Good Example Of Book Review On The Boy Project By Kani Kinard

Setting:

Present time, location is an unnamed suburban town.
Point of View:
First person
Protagonist:
Kara McAllister, a seventh grader who is artistic and a good student.
Antagonist:
Colleen, aka “Maybelline”, another seventh grader who is notorious for her makeup and boyfriends.
Plot Summary:
A seventh grader embarks on a scientific study on boys, girls and romance. She begins the study as a science fair project. She would like to land a boyfriend, but she doesn’t understand why she is unsuccessful compared to other girls in her class. She begins a scientific study of the boys in her class and their interactions with the girls. The premise is that she will find a boyfriend
of her own and complete her science fair project. Her surveys do not satisfy the requirements for the science fair. She ends up posting a quiz on the internet on a social website. She gets enough responses to complete her science fair project. She also takes notes and makes observations on the boys and girls in her class. Some of her observations are made in the boys’ bathroom, which causes some hilarious problems when she is discovered in there. The book is illustrated with pictures of her notes on the science project. She sees her best friend get, lose and find a new boyfriend. She cannot understand why she cannot get a boyfriend of her own. She wants to remain true to herself but would like someone to share it with. She eventually starts a blog about her creative projects and becomes a subscriber to a “find your soulmate” website. By the spring dance she has found love with Chip, a classmate who likes her duct tape art projects.

Conflict:

Her biggest conflicts are the girls in her class that always seem to have a boyfriend such as Maybelline. The other is an internal conflict, why she can’t get a boyfriend of her own. Between her observations and the results of her survey, Kara discovers that she needs to be more confident in herself and a boyfriend will naturally be attracted to her.

Climax:

The climax comes when Kara discovers that her creative abilities seem to attract a boy that she shook hands with in the closet after they were matched up in a round of Spin the Bottle. She begins her own blog and also sends out surveys about boy/girl attraction on her social internet account. She wants to go to the Spring Dance with him. He does not ask her, but when she makes a dress out of duct tape he spends the whole night dancing with her and walking her home.

Theme:

The theme of this book is a strong message for girls to stay true to themselves. Kara collected data and presented a strong science project on finding a boyfriend. In the end, her findings moved wanted to present a female protagonist who was smart but uncomfortable in her own skin, as most middle school girls are. Confidence was the factor that allowed Kara to land a boyfriend in the end.

Hyperbole:

“Well I have no choice unless you consider being a lifelong boyfriendless social outcast destined” (Kinard, 7). This is a gross exaggeration of the seventh grade author’s view on not having a boyfriend.

Simile:

“My hair on the other hand, is often described as frizzy. Like clown hair” (Kinard, 12). The author is describing her hair to clown hair using the word like.

Foreshadowing:

“And guys like that never go for Tabbi” (Kinard, 21). The author is giving the reader a hint of what will happen later in the story.

Verbal Irony:

Flashback:
“As dark as the closet I went into last night with Chip Taylor last night after he spun the bottle and pointed to me.” This flashback of the event present the premise for her science project.

Bibliography:

Kinard, Kami (2011). The Boy Project. Scholastic. New York.