My Future Ex-Girlfriend

Gr 5–8—This sequel to Me and Miranda Mullaly finds Chollie, Duke, and Sam finishing up the school year while navigating relationships with their first girlfriends. There are movies, trips to the mall, and nerve-racking dinners with families. At school, when the eighth grade class is denied a field trip to New York City, the students choose to host an NYC Nites showcase evening instead of a dance, which requires a lot of work. Against this backdrop of activity, we see the relationships grow, change, and sometimes end in entertainingly predictable middle school ways. Written in the boys' first-person accounts as well as replies to language arts class writing prompts, this novel explores the heady and perplexing emotions of first "like." The multiple narratives are sometimes confusing, but all of the voices are distinctive and true to life. It is refreshing to see a book that examines the lives and emotions of middle schoolers during their first attempts at romantic relationships. Though the characters are middle-class and mostly white, readers will be able to relate to them and project a variety of qualities onto them.