Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The (Almost) Perfect Guide to Imperfect Boys by Barbara Dee

Genre:  Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.



I really loved this book.  Finley and Maya are best friends and eighth graders. They have been studying boys all year.  They have even kept a notebook of their observations. They call it The Amphibian Life Cycle. They have basically divided boys into three categories. The first categories is called Tadpoles.  These are the immature boys who still do and say dumb things that seem so elementary.  The next category is called Croakers.  These are the boys whose voices are beginning to change as are they.  They are no longer tadpoles but aren't up to the final category yet. The third and final category is called Frogs. This is when boys begin to talk intelligently to girls and see like they are more mature and prepared for high school.  As in all schools you have the mean kids, in this case the "mean girls". What happens when the mean girls get hold of the notebook and share it with everyone?  Disaster.  
I've thought about this book a lot. When we return to school I want to introduce the book to my classes.  To be fair I want to read just a little bit of it.  Then I want to to have my students write a very short essay on how they see the opposite sex and if they believe the girls were justified.  I loved the way the last few chapters went. It proves that in middle school the boys and girls are both trying to figure each other out. They are both confused.  I believe this book will give my students and middle school age kids everywhere a look at how similar they all are and may make them think about ways to handle situations like this.

Want to learn more about the author then click here.

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