Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys » (Reprint)

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.

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.