Carol Gorman

Cute middle school book about a boy who tries to reinvent his image into someone cool and struggles with how to keep up with his interests (science and other things he fears the cool kids will think are dorky) while still appearing cool to the girl whose looks he admires. In the end, he discovers he has more fun with the people who share his interests than he does with those he needs to pretend with.

I liked that the main character stood up for the girl who had first befriended him when the show more popular girl called her a nerd. I also like that the author shows that it's hard to keep track of the lies you have to tell when you try to be someone you're not, and that being true to yourself doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up alone.

I don't like that the main character told so many lies to appear cool. I don't like that the cool girl was using the main character to make another guy jealous--at the same time leading on the main character to think that they might have something together--though it could be that the main character was just too besotted or too naive to see the writing on the wall.

I like that in the end, the main character shocked the cool kids by choosing to hang out with the smart kids. show less

First, the bad. The theme of a nerdy 6th-grade kid trying to pass as cool has been done. And the details of setting put this in a very narrow cultural era that readers will not remember - kids send emails to each other, but real newspapers are still delivered door-to-door to most addresses in a neighborhood.

But the good is that Gorman has a deft touch and adds interesting details; the story is free of most cliches. It's lively, plausible, and I liked it a lot. I think kids would, too.

Mick Sullivan and Boot Quinn have been enemies for quite some time, and now they have a new principal who believes in solving problems differently. Thus, for two periods a day, they must come to the office, and sit in a room together and play board games until they can figure out how to get along. At first, it makes them angrier, and they challenge each other to a series of dares based on the things that are most important to each of them. They also both have a crush on Tabitha, who is show more secretly taking bets on how their daily games and dares will turn out. Both boys have issues at home: Mick is a constant disappointment to his dad since he doesn't like sports, and motherless Boot is often knocked around by his father and older brother. Told from both Mick's and Boot's point of view, the story is realistic and interesting, with great characters. show less

It took awhile for this story to take off for me, in part because I did not find the boys' personalities distinctive enough to remember whose voice was narrating a given chapter. Fans of books told in alternating perspectives (a la "Flipped") may enjoy this one.

Mick and Boot are sworn enemies for as long as they can remember. For
some reason they just can't stand each other. It's only September 8th
and they have had two fights at school already. Instead of suspending
them again,the new show more principal requires them to come in during class and
lunch and play board games. Relations continue to be prickly and the
animosity climaxes in a game of dare in front of their classmates. Mick's
dare is to splash red paint on the public library, his beloved hangout,
and Boot's dare is to shoplift an instrument from a music store run by
his closest friend. In alternating chapters (Mick's Turn, Boot's Turn)
we see their differing perspectives on the situation and how their
troubled home lives impact them. As the boys get to know each other, a sort of truce takes place show less