Review: "Maybe He Just Likes You," by Barbara Dee

When Mila starts seventh grade, she has three best friends and they're celebrating one of their birthdays. They share a group hug on the blacktop and their hug is invaded by four of the school's basketball team boys. The boys squeeze around the group hug and linger a lot longer than Mila thinks they should. She tries to forget what happened, but those four boys seem to have it out for Mila and try different things to touch her or they say crude comments to her about her body. Often when these things happen, there aren't any witnesses and Mila is cornered. She doesn't know what to do. Does she report the boys to the principal? Does she tell her mom? Does she confide in her friends what's going on? I really liked this story and, as a middle school educator, I appreciated that this was from a seventh grade girl's point of view. It felt very authentic to me. I was sad that the school counselor wasn't someone Mila wanted to confide in, but it made up for it by explaining that her normal school counselor was out for maternity leave. I also liked how Mila was able to get into karate to learn how to stand up for herself in a positive way. I also think the title is perfect because how many adults tell girls that a boy is bothering because he likes her?

Mrs. Denney's Rating: ****

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