Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

This was a book I actually reread recently. I read this back in middle school and loved it so much that I reread it at least 8 times. This was the first time I read it as an adult and phew I have a lot of thoughts that I am actually going to more in depth in the future But it was still entertaining and although I disliked some of the characters more than I did before, I still was wanting to read it and I think it got me out of my reading slump. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars fantastic condition and a fun read

This book has a good plot but I felt like the ending riuned it for me. This book is about a girl that is a tomboy and plays soccer her parents work for the militery and her whole life she has moved alot. When she finally thinks she has a place to call home her parents tell her that the getting transferred into Korea. She stands up for herself and says she does not want to go her parents agree that she cann stay with a friend of her parents and she moves in a house that has 7 boys/teenager/"adult" she finnaly gets kindy used to them there is alot of drama in this book but basically she kissed a brother and a few days later she says she moving with her parents in Korea but she ends up not going but in the end the leave alot of questions unanswered like what ever happend with the brother that kissed her did they eve go out I do no know. When I finished this book I legit when to the kindel store to buy the next book but there was no 2 book not even a sequel. So the book was good but the end definitely disappointed meP.S sorry for being so vuage about the name of the brother she kissed so you get a little suprise if you do buy this book.

There was something to this book for sure but by the end (or rather because of the end) I walked away thinking it was just okay. Of course, I could definitely see how some people might disagree with me. Despite being predictable and making a few slightly outdated references (it was published in 2005) the story and characters were entertaining.  THE PREMISE: Nice/shy/tomboy/soccer star/good girl/Army brat, Megan found out her parents were transferred to Korea for her last two years of high school. She'd never complained about moving before but she didn't want to miss out on all of the rites of passage those last two years held so she asked to stay in the states. Her parents' friends agreed to take her in. Of course they had 7 boys already. Megan had a hard time being the only girl in a home of boys who weren't all exactly welcoming her with open arms. The guide mentioned in the title refers to emails that Megan sent to her friend that included an ongoing lists of observations she made about guys based on her experiences living with the boys.THE CHARACTERS: Each of the boys were different and while not all of the characters were fully explored what we did learn about them left an impression. There was the oldest, Sean who already graduated and spent most of his time in the garage working on his bike or playing with his band. Then there was Evan, the popular jock who flirted with everyone in a friendly way but also had a super jealous girlfriend. Next was Finn, the friendly, sensitive artist who just couldn't seem to find the right inspiration to finish a painting. Then came Doug and Miller, the twins who were nothing alike. Miller was the Yankees obsessed fan with Asperger Syndrome. Doug, the Marshal Mathers wannabe, had serious middle child syndrome. The two youngest, Ian and Caleb kind of blended together but they both enjoyed invading Megan's privacy and pulling pranks on her like drawing boobs on her shirts, running around the house with her bras, and using her tampons as a ramp for their RC truck. Then there was Regina, the mother of these 7 boys who was desperate for girl time and Megan was too nice to let her down despite not being into "girly" things.THE THEME: Megan had the most interaction with Evan (her first crush), Finn (her first friend) and Doug (her first enemy). Chaos ensued and Megan was usually blamed for it by nearly everyone minus a few loyal allies. In the process, the boys learned how to live with a girl and Megan learned how to stand up for herself. This wasn't a romance. Sure there were crushes and boy/girl drama but not really love and what few romantic moments it did hold were sweet, innocent, brief and ultimately left unresolved. (Though the book does contain some underage drinking and sex so it's not completely innocent.)MY OPINION: Again, it was an entertaining read. It was mostly light and easy. It took less than a day to read. And I would probably have given it 3.5 to 4 stars all the way up through the climax (I really liked the climax) until the conclusion. Unfortunately, the conclusion left me disappointed. There were too many issues left unresolved and some of the resolution that did happen occurred outside of the story which was less than satisfying. I get that leaving things semi-unresolved was supposed to signify that normal, chaotic life would go on in the McGowan household but I think that could have been accomplished and still resolved the issues. And then on top of that, the last few lines hinted at potential new drama, which is fine, but I didn't care for what the drama was and I especially did not care for Megan's response to it. Lesson un-learned, I guess.I liked the book but it won't make the re-read pile.

Full review available at http://bookplusheart.weebly.com/contemporary-ya/category/megan-meades-guide-to-the-mcgowan-boysI have very mixed feelings about this book. I thought it was going to be more about Megan and her relationships with each of the sons, but it actually was more about Megan discovering how to be herself and stand up for that. At the beginning we find out that she has always done everything her parents have asked of her, so for her to actively tell them she was not going to Korea was the first step in her becoming stronger.

I really enjoyed Megan Meade's Guide, I truly did, until the end. It was clear that the author intended to pick up where she left off, but simply never did. After having popped over to Google for a little surfing, it seems that Kate Brian had, at one time, planned a sequel but it never came to pass. I guess her two series got in the way. So I have to be honest, I was a little peeved.The story is fun, there's not all that much to the book where plot is concerned, but that's okay, it's still a good read. Megan is a neat little character, though at times her "wow, I can't believe I just said that" attitude does grate on one's nerves. But again, this isn't pulitzer worthy material we're supposed to be reading. The boys were great, from crazy-in-love Evan to artsy Finn to Doug the second coming of Eminem to Miller the gentle giant. They were all realized wonderfully. The dynamics between Megan, Evan and Finn were great and I always looked forward to the scenes where Evan and Finn made their respective appearances.This is a cute book. It's not over the top, it's not complicated. The story is simple and linear and Megan's voice in clear. It's a great story about finding one's inner voice and learning how to use it.Again, I was disappointed with the ending. The door was left open, wide open, for a sequel and the ending is screaming for one. If you're not put-off by ambiguous endings, you'll probably enjoy the read. For me, had I know, I never would have read it. But, as it stands, it was a pretty good book.

This story had quite a few similarities to one book I've read. Still I believe this version has surpassed the latter! I love the characters but I feel towards the end that it was rushed and didn't really explored much on each character, especially the other boys...I love Finn's character but the love line between him and Megan was rushed. It didn't made my heart ache when they got separated nor made my chest swell up when others found out about it - wish they were a bit jealous, at least Evan should have been.I hope there's a continuation...book two please!

The book as a whole was good, really funny and quite relatable BUT the ending threw me off as there wasn’t one really. Tried to find a sequel but not much luck on that front so quite disappointed.

This is a sweet story about growing up & becoming strong as a person for sticking up for yourself. Would recommend for teens.

I am so glad I got this book! I didn't expect to enjoy it this much! It is funny and I hope that if you get a chance to read it you enjoy it!

I like the development the characters went through in this, I just feel like their needs to be another book/short story where we see our main character get the boy.