The Boy Problem

March 15, 2014
Middle schooler Tabitha, Kara's BFF from The Boy Project (2012), is looking for a boyfriend in this perky sequel. Boy-crazy Tabitha is a big believer in signs as predictors of the future. In the opening scene, she decides that the spilled pizza cheese is an indicator that there is a Mr. Right for her after all. Though a smidge gushy and dramatic, Tabitha never lacks smarts. She uses all manner of data-collecting devices to figure out how to find her Mr. Right, from surveys and cootie catchers to the Magic 8 Ball. When she learns that her relatives have been hit by a hurricane, Tabitha and her best friends bake cupcakes as a fundraiser for her cousin's school. Predicting which cupcake flavors will be the most popular conveniently becomes her math-probability assignment, and all this ultimately helps solve the boy puzzle. The novel is liberally decorated with drawings and charts and rolls out in a chatty journal format. Tabitha's impulsiveness is tempered by maturing introspection and quirky observations: "It seems like the sky is the world's largest mood ring and it's currently displaying my mood to the entire world." As the girls struggle to make their fundraising goal, they learn about handling competition, working in partnership and even a little something about cyberbullying. For any spirited, entrepreneurial teen that's ever had a crush, this sweet read is sprinkled with lessons on life, love and business. (Fiction. 10-13)

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April 1, 2014

Gr 6-10-Tabitha Reddy has been unlucky in love as of late, but her belief in the power of prediction means that she's starting to see signs that things are looking up. Once she's assigned a probability project, she sees the perfect opportunity to use math as a means to predict her romantic future. The Boy Problem feels like several books at once-one about life as a seventh grader, one about a budding cupcake business, and another about a girl hunting for a boyfriend. The concept of a young teenager using a math instead of guesswork as a way to predict the future is an interesting one, but the convenient solutions to problems and lack of character development weaken the book as a whole. The stakes are raised as the story progresses and the plotline about the cupcake business is interesting, but it gets drowned out by the melodrama. The diary format and light material may appeal to struggling readers, but it is not a necessary purchase.-Erinn Black Salge, Saint Peter's Prep, Jersey City, NJ

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
Grades 4-8 Full of asides about classmates and the kind of detailed gossip only 11 to 13-year-olds can truly follow, this giddy, giggly book reads like a diary and is aimed at tween girls who like their literature frothy. Tabbi, short for Tabitha, is a middle-school student looking for the right guy, a crush who will elevate her status and help her put aside the feeling that she is just a third wheel when she hangs out with her bestie Kara and Kara's boyfriend, Chip. But how is she going to find the guy of her dreams? Tabbi is sure that everything, from the cheese that slid off her pizza and formed the shape of a male face (well, kind of) to a Magic 8 Ball, will predict her future. Stick-figure drawings, charts, and lists break up the text and give Tabbi's story a Diary of a Wimpy Kid vibe. When a fund-raiser featuring cupcakes leads Tabbi to a happy ending, those who love romance will celebrate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Tabbi is desperate to find a boyfriend, so she decides to study teen dating patterns and use probability to increase her chances. Meanwhile, she applies these same smarts to holding a fundraiser for a school affected by a hurricane. Peppered with handwritten charts, notes, and drawings, this companion to The Boy Project is diverting but lacks real depth and character development.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)