Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

Over the summer I was reading about this book on Twitter.  Many people were talking about how this is a book that everyone who works with middle school / Intermediate students needs to read.  I pre-ordered it this summer and it just arrived this week.  This book is one that is going to stay with me and is going to have an impact on how I approach situations with the students I work with.  

Maybe He Just Likes You deals with the issues of teasing/ bullying /harassing / "it was just a joke"/ "you are being too sensitive" that I see every day at school.    The subtle words and actions that some students use to 'tease' other students can often go unnoticed by adults and other students.  What I loved about this book was the idea that when it feels wrong in your gut- it is wrong.  

This book is about Mila- a 7th grade student who has a nice core group of friends, she plays in a band and is worried about her family financial situation and the relationship between her divorced parents.  She is a very relatable character, as I was reading this book, I was picturing students I know who are just like her.  

At school, things start to get a bit weird when boys in her class start hugging her and making off side comments that feel wrong to Mila.  When she mentions it to her friends, she is told that the boys are just flirting with her.  Even when she speaks to a Guidance Councillor, he also brushes it off and makes a comment about boys being boys and that ignoring them is the best way to deal with things.  But Mila knows that it is more than that - she asks the boys to stop, and they don't.  

This book is all about those subtle jabs, comments, and inappropriate touching that I think many young women deal with.  But is is also about empowering girls to listen to their gut, or their inner voice when something feels off.  I'm really hoping that many teachers read this book with their students and engage in conversations with the young adults they are working with.  I think we can all learn from this book.  I will be talking it up with as many educators as I can.