Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

Kate Brian makes a very likable character in Megan Meade. You immediately feel for her when she is plunged into a household of 7 boys, half of them being around her age. I cracked up a lot in the beginning thinking "what parents would really let their daughter move in with a family of boys, anyway?" but then I got swept up in the drama of the McGowan household and quickly forgot about the fact that the entire plot is fairly ridiculous.

When Megan first arrives, she gets tongue-tied and has a lot of problems with being able to speak up around everyone, especially the oldest of the boys, Evan. As the book progresses, she realizes that she does, in fact, know how to stand up for herself and her character becomes a lot stronger. She also show more comes to realize that appearances can be deceiving and that she might be paying attention to the wrong brother.

One of my favorite parts of the book were Megan's efforts to bond with Miller, who has Asperger's Syndrome. The way she helped him learn to be more comfortable in social situations was very sweet. She also, without really directly trying, manages to knock some sense into Doug, Miller's twin brother who had a lot of issues with acting out. Like the family ends up learning, who knew they needed a sister?

My one massive complaint with the book is that the ending is waaaay too abrupt. I mean, when I read a YA novel like this one, I expect to get my happy ending. While I'm not saying that it doesn't end happy, I am saying it cuts off far too quickly. In fact, that's exactly what happens: the story seems to just cut off.

Despite that, you do get the gist of how things end with the story, and it is a cute, quick read...so definitely pick it up if it seems like your cup of tea! show less

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Megan has always moved around a lot, but this time her living situation has changed even more drastically than usual. When she refused to pack up and move to South Korea with her parents, both in the army, they proposed another option: spending her last two years of high school living in Boston with the McGowans. John McGowan is an old friend of her father's. What makes this so different? The fact that the McGowans have seven sons. Megan is an only child, and can't imagine living with seven boys!

Life with Evan, Sean, Finn, Caleb, Ian, Miller, and Doug McGowan is as foreign to Megan as South Korea would have been. Her best friend from Texas, Tracy, even calls it an immersion experience; show more Megan will go in clueless and come out speaking the language of boys!

Even if the McGowan boys and Megan are supposed to be siblings, they don't exactly relate that way. After all, they haven't seen each other since they were little kids. Now Megan is in hostile territory; she's not exactly welcomed by each of the nine members of the McGowan family (though Regina, John's wife, is more than thrilled to have another female in the house, taking tomboyish Megan on shopping sprees and to the spa). And then there's the fact that Finn and Evan are, well, hot. And John and Regina even had a family meeting to tell the kids that they're all siblings now...but siblings don't want to kiss each other.

On top of dealing with the drama of living with the McGowan boys, Megan also has to handle starting over at a new school. She gets off to a good start when she makes the soccer team and even a few new possible friends. That quickly goes sour, though, when she is targeted by Hailey, Evan's girlfriend, who's jealous of Megan's talent on the soccer field--and her living arrangements. Can Megan handle Boston and the McGowan boys, or will South Korea turn out the be the easier option?

MEGAN MEADE'S GUIDE TO THE MCGOWAN BOYS is a fantastically fun book! It's full of great characters; even the minor characters seem three-dimensional. Kate Brian is a talented writer, and this novel is an awesome page-turner. I devoured this book; I read at every spare moment and took less than twenty-four hours to finish it--on a weekday! Megan's transition from shy to outspoken didn't feel one hundred percent real to me, but that was only a tiny issue; the book was still great. This is one book that definitely feels like there could be a sequel in the works (which is exciting), but that didn't stop it from being a complete (and completely awesome) story on its own. show less

I hate being (COERCED INTO BEING) emotionally invested in broken characters (you want to see do well), then having the rug pulled from under my feet for the mousy, shy, blah one. The three most interesting guys in this story were so short changed in terms of character development.

This book was a very quick and hilarious read. For a girl who claims to be very inexperienced, and can barely talk to boys, Megan learns very quickly. She is able to draw Miller out of his shell, learns how to stand up to the boys, and is even able to dethrone the queen of the soccer team. She does all of this just by being herself and without being mean.

I love that her and Finn kissed. I would have been very disappointed if she had ended up with Evan, and I am very glad that it ended up being Finn. I also love that she connected with Sean over the motorcycles.

She even went out of her way to save Doug from being suspended, or expelled, even though he had never said one nice word to her.

My issues with the book:

How was she able to show more convince her parents to let her stay with the McGowan's after she told them she wanted to go to Korea. Most parents would at least want an explanation and there was no mention of any in this book.

Does she end up with Finn? Do they kiss again? Do his parents let them date?
What happens next?! The ending was way too vague. show less

Kate Brian is the Queen of really cute stories that make you all mushy on the inside and smile the whole time. A nice, light, fluffy read; the boys drove Meg crazy with their pranks and by picking on her all day long but she kept her head on her shoulders and knew how to behave and wouldn't let others step on her. She's a kind, sweet and big-hearted girl and her guide was really funny and sometimes very useful!

Interesting plot and a fun read, that is...until the overly dramatic ending that was unsatisfying and implausible. Then again, what do you really expect in a book where a teenage girl goes to live in a home of 4-5 hormonal teenage guys?

Megan Meade has grown up as an Army brat following her parents wherever the job takes them. Things are about to change. This time Megan isn't going with them. She is staying with the long time family friends the McGowans. Growing up as an only child has not prepared her for what is next... living with 7 boys. Things are about to get a little more interesting in Megan's life and the McGowan household.

I absolutely loved this book! Call me crazy but what teen girl wouldn't wonder what it's like to live with all of those hot guys? This book is filled with teen romance, heartbreak, personal growth, and shows you things aren't always what they seem.