8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Serious themes embedded in a humorous story, April 18, 2005
This review is from: Boy2Girl (Hardcover)
It's the summer before eighth grade, and Matthew Burton is looking forward to a couple months of playing video games, lounging around, and spending time with his "gang," The Sheds. That is, until his mother receives word of the sudden death in America of her wacky younger sister Galaxy. When Matthew's mother returns to the United Kingdom after attending the funeral, she has a surprise in tow: Matthew's cousin Sam.
Sam seems to fit in well with Matthew and his friends --- he is funny and smartmouthed, and he knows a lot about music. But Sam can also be rude, sullen, and aggressive. Can he be trusted to be a valuable member of the gang? The boys decide to give Sam a test: if he can spend the first few days of the school year dressed as a girl, he will have proven his loyalty to his new friends. Even better, Sam can use his disguise to spy on the Sheds's rival girl gang and learn all their secrets
At first Sam resists the idea, but he really needs friends at his new school, so he gives the plan a go. With his flowing blonde hair, small size, and good looks, Sam makes a better girl than anyone had imagined. Soon enough, he infiltrates the girls' group, starts fashion trends, and catches the eye of the Big Man on Campus. He even seems to enjoy being a girl, and his playful attitude toward his new role also seems to help him overcome the grief of losing his mother.
The borderline ridiculous plot offers plenty of opportunities for truly funny situations, as Sam relishes playing with gender role expectations. There's also lots of humor in the rapidly changing narration, as the story is told from the points of view of students, teachers, and parents alike. The only person who doesn't have a voice is Sam --- readers get to know Sam simply through his outlandish behavior and through other characters' impressions of him/her.
Sam's story gets a little over the top when his ex-con dad shows up from America, demanding his son and his share of the inheritance money. Everything comes to a crisis during the big school concert at the end of the book, and then wraps up a little too quickly and neatly. Among all the crazy antics of the book's characters, though, BOY2GIRL also has a serious point about the divisiveness of traditional sex roles and expectations, and about the importance of seeing people for who they really are.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A funny book with a unique point of view, August 2, 2005
This review is from: Boy2Girl (Hardcover)
Matt is your typical thirteen year-old British boy, whose life is shaken up by the arrival of his American cousin, Sam. Sam's mother has recently died and with his father presumed to be in jail Sam is understandably angry at his life. This anger causes Matt's group of friends, who call themselves the Sheds, to reject Sam. In order to regain their acceptance Sam agrees to a dare of having him dress as a girl for the first week of school so that Sam can spy on a group of girls who are the Shed's enemies. Sam proves to be remarkably successful in his role as a girl. Primarily using humor, Blacker successfully examines gender roles through such situations as Sam receiving a training bra, or teaching the girls how to intimidate a boy by looking at him. Blacker chooses to use multiple narrators, some who only narrate for a paragraph, to further show how the same event can be interpreted in different ways. This style could easily have been a gimmick, but instead works remarkably well in furthering the story and the humor. The book's madcap conclusion, involving Sam's dad who has returned in order to get Sam, and the previously unknown riches left to him, will leave readers smiling, but also thinking more about how boys and girls really act, and how those actions are perceived.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great, December 19, 2005
A Kid's Review
this is a great story when i picked the book up i couldn't put it down. it is way better than what all the other kids read in my class. im not going to tell you much because i want you to find out how amazing it is yourself. i don't even read books that much and plus this book is so funny.please be clever 'n'
buy this book or if you dont you have made the biggest mistake ever.
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