Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara DeeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A bit of a flashback; I read this a few years ago.
If anyone was wondering about how to write a book for middle schoolers about consent -- this is it. This book does a terrific job.
It's unsettling. Mila and her friends are in seventh grade and the beginning description shows them as typical seventh graders, some still interested in tag, others beginning to notice each other as more than friends.
Mila begins getting unwanted attention from a group of boys. It's mainly unwanted hugs, a hand brushing against a shoulder, that type of thing. Things she doesn't want; things that maker her uncomfortable; things that escalate. Things that some of her friends don't get ("it's because he likes you, you're just immature not to realize that") and that teachers don't see or understand ("ignore it, and it will stop.")
Mila handles it -- or doesn't handle it -- as best as she can. As an adult reading this? Yes it was upsetting but the resolution was great and I liked where Mila, and her friends, ended. Yes, this is a book where the reader can learn a thing or two (about empathy; about what not to do; about what to d0) but also can just enjoy a good book about a group of friends, and the changes in friendships and dynamics.
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It's unsettling. Mila and her friends are in seventh grade and the beginning description shows them as typical seventh graders, some still interested in tag, others beginning to notice each other as more than friends.
Mila begins getting unwanted attention from a group of boys. It's mainly unwanted hugs, a hand brushing against a shoulder, that type of thing. Things she doesn't want; things that maker her uncomfortable; things that escalate. Things that some of her friends don't get ("it's because he likes you, you're just immature not to realize that") and that teachers don't see or understand ("ignore it, and it will stop.")
Mila handles it -- or doesn't handle it -- as best as she can. As an adult reading this? Yes it was upsetting but the resolution was great and I liked where Mila, and her friends, ended. Yes, this is a book where the reader can learn a thing or two (about empathy; about what not to do; about what to d0) but also can just enjoy a good book about a group of friends, and the changes in friendships and dynamics.
View all my reviews
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