Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the copy of this book! I was drawn to this novel because of the title which I found to be unique. I think this would be a great book for parents of boys and teachers to review and get examples from to use at home or in the classroom. The objective of the book fits into society today and I could see this helping a new generation of boys change the world and challenge current expectations. I believe this will invite conversation in a easy and friendly way to discuss what it means to be a decent person and how we can take expand these ideas and dares into the real world!

This book is a series of dares or activities centered around the idea of helping boys and young men better understand all genders. The dares include things like reading stories or books, trying new things, and talking to different kinds of people. It's a good idea, but if the book is meant to help with gender identity and sexism, shouldn't it target both boys and girls (instead of just boys)? It seems like the whole book revolves around the male stereotypes the author is trying to avoid. I think there are better books to get kids talking about gender stereotypes.

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Publishing through NetGalley.
Bunch and Teague present a series of dares to challenge young men to think about themselves, their life and how they interact with the world. It's a personal reflection book that can be read straight through or by choosing dares on different pages. The informative text at the end breaks down the Man Box and Cycle of Consequences for readers to understand the terms and the harm that can be done by perpetuating them. This could be a terrific gift book for young men in our lives and would also make a starting point for family discussions on these topics.

I think many of the boys who grew up in the 80's and 90'd are more likely to raise their sons like this, as so many were already like this to begin with. Us mom's, I think, did a great job of raising more empathetic sons than their fathers or grandfathers were! It's a good book, just make sure you sit down and read it with them. Giving it as a gift I', not sure it would be read. On a library shelf it might just sit. Has lots of good lessons in it. I think maybe one on one or small group read with leader and just boys would be a good start. Or as read by a parent to young sons. Very insightful.

Maybe this would be great to purchase as a gift for a very specific boy, but for a library it is going to be a hard pass for me. The language in this (I'm looking at you "Diversity is dope.") is, at times, kind of lame. I'm sorry, but it had to be said. I am quite honestly struggling to think of a single specific boy who would pick this out from our library shelves & read it.

That being said, I think the topic/themes are great. Every child, regardless of gender, could use lessons in acceptance and empathy. And the idea of a book centered around allowing boys to get outside of gender norms, is fantastic. I am all for it. I just didn't enjoy this book for my collection development purposes.