There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

This would've received 4 stars if the ending hadn't been quite so neatly tied up, and a key event involving parents quite so cartoonish. I was big fan of Holes (book and movie, which he scripted). This is for a younger audience. I think the title falsely suggests something silly along the lines of Rockwells How to Eat Fried Worms. A better title IMO would be Bradley Chalkers is a Monster. The author though considers it one of his better titles.

Title and ending aside, this is a well-told story about a kid who has isolated himself from his peers through repeated acts of buffoonery and nastiness. Even he doesn't know why he does it. Into his life comes a new kid to the school, also at loose ends, several girls in his class with very mixed show more messages, and Clara, the new school counselor, who is one really wise person.

This is a young reader book that manages to be very funny and very sad in adjacent paragraphs. I don't know how kids receive it, but highly recommended for adults. show less

There's a Boy in The Girls' Bathroom is an excellent book conveying the feelings of kids trying to find their place among one another. Louis Sachar does a wonderful job explaining the emotions involved in being an outcast and the complicated reasons for odd behavior. While easily speaking to children about the passive aggressive nature of friendships, adults also are able to gain insight into one another. There's a stern scolding to parents who get so caught up in grades and preparing for their child's future that they forget about their present day feelings and needs.

Sachar blends a nice amount of humor into the book, keeping the book from getting too heavy with emotional tugging. It's a touching book but joyful as well. It reminds show more the young and old alike to appreciate one another and approach each other with tolerance as well. show less

Bradley Chalkers is a horrible child who is rude to everyone. He is full of fear and self loathing, and whenever there is a chance for something to get better for him, he rips it up and jumps up and down on it.

However, Carla Davis is a beautiful blonde blue eyed school counsellor, who believes there is good in everyone, and by making time and space for Bradley gives him the ability to try again.

This book in some ways feels unrealistically full of easy answers. By the end, Bradley is playing basketball with the other kids and being invited to birthday parties.

In other ways, it's so dark around the edges! The Lovely Counsellor gets kicked out of the school because the people who don't like her can be bothered to organise, and the people show more who think she's good just don't care very much. Jeff, who is a genuinely nice kid who has tried harder with Bradley than anyone else, ends up on the losing team with a weird dolls dress, while Bradley wins everything and gets a cool harmonica

But it is nice to have a bit of hope, a book where even the most unlovable people are lovable if we just try. show less

Grade 4-7 An unlikely protagonist, Bradley Chalkers is a friendless, lying, insecure bully who is the oldest boy in his fifth-grade class. In this humorous novel that tells of Bradley's learning to like himself and to make friends, Sachar ably captures both middle-grade angst and joy. Bradley's triumph comes through the friendship of a new boy at school and the help of the new school counselor. Readers, like the astute counselor, can see the strengths that Bradley has, and will cheer at his minor victories and cringe at his setbacks along the way. The story is unusual, witty, and satisfying, if not always believable: a few incidents just do not work. For instance, even though Bradley has not been doing his homework, his complete show more ignorance of it is unlikely (``He hadn't realized. . .he would need to bring his book home''), and his total unfamiliarity with birthday parties is too extreme for a ten year old, even one who hadn't been to a party in three years. Yet Bradley's need for acceptance even as he holds back from classmates who might mock or hurt him is genuine, and his eventual success will gratify readers show less

My daughter, who is one month from being 8 years old, really liked this book! I, however, did not. (I'm 46) I didn't like the main character, Bradley, at all. He is basically a jerk. His parents were incredibly neglectful and his teacher is lazy and pretty bad at her job. I did like the message that getting counseling could be beneficial, and that people can change - that is true and a big positive of this story. But up until that revelation, I was very disappointed in the whole thing. I would file it, much like Bradley himself, in the bookshelf - last shelf, bottom row.

A very well written book-- funny but much more serious than i had anticipated. Bradley Chalkers is the oldest kid in the 5th grade- a well known and always avoided "serious behavior problem" that no one (not even the teachers) likes. Every one is afraid of him and they avoid him at all costs. Enter Jeff, the new kid who has to sit next to him in class, who has no friends yet, does not know Bradley is a social pariah and befriends him. But this is realistic fiction, and Bradley does not know how to be a friend, Jeff makes friends quickly and doesn't want to become a social outcast and a new young school psychologist shakes things up in more ways than one. Winner of 19 children's choice awards, There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom is show more funny and moving and with the notable exception of the the corny ---basketball -let's all be friends now --scene--very realistic portrayal of upper elementary and early middle school social horror show that most kids will relate too. Not fluffy at all-- a good solid read. Highly recommended. show less

Bradley Chalkers might be the class troublemaker, but this story proves there’s more beneath the surface. Louis Sachar delivers a heartwarming, funny, and powerful tale about friendship, change, and believing in yourself. With the help of a compassionate school counselor, Bradley’s journey from isolation to connection is both relatable and inspiring. A must-read for middle schoolers who enjoy stories about personal growth and second chances.