Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys [Hardcover]

Kate Brian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

When she was nine, Megan Meade met a group of terrible, mean, Popsicle-goo-covered boys, the sons of her father's friend -- the McGowan boys. Now, seven years later, Megan's army doctor parents are shipping off to Korea and Megan is being sent to live with the little monsters, who are older now and quite different than she remembered them.

Living in a house with seven boys will give Megan, who has never even been kissed, the perfect opportunity to learn everything there is to know about boys. And she'll send all her notes to her best friend, Tracy, in...

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

Observation #1: Being an army brat sucks. Except that this is definitely a better alternative to moving to Korea.

Observation #2: Forget evil, laughing, little monsters. These guys have been touched by the Abercrombie gods. They are a blur of toned, suntanned perfection.

Observation #3: I need a lock on my door. STAT.

Observation #4: Three words: six-pack abs.

Observation #5: Do not even get me started on the state of the bathroom. I'm thinking of calling in a hazmat team. Seriously.

Observation #6: These boys know how to make enemies. Big time.

Megan Meade will have to juggle a new school, a new family, a new crush -- on the boy next door, as in next bedroom door -- and a new life. Will she survive the McGowan boys?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10–Megan Meade, 16, is a soccer star whose parents are military lifers. When her mother and father are again stationed overseas, she decides to stay with family friends in Boston. She is immediately overwhelmed by the seven McGowan boys, each of whom embodies a stereotype, e.g., genius, jock, rebel, etc. Shockingly, Megan falls for Evan, Mr. Popular. Also shockingly, Evan has a mean girl girlfriend, Hailey, who is trying to make Megan's life miserable. Will Megan become the team's starter? Will Evan fall for her charms? Will readers care? The answers to these questions are pretty obvious. The book is just average with stock characters, pedestrian writing, and a plot that teens have read a million times. Only the most undiscriminating romantic-comedy readers will be interested.–Amy Patrick, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. Army brat Megan Meade does not want to leave the States to follow her parents to South Korea, so, she agrees to stay with the McGowan family, where she will be the only girl among seven sons. Naturally, this causes more than a little disruption: she's accused of hooking up with Evan, makes an enemy of Doug, and falls for Finn. Brian's well-rounded story hits some interesting notes, including Megan's efforts to make friends with Miller, Doug's twin, who has Asperger's syndrome. A few situations are stock (jealously, sibling rivalry), but strong characterizations lift this above formula. Some realistic language (read swear words), and a scene (not explicitly portrayed) in which drunken Doug sleeps with Evan's girlfriend, may give some pause, but fans of Brian's The V Club (2004) will want to read this. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416900306
• ISBN-13: 978-1416900306
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,510,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a total Jersey girl. I grew up in Bergen County, went to Rutgers University, lived in Hoboken for a year (requisite post-college party time) and then moved back to Bergen, got married, and bought a house ten minutes from where I grew up. I graduated from Rutgers with a double major in English and Journalism, worked as an Editor for four years, then decided I liked writing better and struck out on my own. You've been reading my books ever since!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accompany Megan As She Infiltrates A Family of...Guys, November 30, 2005

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys (Hardcover)

Sixteen-year-old Megan Meade is sick of the army brat lifestyle. During the course of her entire life, she has never truly made any friends, and has been pulled out of school after school to travel to some new exciting place with her military parents. But this time, Megan is putting her foot down. Which is why her parents are on their way to South Korea, while she is headed for Boston, and the McGowan family. The McGowan family consists of two parents, and seven boys - no daughters. And while Megan remembers all of the boys as being uber brats, she never expected them to grow into total hotties. Total hotties whom she's sharing a bathroom with. But Megan never realized that infiltrating a family of guys would lead her to find out so many strange quirks about all of them. And leave her crushing on more than one. Now Megan has to try and fight her romantic feelings, communicate with Miller - one of the boys who happens to have Asperger's Syndrome, a type of Autism - and survive the McGowan household. Otherwise, she'll be headed to South Korea, where she'll have to wear a uniform to school.

Kate Brian has written many fabulous teen books, but I don't think any of them can top MEGAN MEADE'S GUIDE TO THE MCGOWAN BOYS. After all, how many young adult books on the market can give you the lowdown on all things guy? Megan is an inspiring character, who is presented as being shy and weak, but is truly a hard-headed, intelligent, strong female character, who will win fans left and right. The guys she is forced to live with may be jerky at times, but most of them are sweet underneath it all, and female readers will quickly be choosing what McGowan boy they'd like to date. Large doses of humor, romance, and a little guy-lowdown accompany this book, and will call-out to readers near and far.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Girls Dream Book!, February 28, 2006

By 

Stephanie Dodson "Author of Headgear" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys (Hardcover)

So Kate Brian basically took every High School girls fantasy and wrote about it? Your parents get shipped to Korea and you get to live with 7 Abercrombie model looking guys. That's exactly what happens to Megan Meade. She's got Sean the quiet biker rebel, Evan the resident greek god, and Finn the shy artist. Okay and then there is the rest who don't seem to like her very much. Especially Doug, wannabe Eminem and bitter about her taking up space in his former room.

Another person not thrilled about the situation is Evan's girlfriend and Megan rival on the soccer team. It's a knock down drag out fight on and off the field for these two. Because even fantasies turned into books need a little conflict.

I got three books from the library and this was the one that had me still reading past page 5. I don't think I put it down once. Kate Brian is a great author who knows exactly what girls want. Info on boys! And this book is not only entertaining and funny, it also gives you an inside peek at the world of boys. Pick it up today.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of My Most Favorites!, June 29, 2006

By 

TybaltTino "Tino" (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys (Hardcover)

I LOVED this book! Not only did I read it in one night, it had so many interesting conflicts, characters, and twists, all my friends have read it as well. This is a must-read. :)

Megan Meade's parents are off to Korea, and Megan decides to stay in the states with a family friend- The McGowan's. Megan recalls them all being sticky icky boys who she's not exactly looking forward to living with for a school year. But, oh, is she surprised when she arrives at the McGowan residence to find Abercrombie Model-worthy guys. At first, she isn't convinced they've changed over the years, but after a few flings with the oldest, and sparks flying with another, she's changed her mind. And, of course, there's the evil high school queen who challenges Megan on the soccer field- and with a certain McGowan boy. Megan finds surprising friendships and unexpected sparks in this tale of a teen girl who's just trying to survive her existence in a house full of guys. But even though it sounds like a superficial teen novel, it has several real-life conflicts and you can relate to all of Megan's trials and tribulations.

Again, I couldn't put it down, and I was even a little jealous of Megan in the end. This book is great through and through and I can't say enough good things about it. :)