Customer Reviews

Girl v. Boy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How do you stand out when there are nine other girls in your sophomore class that share the same name as you do ¨C Luisa Perez? You don¡¯t. At least that¡¯s what Lu Perez has told herself.

However, after the first assembly of the school year at Colonel Dumpfield (excuse me, DUNFIELD) High School in Chicago, things will change for Lu. Principal Buzzkill (excuse me again, Alvarez) announces that the Mayor of Chicago is holding a Literacy Challenge. The prize ¡ú whichever school raises the most money for the cause will have a month off for winter break. Principal Alvarez decides that it will be a girl versus boy battle at Dunfield, and the team that shows the most initiative will receive three bonus days off over the spring holiday.

The battle lines have been drawn, and the school quickly goes to war trying to come up with the best fundraisers. But for Lu, the challenge is a bit different. Her English teacher, Mr. Sparling, has a proposition for her. The school newspaper wants to run anonymous articles chronicling the efforts of both sides. There will be an anonymous writer for the girls¡¯ team, and another one for the males.

What starts out as harmless banter between the two journalists dissing the opposing team¡¯s attempts at fundraising soon turns to a real battle of the sexes. Lu, still in the background, has noticed the popular girls taking up the causes written about in her anonymous Newshound articles. To make matters even more complicated, Lu is convinced that every boy that shows an interest in her is the guys' anonymous author.

Join Lu and the cast of characters that join forces to try and help Colonel Dunfield High win the precious winter break vacation. Lu has many romantic entanglements as well as drama at home to keep the reader interested until the surprise events at the Literacy Gala announcing the city¡¯s winner of the Literacy Challenge.

Ms. Collins & Ms. Rideout write a fun, youthful battle of the sexes. The articles between Newshound and Scoop keep the story entertaining and gives the reader an inside glimpse of what boys and girls are really thinking. The reader gets to see Lu grow in confidence and come out of the anonymity of being one of ten girls named Luisa Perez in her class.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Originally posted at: [...]

Luisa is one of three "Luisa's" at her school and it's easy for her to fade into the background. When her writing teacher decides she needs an extracurricular activity--he signs her on as a journalist for the school paper.

Interesting love interests, spicy articles and fun dialogue ensue, making for a fun and entertaining read. The thing I liked the best about this novel is the constant questioning and twisting plot. There are several boys that seem to be competing for Luisa's attention and she's a likeable character in the way she is trying so hard to keep herself balanced, but she can't keep up. This book is witty, exciting and a must read. I didn't want to put it down.

Girl v. Boy is full of snappy, roller-coaster worthy characters and dialogue. It is a light hearted, tightly woven read that will keep you turning page after page wanting more.

If you are looking for a super fast yet super cute book to read, then Girl v. Boy is for you. I absolutely adored the take on this "Battle of the Sexes," story. Up until her sophomore year, Luisa Perez has always been "just another girl." In fact, she is one of the nine Luisa Perez's in her school; un-unique to say the least. This year however, Luisa just knows something has got to change. When a teacher asks her to write an anonymous column under the penname Newshound, she knows that it is her one chance to really stand out. At first it starts out as a little banter between Newshound and another anonymous columnist named Scoop. But what starts off as friendly rivalry, turns into an all-out war. Before she even knows what's happened, Luisa's column is being printed in other schools all around her area! Just as her writing is starting to heat up, so is her previously non-existent love life. At first Luisa just seems to be going through guy after guy, something that has never happened to her before. However, none of these guys seem to work out until Joey Carella shows up. At a first glance he seems like just another undetermined guy who hangs out with her (sort of) brother in law. However, there is just something different about this guy that makes Luisa decide to keep him around. As the time nears for Luisa to the reveal her secret identity, she worries about what Joey will think. What she doesn't know is that Joey is keeping a secret too. *Cue dramatic music*. This is a super sweet novel that puts a unique twist on Battle of the Sexes. I loved the cute, sweet relationship between Luisa and Joey as well as the non-cute and very un-sweet relationship that we saw between Newshound and Scoop (we get to see their hilarious news articles in the story!). I recommend this book to all!

At her Chicago high school, Luisa Perez is nothing special. But Luisa is content with her life, working part-time in a diner and hanging out with her two best friends, forever looking out for her Future Boyfriend. When she gets offered an anonymous gig as a newspaper columnist covering the city-wide fundraising competition promoting literacy, she is surprised but she accepts. Luisa isn't the only one writing the column however. Since the competion is boy versus girls, she will be sharing the column with an anonymous male writer who's opinions differ greatly for her own. This book covers a very hectic semester as Luisa deals with her floundering love life, antagonistic Queen Bees, and sparring with her male counterpart, Scoop, in a battle of the sexes.

This book was cute. Not overly fluffy- there were mentions of sex and whatnot- but it was definitely a light-hearted read. While the ending was pretty predictable, there were unexpected moments on the way there. Luisa was a likable enough character. Smart enough to be believable columnist, but very very confused over boys. I'm sure some readers will absolutely adore her column.....even though I found Scoop's a tad bit better. Does that make me a traitor to my sex? Not really. Anyway, I really liked this book had a predomintanly Hispanic cast, but didn't try too hard to seem hispanic. Usually I get blinded with Spanish sayings I don't understand.

It's a cute book. I'm sure some readers will eat it up. There were some funny moments, there were some witty moments. For me, though, it was just all right. I recommend it as a light library read.

Oh. And sucky cover, BTW.

This was a great book. Teens will definitely be able to relate on some many different levels.

Luisa Perez is one of 11 other Luisa Perez's at her school. She has no defining talent to help distinguish herself from the others. That is until her English teacher, Mr. Sparling, assigns her an anonymous column in the school newspaper. After the principal of Dunfield (Dumpfield) High announces that the school is to be competing in a Literacy contest against the other schools in the area, Mr. Sparling decides that a Girl vs. Boy column would spark intrest from the student body. The prize for winning is an extra long winter break. The student body throws itself into the competition, showing the school spirit nobody knew they had. Luisa writes her column under the alias of Newshoud while her male counterpart uses the code name Scoop. Luisa ends up dating a few guys whom she suspects of being Scoop. She finally snoops around and finds out who she thinks Scoop definitly is. She ends up hooking up with a really nice guy named Joey after many, many Dunfield Duds. Will she tell him who she is before she reveals herself to everyone else at the and of the competition Literacy Gala?

Okay while this book was enjoyable, I really could NOT stand Luisa - what a snob. She keeps mentioning how she can't believe everyone thinks she's a snob. I can believe it. Every guy she has an interaction with she's practically all over him. She talks to any male and she just leads into a "relationship" with them. After we get past Luisa being such a ditz however the book is actually a fun read. Predictable, but you still had to read until the ending just to make sure you were correct. I could not stand to put the book down or return it, until I found out everything that was going on. The characters weren't overly developed, but most of them were so shallow anyways it didn't really matter. This book was more "fun reading" then "smart reading" or rather "literature". So if you can handle Luisa whining and her general snobishness I would say read this, it's entertaining.

Fifteen year old Luisa Perez is not going to win any awards for school spirit. In fact, she and her friends make it a point to avoid all activities considered "extracurricular." So when her English teacher volunteers her to be an anonymous columnist for the school paper, Luisa's first impulse is to run. But, unlike her high-school dropout sister, Luisa does want to go to college--it may be her only ticket out of a life spent working at the cowboy-themed diner where she waitresses part time--and it would be nice to have something to put on her applications.

Her first assignment is to cover her high school's latest fund-raiser, which pits the girls against the boys. Luisa will cover the events from the female point of view, while another anonymous writer provides the male perspective--or, at least, that's how it begins. The two columnists soon find themselves engaged in an epic battle of the sexes--a battle that Luisa is determined to win, even if it means risking the best relationship she's ever had.

Girl v. Boy is a wonderful fast read. This was a great battle of the sexes book. The Newshound and Scoop columns added insights into a guy mind and a girl's as well. The book was well-written. The romance in the book gradually grew, it wasn't just an out-of-the blue I'm in love kind of thing, but it was like a really romance which made it seem real. The book was humorous especially when you read the columns and there were some other parts that were funny as well. Luisa was a great character, she was well-developed, she wanted to go to college, no matter what. Luisa was able to set herself apart from the 10 other Luisa Perez in her school and find a great guy.
-Carol
www.bookluver-carol.blogspot.com

I can really only think of one thing to say after reading this book... AH! Yeah, i was THAT good! Haha, now i normally start off my reviews by talking about the plot of the story. And the plot normally is about some lovey-dovey, non-realistic tale of two teens seeing each other for the first time and simultaneously falling in love. But not this time my friends, no siree bob. This time, this is how the story is....
Girl v.s. Boy tells the loving and honorable story of two young teen spirits that basically HATE EACH OTHER! That's right! You see, a High School, Colonel Dunsfield High, is participating in a Literacy Challenge that involves about 120 other school from around the Chicago area. Competing for a month of vacation for having the best team spirit and raising the most money out of all the schools participating. Inside this school walks two anonymous columnists that refer to them-selves as the Newshound and Scoop.
It all started when the literacy teacher, Mr. Sparling, asked Luisa Perez to be a secret columnist for the school's paper. Luisa is a great writer, she is able to go to the Literacy Challenges without being noticed... and it's all because of one thing. She's so PLAIN! She's not the most popular girl at school, that's for sure. And since her sister's horrible reputation for dropping out of high school early and getting pregnant just like her mother lurks in her past, Luisa is proud to accept the oppurtunity to be the smart, successful one in her family.
The book takes you through Luisa's journey as she takes off in the battle of the sexes as the other male columnist writes about the Literacy Challenges from a male's perspective. You feel Lu's maturity after she works so long to raise money for her lacking family, but you also feel embaressed by her when she jumps to conclusions. She can be a character you can love or hate, and the boys she dates through-out the book will have you picking favorites. Even though this book isn't another ordinary teen fiction novel, Lu still ends up with the one true guy that is right for her. =]
Overall it was a great story about great people who you will end up smiling about and looking up to. It teaches you some lessons in a totally non-chessy way (if it was a life lesson's book it wouldn't have recieved five stars in my review... trust me!) and it lets you have a look into both a girl and boy's mind for once. So take a break from whatever you're reading and pick this one up! What's the worst that will happen? You stop reading since you don't like the book (Yeah right!).
I didn't rate it five stars for nothing people! Hope you enjoyed my review! :)
<3 tAyLoR
P.S. (check out my other reviews!)