitted to cheating on her with Barbara Bellerieve in Kabul.
George Sanchez[]
George Sanchez is the Managing Editor at the New York Journal.[2]
Tim Grabowski[]
Timothy "Tim Grabowski is a Computer Programmer at the New York Journal.[2] He is friends with Mel and Nadine.
Amy Jenkins[]
Amy Jenkins is the Human Resources Administrator at the New York Journal.[2] She keeps track of employees' tardiness and absences. Amy is generally disliked by her coworkers, one even describing her as "troll-like." She does not have a sense of humor and replies seriously to all of Mel's sarcastic messages.
Peter Hargrave[]
Peter Hargrave is the Editor in Chief at the New York Journal. His yearly salary is $120,000.[2] Peter is having an affair with Dolly, but refuses to leave his wife for her.
Trent family[]
Jason Trent[]
Stacy Trent[]
Brittany and Haley Trent[]
Brittany and Haley Trent are the seven-year-old twins of Jason and Stacy. They are fond of their uncle John and message him with their email, <weluvbarney@freemail.com>.
Genevieve Trent[]
Genevieve Randolph Trent, called "Mim" by her grandchildren.
Others[]
- John Trent, Jr.
Hertzog family[]
Stuart Hertzog[]
Stuart Hertzog
Margaret Hertzog[]
Margaret Hertzog
Others[]
Don and Beverly Fuller[]
Don and Beverly Fuller are the parents of Mel and her three brothers. They obtain an email address in order to keep in touch with Mel, though Beverly is clearly writing all of the messages.
Tony Salerno[]
Tony Salerno is Nadine's fiancé. He is the head chef and owner of Fresche.
Max Friedlander[]
Max Friedlander is a sought-after photographer. He is the nephew of Helen and stands to inherit her considerable fortune. When Helen went into a coma, Max cashed in on a favor owed to him by his college roommate, John. He then spent the following three months in Key West with supermodel, Vivica. She soon ate up all his finances and he ended the fling, causing her to reveal his scheme to his aunt's neighbor. He eventually returned to New York in search for work.
Helen Friedlander[]
Helen Friedlander is the eighty-two-year-old[5] aunt and only living relative of Max Friedlander. She was widowed by her husband, Henry, whom left her a considerable fortune. Helen's next-door neighbor Mel found her after she was attacked. She was rushed to the hospital, where she remained in a coma.
Vivica Chandler[]
Vivica Chandler is a popular supermodel best known for modeling a new version of the Wonder Bra. After breaking up with Donald Trump, she spent three months in Key West with Max. She fell in love with him, but he did not feel the same way. For revenge, she revealed his scheme to Mel and later became friends with her. Vivica is shown to be a kind person, though clueless and a bit unintelligent.
Michael Everett[]
Michael Everett
Paul Reese[]
Sergeant Paul Reese is a police officer belonging to the 89th Precinct of New York's police department. He is a friend of John and the two often swap information.
Minor characters[]
The Boy Next Door[]
- Barbara Bellerieve is an ABC news correspondent and host of TwentyFourSeven. She slept with Aaron while doing a report together in Kabul.
- Deborah Marie "Debbie" Phillips is a girl whom Mel went to high school with. Despite both living in New York, she and Mel have not kept in touch. Mel's parents sent her Debbie's wedding announcement to a doctor named, Michael Bourke.
- Giovanni is Tony's uncle. He gave his nephew and his bride-to-be an engagement party.
- Heidi, a Las Vegas showgirl that John nearly married. She was a redhead which John has a particular weakness for.
- Paco is a Great Dane owned by Helen. Typical to his breed, he is rather large and weighs about one hundred and twenty-pounds.
- Tweedledee, Tweedledum, and Mr. Peepers are three Siamese cats owned by Helen. Tweedledee passed away after swallowing a rubber band.
Boy Meets Girl[]
Every Boy's Got One[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.megcabot.com/boyseries/index.php
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Meg Cabot. The Boy Next Door, page 19 ISBN 0060096195
- ↑ Meg Cabot. The Boy Next Door, page 68 ISBN 0060096195
- ↑ Meg Cabot. Boy Meets Girl, page 1 ISBN 9780060085452
- ↑ Meg Cabot. The Boy Next Door, page 367 ISBN 0060096195
See also[]
| Boy series | ||||||
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