There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom!

Growing up in the 90s, Louis Sachar was one of my favorite authors. I read anything and everything by him. Recently I stumbled across a copy of There’s a Boy in the Girls Bathroom while photographing at a school. Apart from the Wayside School Series, had been my favorite book by Louis Sachar. I have a couple hours to kill and stared rereading it. While I am fourteen years older than the first time I read this novel, I still loved it. I smiled at the funny and sweet parts, and honestly cried at a few section toward the end.

            Bradley Chalkers sits in the last row, in the last seat of his firth grade class. No one likes him, and he doesn’t like anyone. He never pays attention in class, always doodling and ripping pages out of his school books. He picks fights and threatens to spit on anyone who doesn’t give him what he wants. Things start to change for his when Jeff Fisher moves to his town. Jeff sits next to him, and tells him he doesn’t mind sitting by him. While they are bot skeptical at first, the two become best friends.

            While Bradley is testing the waters of his newfound friend, the school and his parents worried about his failing grades and lack of social skills force him to start seeing a councilor. Miss. Carla Davis is not like other adult’s. She listens to Bradley, believes what he tells her, and doesn’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want to do. With Carla’s help, Bradley slowly starts to believe in himself and even tries to pay attention in school and do his homework.

            Of course, fifth grade is never that simple, and when Jeff starts to become friends with the other boys in class, it slowly tears him away from Bradley. Bradley begins to retreat back into himself and his old ways, but Carla continues to encourage and believe in him.

            Will Carla’s guidance be enough to help Bradley repair his relationship with Jeff and the other boys, his family, and pull up his grades? Or is Bradley so far gone and full of doubt that no one can help him.

            I love this novel, even as an adult is was a great to reread. I love the dynamics of fifth grade peer pressure and family pressure that this novel deals with. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Louis Sachar books, Jerry Spinelli novels, and books written by Beaverly Cleary. In general this novel is probably for ages 8-12.