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Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian — book cover

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

by Kate Brian
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Overview

Boys. 7 of them, to be exact.

Megan is used to moving from place to place — it's typical for an army brat. But she drew the line at South Korea. She insists on staying in the States to finish her last two years of high school. So her parents made arrangements for Megan to live with their friends, the McGowans...and the McGowans' 7 sons.

Turns out, living with 7 boys might as well be a foreign country! The boys are messy. They are cliquey (who knew?). And worst of all, two of the oldest boys are H-O-T. (A problem considering they are supposed to be Megan's "brothers.") Megan is definitely in enemy territory. She needs to win over the boys' hearts without totally crushing her own.

And when Megan starts falling for one of them, sibling rivalry takes on a whole new meaning....

What is a girl to do?

Synopsis

Boys. 7 of them, to be exact.

Megan is used to moving from place to place — it's typical for an army brat. But she drew the line at South Korea. She insists on staying in the States to finish her last two years of high school. So her parents made arrangements for Megan to live with their friends, the McGowans...and the McGowans' 7 sons.

Turns out, living with 7 boys might as well be a foreign country! The boys are messy. They are cliquey (who knew?). And worst of all, two of the oldest boys are H-O-T. (A problem considering they are supposed to be Megan's "brothers.") Megan is definitely in enemy territory. She needs to win over the boys' hearts without totally crushing her own.

And when Megan starts falling for one of them, sibling rivalry takes on a whole new meaning....

What is a girl to do?

Janis Flint-Ferguson - KLIATT

Megan Meade is looking forward to her junior year in high school when her parents, career military officers, drop the bombshell—they have been reassigned to South Korea. For the first time in her life, Megan refuses to move with her parents, and reluctantly they make arrangements for her to stay with the family of her father's friend in Massachusetts. Megan, an only child, now is in the middle of the McGowan family and their seven sons, boys who are not so happy to share their space with a girl. As can be expected there are adjustments to be made as Megan seeks to find her place in the family and in a new school. She is a good soccer player and makes the team, much to the chagrin of Hailey, the captain apparent and Evan McGowan's girlfriend. Megan is attracted to Evan herself, but a series of lies and innuendo leads her into the shed with quiet Finn McGowan, and finally to a better understanding and appreciation of boys. The title refers to the IM messages Megan sends to her best friend in Texas and to the observations she makes based on the experiences she has with the McGowans. While many family issues are dealt with well, a soccer party with its drinking and sex is taken casually and requires more discussion than it is given here. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005, Simon & Schuster, 272p., Ages 12 to 18.

About the Author, Kate Brian

Kate Brian is the author of the NY Times and USA Today best-selling Private series and it's spin-off series, Privilege. She has also written many other books for teens including Sweet 16 and Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys.

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Editorials

KLIATT

Megan Meade is looking forward to her junior year in high school when her parents, career military officers, drop the bombshell—they have been reassigned to South Korea. For the first time in her life, Megan refuses to move with her parents, and reluctantly they make arrangements for her to stay with the family of her father's friend in Massachusetts. Megan, an only child, now is in the middle of the McGowan family and their seven sons, boys who are not so happy to share their space with a girl. As can be expected there are adjustments to be made as Megan seeks to find her place in the family and in a new school. She is a good soccer player and makes the team, much to the chagrin of Hailey, the captain apparent and Evan McGowan's girlfriend. Megan is attracted to Evan herself, but a series of lies and innuendo leads her into the shed with quiet Finn McGowan, and finally to a better understanding and appreciation of boys. The title refers to the IM messages Megan sends to her best friend in Texas and to the observations she makes based on the experiences she has with the McGowans. While many family issues are dealt with well, a soccer party with its drinking and sex is taken casually and requires more discussion than it is given here. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005, Simon & Schuster, 272p., Ages 12 to 18.
—Janis Flint-Ferguson

School Library Journal

Gr 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 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Sixteen-year-old army brat Megan is sent to live with the McGowans when her parents are transferred overseas. The prospect of living with the McGowan brothers-all seven of them-is intimidating to only child Megan. When she arrives in Boston, however, and lays eyes on the eldest four, she becomes terrified. Bad-boy Doug, Abercrombie-wearing Evan, soulful-artist Finn or motorcycle-riding Sean would fulfill any teenaged girl's fantasy of the perfect guy. Steeling herself against their charms-and their occasional cruelty-Megan tries to concentrate on soccer and making friends. Unfortunately, her rival on the soccer team is Evan's girlfriend and soon, good-girl Megan finds herself embroiled in a scandal. To sort out the vagaries of the male mind, Megan creates a guide for her friend Tracy that is revealed through e-mails and text messages between chapters. Readers will guess which brother will fall for Megan well before the ending of this fluffy teen romance. Nonetheless, fans of books like Alex Bradley's 24 Girls in 7 Days (p. 117) will enjoy the escapism-if they can overlook the rather formulaic characterization. (Fiction. YA)

Book Details

Published
September 1, 2006
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages
288
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781416900313

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