3. Girl v. Boy

Girl v. Boy (Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout, July 2008)

I picked up the authors' last book, The Black Sheep, last year at Midwinter and enjoyed it. So when I swung by the Hyperion booth and saw they had a new one out this year, I grabbed a copy.

This one's another story about an outsider. Luisa has two best friends, but she doesn't mix with other kids at school or participate in any activities. That changes when she starts writing an anonymous column for the school paper. Hijinx ensue, natuarally.

I liked that the book was about a bunch of mostly Hispanic teens in Chicago. And none of them are wealthy or fabulously gorgeous, except the stock evil, queen-bee bully, Mariah. That's pretty rare, in my experience. The kids were likeable and pretty realistic, although it did require a healthy suspension of disbelief that Luisa would all of a sudden attract not one, not two, but four cute boys at the same time.

It's a good read and recommended, though the ending was a bit too tidy for my taste and the big plot reveal was foreshadowed a little too much.