Babe in Boyland

So here how this book goes:
So this girl, Natalie, writes this relationship colomn for school. But, her advice kinda stinks and is not really, lets say... realistic. But when she comes across this writing contest, she comes up with this "great" idea to dress up as a dude and hack into a schools files and enroll into Underwood. A school for ONLY boys. She belives that once she does this crazy idea that she will be able to unlock all the answers to the questions that girls have been asking for ages about boys. Really without even thinking of the consequences like... going to jail for hacking, being sued, and etc. So now Natalie has transformed into Nat, the dude. Nat/Natalie spends a entire week at Underwood to get her answers all while falling head over heals for a dude that thinks well, that you are a dude.

So I actually pretty much liked this book. It was pretty fast paced and it was a fun read! =)

Babe in Boyland has been on my to-read forever, so I was thrilled when I finally got my hands on a copy. The cover is super adorable and definitely matches the tone of the book. What unfolds within its pages is a fun, quirky, and hilarious tale of one girl’s mission to reveal the secrets of the male mind.

I loved Natalie! She’s got spunk and sass, and wants to prove herself as a serious writer. After her advice column gets attacked, Natalie re-evaluates what she actually knows about relationships. She realizes that she does indeed tell her readers (and her friends) exactly what they want to hear, rather than give actual, useful advice. She tries to ask some of her male classmates what they really think while at a party. Needless to say, that didn’t go too well. This leads up to Operation Babe in Boyland: Natalie going undercover at the all-boys school for some answers into the inner workings of teenage boys.

All of the secondary characters are great, too! The author did an amazing job or creating a cast that feels real and well rounded. The boys are hilarious, and it was a lot of fun getting to see them in their natural element. They also have a lot of depth, which was surprising for Nat. Her two best friends are a riot! They’re both sooo different, but their love for each other is obvious.

Natalie’s insights are a lot more varied than she, and I, were expecting. Not only were the boys thoughts and actions surprising, but the girls’ too. Natalie was able to discover things about her own behavior toward the opposite sex, that she didn’t even notice until she took a step back to become an observer. She also comes across issues of social status, since she’s not exactly Mr.Popular while she’s undercover.

Of course since the plot is based on deception, something has to go wrong. The story is totally predictable, but it was a lot of fun, and I fully enjoyed reading it. Nat gets into a ton of awkward situations as she tries to blend in, but she also learns some important lessons along the way. This book has a ton of heart, contains big laughs, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a feel-good read.

“Play as many roles as you possibly can, but know who you are deep down.“

I was very much looking forward to Babe in Boyland for several reasons. Number one being journalism. As the former Editor-in-Chief of my high school newspaper, I am total newspaper geek. Seriously. How could I not be? And high school newspapers are almost never featured in YA books. Why is that? Anyway, the second reason – girl undercover at a boy’s boarding school. Hello, awesome. Undercover, boys, and boarding school. Three of my favourite things. Let me just say – Jody Gehrman did not let me down. I loved Babe in Boyland!

It was nice to finally see a self-confident main character. So many girls have awkward, clumsy, self-concious protagonists, and while that description totally defines me, it’s nice to read about a girl who doesn’t look in the mirror and want to shudder. I loved her friends, Chloe and Darby, and I loved Natalie’s observations about them and the way they behaved in front of boys. In fact, all of Natalie’s observations throughout the book really struck me. It’s strange to consider things from a boy’s point of view.

There were a lot of elements in Babe in Boyland that reminded me of other things – She’s the Man, Never Been Kissed, The Lioness Quartet, etc. It really was an awesome combination of interesting ideas and I feel like the author put it together in a great way with a lot of depth.

Overall, I definitely recommend Babe in Boyland. I had a lot of fun reading Babe in Boyland and I thought it about it for a while after finishing. In fact, I read Babe in Boyland originally on my kindle, but I liked it so much I needed to buy a copy of the hardcover. So yes – check it out.

Review originally posted on my blog http://hobbitsies.net/2011/04/babe-in-boyland-by-judy-gehrman/

First, isn't that such an adorable cover? And it suits the story so well! Babe in Boyland gives us so many causes for laughter, it doesn't seem like we find much of a reprieve. Natalie's sad, pitiable lack of know-how when it comes to boys alone is enough to produce a few chuckles from us, as we shake our heads at her arrogant, know-it-all behavior. From the moment she transforms herself into an astonishingly pretty boy, we can't contain our mirth, because the fun is just beginning. Dodging mean girls capable of exposing her, fleeing locker rooms infested with naked boys, and puckering up and fluttering her eyelashes when her cute new roommate happens to peer into her face a little too closely, Natalie has to put so much effort into making her image believable, and this whole experiment proves to her just how pitiful her knowledge of her counterpart species actually is. And what begins as a serious study for her newspaper column, Babe in Boyland ends with Natalie's understanding of herself, of how to stay true to her personality, and of how to treat others.

The plot of Babe in Boyland is obviously predictable and cute, but never falls to cheesy. Besides, we don't hunt down a book like this for hard twists and turns, severe intensity, or thrills. The whole point of a book like Babe in Boyland is to enjoy ourselves, and Jody Gehrman makes that tremendously possible. Even so, this story isn't all about snort-worthy jokes and situations, but actually brushes some serious things. Gehrman introduces excellent advice and insight into not only boys but people in general. It spreads a healthy message, one that encourages us to be ourselves, whoever we might decide that is. We are chameleons, claiming the ability to be whatever we want, however many people we want, and the possibilities are limitless. It's fun to reinvent ourselves every once in a while and make changes, and we learn to appreciate every facet that makes up the whole.

With a believable, exciting romance, and hilarious, multifaceted characters to fall in love with, Operation Babe in Boyland is a total success, and the perfect release valve for those wrenching emotions from our previous reads that we haven't quite been able to get rid of. Dousing any lingering pain or tension, Babe in Boyland incites laughs short and long, giving us something warm and glowy to take away with us as soon as we're finished.

Originally posted at Paranormal Indulgence, 3/7/12

This is really a 3.5 for me. I wanted to read this for so long, and I finally got it when it went on sale. (I'm on a budget, ya'll!) So, when I finally started reading I liked it, and when I finished, I was kind of disappointed. I expected more for some reason. But it was nice, and good God Emilio was so hot! And it made me laugh, so that's gets a star in itself.

Summary

Natalie writes an advice column for her school newspaper. Working under the alias Dr. Aphrodite, she gives advice to teenage girls about how to deal with their current, future or past boyfriends. It isn’t until she receives a backlash of comments from angry or just annoyed guys about Dr. Aphrodite’s one-sided advice that Natalie realizes she knows almost nothing about love, and even less about guys. She decides to write an undercover story, and transforms herself into Nat Rogers, and enrolls in the all-boy school in town. It is there she meets Emilio, and her tricky role becomes even more unstable.

Review

This was a very cute, light-hearted read. Natalie is a great character, down to earth and very likable. I really enjoyed Natalie’s experiences, many times I was laughing out loud at some crazy thing that is happening to her, but the best part of the book is her learning that guys and girls really aren’t so different. They may say different things, and behave in different ways – but both act differently with different people, and are expected to behave a certain way. Jody Gehrman really touches on one of the main problems between guys and girls, how we put on a show for the opposite sex thinking that it will make them like us better. From afar it looks like some kookie flamingo dance (my words, not the authors).

I loved the happy ending. Well, let’s face it, I love happily endings period, but Emilio was too sexy and nice to leave unattached and confused. Plus, it’s always nice to get the warm and fuzzies when everything works out, right?

Like I said, this was a cute book. No award winning material here or ground breaking or even a new concept – but it was entertaining and fun. So many crazy situations and conversations that make you want to groan or laugh out loud. It leaves you wanting to go cut your hair and try it for yourself (I do not, however, recommend it!)

Summary: Natalie (or Dr. Aphrodite) is a columnist for her school newspaper--giving students relationship advice. People (mainly guys) begin to complain about her advice saying she only tells girls what they want to hear. She decides to take this as her calling and goes undercover as "Nat" to find out how guys really think. Natalie plans on spending an entire week at Underwood Academy, a all-boys private boarding school to answer the questions that girls want to know:
1) When you say you're going to call and you don't, what happened?
2) Why are you so different when your friends are around? Which one is the real you?
3) What do you really look for in a girl?
4) Is it true that guys think about sex every eight seconds, or is that just a myth?
5)What's the surest way to tell the difference between a guy who's being sincere and one who's just looking to score?
6) What can make you lose interest in a girl overnight?
7) If you won't talk about your feelings, how are we supposed to know what they are?

During her time at Underwood, she meets some new and interesting guys including her roommate, Emilio, who she falls for. Will she be able to pull this off or this end up being a huge disaster?

My Thoughts: Reminds me of She's the Man.

What I liked: Natalie, the protagonist is my favorite part of the book. She's quirky, funny, witty, clever, awkward as a boy, and just a really likable character. I thought the story was very entertaining and I didn't want to put this book down. I think the fun really starts when Natalie starts school at Underwood, that is when hilarity ensues. I just found this book laugh-out-loud funny. Gehrman's writing style is fantastic, I enjoyed the dialogue exchange between the characters and it's a page turner.

What I disliked: There wasn't anything I really disliked. I just wish the ending would give us more, but other than that it's great.

Conclusion: It's a fun light read. For some reason, this reminded me of Anna & the French Kiss in a way because of the writing, protagonist, and silliness. (E.g. when Natalie gets nervous around Emilio and some awkward moments).This is one of those laugh-out-loud type books.