Getting the Girl- Susan Juby

This was a totally fun read- Sherman, just starting grade 9, is in love with women generally. Upon finding out that girls in the school are put on a D list (D for defiled) and then basically ostracized, he makes it his objective to find out who and why is doing this. So he thinks of himself as a private investigator and gets into the most hilarious escapades during his sleuthing. I chuckled aloud many times. The theme compares nicely to Gotcha by Shelley Hrdlitschka ,with a somewhat lighter touch. Gotcha is the story of a graduating class who traditionally play the game Gotcha. Each student gets a bead which they try to retain and the name of a fellow student whose bead they try to nab. Unfortunately, the game has got out of hand in previous years and is banned by the school, but the student council decide to carry it out anyway. This book has a lot of tension and is an excellent example of something which seems innocent but spins out of control. It shows what can happen when the mob instinct takes over and when winning becomes too serious.

I would recommend both of these titles for high school and with some reservations for elementary; in particular, Getting the Girl. They would certainly need to be housed in a Young Adult section of the library. I would love to hear other viewpoints on this.