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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
I am so happy this book exists. When you’re young, you don’t always have the words to communicate how you know a situation isn’t right. You just have your feelings. For 7th grader Mila, she knows a group of boys on the basketball team act weird around her, standing too close, rubbing her green fuzzy sweater for luck, lying about their birthdays to get a hug.
Mila’s friends also don’t know how to handle the situation. Some think she’s mistaking innocent flirting for something sinister while others quietly support her the best they can but ultimately inadequately.
This book doesn’t dismiss all boys as guilty before proven innocent. They, too, have their voices heard. What this book does is create a space for young people to see themselves, hear others, and find the language they need.
Mila’s friends also don’t know how to handle the situation. Some think she’s mistaking innocent flirting for something sinister while others quietly support her the best they can but ultimately inadequately.
This book doesn’t dismiss all boys as guilty before proven innocent. They, too, have their voices heard. What this book does is create a space for young people to see themselves, hear others, and find the language they need.
Okay, this is one of my favorite middle grade books ever!! All middle graders and up need to read this book, as it is so important, and has no books like it.
This book is important and every child should receive a copy on their 11th birthday.
I’m glad I read this as a middle school teacher to help support girls and help teach boys that stop means stop
Such an important read about boundaries, consent, friendship, empowerment in an easy-to-read Middle School format. Well done!
Such an important book!! What an excellent handling of a tough topic that can help bring the #MeToo conversation about consent to our middle schools. Highly recommend for everyone ages 10 and up.
Five stars for the importance of the story, but wow is it ever hard to read. It's so realistic how Mila second-guesses herself and her reactions. And sadly, I think the unapproachable adults is fairly realistic, too. A must-read. I'm tagging it bully in lieu of creating a sexual harassment tag, and growth mindset because of the way the karate lessons helped Mila take charge.
Maybe He Just Likes You tackles really tough issues in a way that is accessible to the middle grade audience. The harassment Mila experiences and her confusion and anger are well-written. The secondary chsracters’ reactions are realistic as well (“She’s overreacting,” “Are you sure they aren’t just flirting,” It’s just boys being boys”). As a reader, I felt tense for and even angry for her. However, I thought the ending was too “nice and neat,” and I felt like there was a hint that the main character had feelings for one of the boys who harassed her, which sends a confusing message. Over all, I recommend Maybe He Just Likes You for the brave way that it tackles sexual harassment and brings it to light for younger adolescents.
At first, Mila is sure she misunderstood what happened. A group of boys gave her an unexpected birthday hug. It makes her uncomfortable, but she brushes it off. Then other things keep happening: a comment here, an unexpected touch there. Then she knows it is all so...purposeful. Unsure how to proceed, she is paralyzed. She gets unsupportive mixed messages from her friends and teachers. She is confused until she finds an unexpected outlet: karate.
I finished this book a few weeks ago, but have been waiting on writing this review. It took me that long to be able to process what I was thinking and put it into writing. From the beginning, this book made me uncomfortable, but that is only because it is reality. The topic is difficult to discuss, especially for this age group, but make no mistake about it, it is an amazing read. By now, we have all heard of the "Me Too" movement: women who are fed up being mistreated, abused and looked down upon by others in power. Until now there was no place to turn for girls in the early teens. No book to hand them. It was a hole in the market. Thank goodness that Barbara Dee was aware enough to write this book and provide a place where young adults can turn.
We all have these memories from our middle school years, but there was never a book to tell the story and help kids see that they are not alone. I am so happy that Maybe He Just Likes You is around for me to hand to students and help them navigate these difficult years.
I finished this book a few weeks ago, but have been waiting on writing this review. It took me that long to be able to process what I was thinking and put it into writing. From the beginning, this book made me uncomfortable, but that is only because it is reality. The topic is difficult to discuss, especially for this age group, but make no mistake about it, it is an amazing read. By now, we have all heard of the "Me Too" movement: women who are fed up being mistreated, abused and looked down upon by others in power. Until now there was no place to turn for girls in the early teens. No book to hand them. It was a hole in the market. Thank goodness that Barbara Dee was aware enough to write this book and provide a place where young adults can turn.
We all have these memories from our middle school years, but there was never a book to tell the story and help kids see that they are not alone. I am so happy that Maybe He Just Likes You is around for me to hand to students and help them navigate these difficult years.
There aren't many middle grade books on this exact topic, so this is a worthy addition to any collection. It's about a middle school aged girl who is being "teased" and getting unwanted attention and touching from boys in her grade. I wish that Mila would have had someone, at least on her side from the beginning. So much of the book was spent on what the boys were doing, and revealing that other students were aware of it, but almost no one did anything to stop them. The teachers and administrators were also completely oblivious and repeatedly took the boys' sides until the very end. I think there should have been an earlier "Speak Up." message. Someone should have stood up for Mila, and she should have stood up for herself sooner. I fear that even though this had a good resolution (Eventually) this might make girls afraid to report things because they will fear more of the type of reactions Mila got from her friends and her teachers. I also thought the eventual ending was a little bit too rosy with the main boy.