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jenbsbooks 's review for:
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom
by Louis Sachar
The silly title, and the reviews, made me think this might be a book my boys (reluctant readers) would enjoy. It's been on our home library shelf for years and year ... unread by them, and by me. During my #MiddleGradeMay challenge, I figured I'd try to get to any books on my shelves (there weren't that many unread, as I had been fairly liberal with purges over the years, giving away most of my physical books as I am a digi-convert and the boys grew up).
My first thoughts upon finishing this were ... "my niece is a counselor at an elementary school. I really wonder what she thinks of this?" A major part of the story was the interaction between a few students, and the new school counselor, Carla Davis. She is incredibly upbeat, and a little unorthodox ... and that was the part where I was wondering what those in the profession might think. I majored in psychology myself, and being a mother, one is often in a "counselor" like position (just to wonder myself some of these approaches would work with kids). This was published in 1987, but even with that, I still wondered how the counselor having the kids call her by her first name, or kissing them on the cheek (Bradley's sister does say the MsDavis could get fired for that, although other than that, it never really came up again, even though Bradley is a bit in love with her).
A lot of the characters are almost caricatures ... the main character Bradley is pretty awful, so it actually says a lot that the reader does start to like him/root for him as the book progresses. The teacher, and the other parents ... yikes! A little over-the-top, and hopefully unacceptable today.
While I had the physical book in hand, I still borrowed the audiobook from the library and went primarily with that. Good narration, very animated, distinct voices for the characters. I was sad that the library, while having the ebook, didn't have it available in Kindle. I'm a Kindle snob. Can't save my notes/highlights :( There are some good QUOTES saved here. I wish there were discussion questions ... I'll often do a Google search if there aren't any included and can usually find some. With middle-grade books, it's more likely to find elementary-school questions/quizlets and assignments, which aren't quite the same as bookclub/adult discussions and ponderings.
Overall, I quite liked this though, seeing the growth of Bradley and some of the other children, seeing the challenges through their young eyes (although all 3rd person/past tense).
My first thoughts upon finishing this were ... "my niece is a counselor at an elementary school. I really wonder what she thinks of this?" A major part of the story was the interaction between a few students, and the new school counselor, Carla Davis. She is incredibly upbeat, and a little unorthodox ... and that was the part where I was wondering what those in the profession might think. I majored in psychology myself, and being a mother, one is often in a "counselor" like position (just to wonder myself some of these approaches would work with kids). This was published in 1987, but even with that, I still wondered how the counselor having the kids call her by her first name, or kissing them on the cheek (Bradley's sister does say the MsDavis could get fired for that, although other than that, it never really came up again, even though Bradley is a bit in love with her).
A lot of the characters are almost caricatures ... the main character Bradley is pretty awful, so it actually says a lot that the reader does start to like him/root for him as the book progresses. The teacher, and the other parents ... yikes! A little over-the-top, and hopefully unacceptable today.
While I had the physical book in hand, I still borrowed the audiobook from the library and went primarily with that. Good narration, very animated, distinct voices for the characters. I was sad that the library, while having the ebook, didn't have it available in Kindle. I'm a Kindle snob. Can't save my notes/highlights :( There are some good QUOTES saved here. I wish there were discussion questions ... I'll often do a Google search if there aren't any included and can usually find some. With middle-grade books, it's more likely to find elementary-school questions/quizlets and assignments, which aren't quite the same as bookclub/adult discussions and ponderings.
Overall, I quite liked this though, seeing the growth of Bradley and some of the other children, seeing the challenges through their young eyes (although all 3rd person/past tense).