This is an amazingly well done book on a very difficult topic. The author handles it beautifully and honestly. Every middle schooler, both boys and girls should read this book and discuss it.

Mila sounds so much like a typical teen. Her emotions and confusion about what was going on was spot on. As were the many varied reactions of her friends. I also felt her frustration in finding it so difficult to talk about it with the adults around her, even though she has a great relationship with her mom. The need to not burden her mom when she was having difficulties of her own, is felt by many a teen. I really enjoyed watching her grow and find the inner strength to finally do something and to tell someone.

The pacing of the book was also solid and it was very difficult to put down once I had picked it up. I meant to just start it one morning, but discovered myself finishing it in one sitting. I don’t think the words sexual harassment is ever really used, although questions of bullying are brought up. But the reader can tell that what Mila experiences is different than bullying. Also, one of her friends tries to convince her that the boys are just flirting with her, but Mila knows that she is wrong and does call her on it. The final resolution with the boys was done in a way that that I think kids will be able to relate to, although maybe a bit more could have been done.

My one small issue with the story is the ending and the resolution of Mila’s difficulties felt a bit rushed, and maybe not quite resolved the way it should have been. Also it is hinted that something similar was going on with her mom at work, but I’m not sure kids will pick up on that. It would have been nice to see her mom talk more directly to Mila about her issues and what was happening to Mila.

This is a book that I highly recommend you get for any middle schooler you know. It should also be on all library shelves. It is a well done book, that felt authentic and realistic on a very tough topic.

Thanks to Netgalley and Aladdin for the advance readers copy of this book. Al opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this immensely important middle grades book. When a group of boys start harassing Mila at school, she is uncomfortable. They do not seem to be doing anything that seems bad to a casual observer, but weeks of unwanted touching, bumping, and comments lead her to spiral downward mentally and shrink into herself. She does not feel like she can explain the feeling to anyone, even her friends. I think EVERY middle school student should read this book.

In Maybe He Just Likes You Barbara Dee captures the feel of middle school perfectly. They’re on the line, Mira and her friends, sometimes leaning over into childhood and other times into adolescence. Mila’s body has moved into adolescence of its own accord, and even her green sweater doesn’t do enough to hide the changes she’s not ready for. Her friends, too, are dealing with the changes—or lack thereof--and it’s causing strain in the group. So, when a group of boys begins to give Mila a lot of unwanted attention, she doesn’t know what to make of it or where to turn.

It’s so easy to sympathize with Mira in this story. When everything is new: the shape of your body, the crushes your friends get, the social scene in middle school, it can be hard to determine what’s okay and what’s not. But Mira quickly comes to the conclusion that what’s happening is not okay. Yet, faced with an overwhelmed single mom, distracted teachers and male counselors, she cannot bear to explain. Finally, one night, Mira has the opportunity to retaliate against the leader of the group of boys, and that leads the way to help, learning, and restorative justice.

This book makes an excellent resource for middle school girls and dare I say male middle school teachers and administrators since the painful situations Mira is in are presented in such an unflinching and clear manner. In addition, Barbara Dee presents a realistic situation where the adults are clearly trying to do well by the students and yet Mira has good reasons to fear approaching them. I would hope that the resolution of the story would give any girl faced with this problem the courage to seek help.

I did have one big beef with the book, and it comes at the end, so if you don’t want spoilers, stop reading now. At the same time that Mira is dealing with sexual harassment at school, there are hints that her mother is encountering the same at work. In addition, the small family has some serious financial problems caused by the fact that Mira’s father refuses to pay child support. In the end Mom’s male boss fires her. Although Mira saves the day by pushing her mother in the direction of a new job with a female boss, the conclusion of the sub plot made me want to spit. Mira’s mom gets a new job she loves in a woman-owned business…at an even lower wage.

Suffice it to say my reader’s high in Mira’s success was spoiled by the message that in adult life women are at the mercy of men—whether ex-husbands or bosses—and that in order to be happy they must also be poorly compensated.

My conclusion? This book has a great message as it relates to middle school, and that’s probably reason enough to buy it, because that part of the plot’s masterful. But if my daughter were in middle school, I’d hand it to her with the requirement that we talk through what happened with Mira’s mom after she was finished reading. Unfortunately, I’m guessing most middle school girls won’t share this book with their mom.

I received an advance reader copy of Maybe He Just Likes You from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This terrific middle grade fiction book is about Mila, who is just trying to get through middle school. Her mom is struggling with her work and her dad is pretty much out of the picture. Mila has a little sister who is a pain and a group of friends that she trusts. But a group of boys is making Mila miserable-they keep making excuses to touch Mila, in ways that she finds uncomfortable. She tries to roll with it but they persist. She tries to talk to them and they persist. She tries talking to the guidance counselor, her teachers, her friends, and her mom, but no one really gets it. This is an excellent story about standing up for rights, listening to your inner voice and persistence when people aren't paying attention. I thought this one was great.

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee is an excellent story that tackles a tough subject. The title phrase is one that has been said to many girls when encountering some uncomfortable situations. This is an important book for middle school students! Realistic, engaging and thought-provoking which are all important factors when tackling such a topic! Highly recommend reading!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mila is in seventh grade and has her core group of friends, like most middle schoolers do. Unlike her friends however, Mila is starting to get a lot of unwanted attention from the boys. From hugs to more serious groping, Mila can't seem to get away from them. One of her friends acts jealous of the attention, and one of her friends identifies the behavior as bullying. Mila is too scared to talk to her mom because her mom is super stressed at work. It's not until things explode at the fall band concert that a teacher identifies the behavior as sexual harassment.

I loved this book, however I know that some people will not be happy with the treatment of the harassment or how Mila resolves things with the boys in the end. I think this book has an important message that we should not be ok with the idea of "he/she is just treating you that way because he/she likes you". An important read for middle schoolers and educators.

This is an incredibly important book for 5th/6th grade and up, boys & girls, adults. And it needs to be discussed! So much of what happened to Mila happened to me in upper Elementary & Middle School- accidental brushes, bra snapping, comments about my body, butt grabbing/smacking, and more. Another reviewer mentioned that Mila wasn’t raped or sexually assaulted, but what happened to her is still awful and unacceptable. The mental struggles she went through was heartbreaking to me, probably because I was thinking about my own 12 year old self. The phrase, ‘Maybe he just likes you’ needs to leave our vocabulary, and we need to believe girls (and boys) who tell us these kind of things are happening. Thank you for the digital ARC. I highly recommend this book.

As I was reading Dee's latest thanks to an ARC provided by the publisher, I was already starting conversations with my own daughter, my nieces and those families I work with every day. Dee presented the #metoo movement in a way that made it easy to discuss with even young readers. There is a fine line between flirting and intimidating and ultimately that line is determined by the person it is happening to and not anyone else. I immediately recommended this book to everyone I came in contact with and reminded parents to have conversations with their girls and their boys and to read it together. My hope is that this book becomes a classroom read-a-loud in upper elementary and middle school classes everywhere. The earlier we start the discussions and the more often we have them, the less likely girls and boys will have to deal with these uncomfortable and disturbing situations.
I HIGHLY recommend this read!

I was given a free review copy from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review. What an amazing and necessary book for our middle-grade girl readers! Mila starts being "teased" by a group of boys, but she starts to wonder, is this really being teased? They play a game where they touch her or make comments about her body parts for points. At first, she doesn't quite know how to handle it, and even her friends think she's over-reacting. However, in time, she finds her courage and her voice to speak out for herself. This title will be great for both boys and girls and will be sure to open up channels of communication about appropriate and inappropriate touching and actions.

A powerful yet highly relateable book about harassment in the Me Too era. Sadly there must be countless girls out there who have faced this unfortunate predicament. Kudos to Barbara Dee for tackling this subject.

Wow. This was a hard book to read and I so wish I had read something like this when I was younger. I experienced so many of these kinds of actions and comments and know that it's really difficult to process and you even question your own perceptions. Barbara Dee really managed to convey that feeling of not even knowing how to name or discuss exactly what feels wrong about what people are doing. She also really made it clear that a person going through this can feel helpless and isolated especially when people don't take it seriously when an attempt is made to share about these things. The "boys will be boys," type of response is so disappointing when you really need people to see that things are not okay.

It is a fairly intense read for anyone who has experienced these types of assaults. For anyone who hasn't, it is still likely to be a bit emotional. Dee really takes readers through the many emotions one could have while dealing with such a situation.

She also shows that it may not be so black and white with the perpetrators. Some may be doing it wanting to exert control or actually intending harm, but others may just not realize how far across the line they have wandered. Books like this can really provide an opportunity for really helpful discussion between parents and children or in classrooms about consent and boundaries.

This is a book that middle school and even upper elementary students should be reading and discussing. It's compelling storytelling - I read it in one sitting when I was supposed to be doing something else.

This is a first purchase type of book. Told in a relatable, yet nuanced manner, Dee takes readers into the situations where a girl is being harassed. As a reader, you can feel the discomfort coming off of the page. As a female, I knew what Mila would say and think before she even did it herself because she was so relatable. This is an important book for all readers, but especially those in middle school. This is a timely topic dealt with in a completely age appropriate manner.

I was lucky enough to receive an Advance Read copy of Maybe He Just Likes You from #netgalley. The story focuses on a middle school girl who is being sexually harassed, but it is excused as flirting by her friends. Will she speak up?
A must read for middle schoolers! Release date: October 1, 2019 #mgreads #hottingerhighlights #middleschoolela #middleschool #booklove #booknerd #netgalley #maybehejustlikesyou

There aren't many middle grade books on this exact topic, so this is a worthy addition to any collection. It's about a middle school aged girl who is being "teased" and getting unwanted attention and touching from boys in her grade. I wish that Mila would have had someone, at least on her side from the beginning. So much of the book was spent on what the boys were doing, and revealing that other students were aware of it, but almost no one did anything to stop them. The teachers and administrators were also completely oblivious and repeatedly took the boys' sides until the very end. I think there should have been an earlier "Speak Up." message. Someone should have stood up for Mila, and she should have stood up for herself sooner. I fear that even though this had a good resolution (Eventually) this might make girls afraid to report things because they will fear more of the type of reactions Mila got from her friends and her teachers. I also thought the eventual ending was a little bit too rosy with the main boy.

I have been hearing about this book on Twitter for months, and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it, and it surely did not disappoint. I love the way that Dee handles the tough, very real problem of sexual harassment in middle school. This book explores many emotions that often come up when dealing with harassment: am I overreacting? what did I do to deserve this? am I the only one? is this all in my head? why me? what if I change ____ about myself, will it stop?

Mila tries to forget what's happening to her through band and her trumpet playing, which used to be her escape, but not even that is working anymore. Then she finds karate and the discipline that goes with it, and things start to change as she gains confidence and a confidant.

This book not only empowers both girls and boys to examine sexual harassment and consent, but also looks at what causes it, and how to deal with it from both sides. Very well done and a must read for all middle schoolers. I will definitely be purchasing this for my library.

Note: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great book for middle school students. What's "just kidding" to one person, can be very serious to another, and this book shows that. I'm not sure the boys fully understood that in the end, but that might mimic real life as well.

This book was received as an ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing - Aladdin in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was reluctant to start this book because it talked about a sensitive topic that is seen each day in some way shape or form and now with all that has been going on with sexual harassment, we don't know how to even interpret the most simple cues as being some form of harassment. All of us in one shape or form can relate to Mila and the struggle she goes through in the book. In the book, Mila thought she could find her escape in Band Practice but it happens to be not what she expects and then her friend introduced her to karate and the disciple that is taught from martial arts. This completely changes Mila for the better giving her the feeling of protection and looking into new things in a new light. At some point in my opinion, all young girls going through adolescence should read this book to get an insight of not only what happens with this topic but how to escape and be happy with who you are.

We will consider adding this title to our JFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I had been looking forward to reading this book for months, and it did not disappoint! I LOVE this book and I can't wait until it's available so I can tell everyone to read it!!! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book! I'll have a full review closer to the publication date at kaitplusbooks.com :)

Very boldly represented reality of sexual harassment. This book dives into the emotions, feelings, denials and doubts that follow unwanted advances from the opposite sex. Is there something wrong with ME? Is it My fault? AM I overreacting or making it up? Something like that really shifts your reality especially when people whom you are supposed to trust question or minimize what is happening. And when you are in 7th grade, well, everything is just so much harder. This is a must read for middle school girls and boys!

This is such an important topic! Barbara Dee does a wonderful job portraying such a sensitive subject.