Babe In Boyland by Jody Gehrman

Pages: 304
Publisher: Dial
Age Group: Young Adult
Challenges: N/A
Release Date: February 17, 2011

When high school junior Natalie--or Dr. Aphrodite, as she calls herself when writing the relationship column for her school paper--is accused of knowing nothing about guys and giving girls bad relationship advice, she decides to investigate what guys really think and want. But the guys in her class won't give her straight or serious answers. The only solution? Disguising herself as a guy and spending a week at Underwood Academy, the private all-boy boarding school in town. There she learns a lot about guys and girls in ways she never expected--especially when she falls for her dreamy roommate, Emilio. How can she show him she likes him without blowing her cover?

Stars: 4/5

Cover: A

Plot: 

Babe In Boyland started off perfectly. Jody Gehrman introduced me to the characters and incited the plot really smoothly. Also, even though the decision that Natalie made to go undercover as a boy is completely outrageous, Gehrman made it seem logical and realistic.

But as the book started going on, I felt like I had already read it. There was a scene taken out of the movie She's The Man, where Amanda Bynes gets a soccer ball to the privates. In Babe In Boyland, Natalie is hit by a basketball, but the rest of the scene still plays out exactly the same.

Despite the unoriginality of the plot, it was still a really exciting, well-told, and fast-paced book that really sucks you in and keeps you interested.

Characters:

The characters were great. They were witty, smart, and all-around fun people to read about. I think they really added to the story in a positive way. 

Not to mention, the Natalie's friends had me laughing out loud in a lot of parts! :)

Writing:

Jody Gehrman has a way of writing that you can't free your mind of. When you read her books, and you have to go do something else, all you want to do is go back to be entranced by her story.

Ending:

I loved reading Natalie's final article. Babe in Boyland had a very strong ending, and it wasn't even as cliche as I was expecting it to be.

Cover:

It was love at first sight. When I saw the cover to this book on GoodReads, my eyes bulged out of my head. It's just so eye-catching, and different than all of the other Young Adult book covers out there. 

Lovely Line:

In the dressing room, we get the giggles at the way the jeans hang below my butt crack. When I find some that are baggy enough to be guy-like but not so loose that they'll end up around my ankles, we pair them with a plain white button-down shirt. At their insistence, I walk up and down the hall outside the dressing room a couple times while they coach me on how to move.

"You've got to slouch more," Darcy says. "You're posture's too femmie."

Chloe nods. "Think gangta, you know? Lean into it."

(Page 57)

The Final Verdict:

I've heard many people say that if you've seen the movie She's The Man, you shouldn't even bother with this book. I disagree. I mean, sure, there are a lot of similarities, but it's still a good read that is quite enjoyable.

I would have given it five stars if not for the unoriginal plot.

FTC: Zoe