The Boy Problem: Notes and Predictions of Tabitha Reddy

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