Eighth grade, with all of its glories and anxieties, is full
of plenty of drama. Tracing the arc of
three relationships, Gerhardt plumbs the terrain of middle school romance, when
simply being able to claim a boy/girlfriend was the whole point. There’s plenty of humor here (mostly provided
by the incredibly stuffy Duke), but much of it is bittersweet, as we get
treated to the fantastic (and realistic) ways that boys and girls miss each
other’s social cues at this age (the contrasting accounts of their dates are
particularly striking).
This isn’t a terribly complicated book, but I appreciated
its honesty and respect for its subjects.
And, in my continuous search for books that treat both girls and boys
with respect, I felt Gerhardt nailed it – avoiding a lot of the stereotypes,
but not shying away from what is going on in adolescent minds. These kids are intelligent and articulate but
also achingly young and immature, with plenty of room to grow, but off to a good
start. And reading this story really brought back plenty of memories (admittedly not ones that were easy to revisit!).
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