Getting the Girl: A guide to Private Investigation, surveillance, and Cookery by Susan Juby

Published: October 2008

Publisher: Harper Teen

# Pages:338

Copy provided by: Library

Summary: Goodreads

Meet Sherman Mack. Short. Nerdy. Amateur P.I. and prepared to do anything for Dini Trioli.
Nobody knows who began it or when it became a tradition, but every girl at Harewood Tech fears being D-listed, a ritual that wipes her off the social map forever. When Sherman believes Dini is in danger of being D-listed, he snatches up his surveillance gear and launches a full-scale investigation to uncover who is responsible.
Could it be the captain of the lacrosse team?
The hottest girls in school, the Trophy Wives?
Or maybe their boyfriends?
One thing is for sure: Sherman Mack is on the case. And he's not giving up.
Part comedy, part mystery, and with all of Juby's trademark tongue-in-cheek humor, Getting the Girl takes on one of the cruelest aspects of high school: how easy it is for an entire school to turn on someone, and how hard it can be to be the only one willing to fight back.

This was an interesting book for me to read. I expected humor, and I got it, but at the same time, I wasn't expecting the depth that was in the novel. I haven't read anything by Susan Juby before, so I was quite unprepared for what I got. I was expecting more fluff. A quick harmless read. What I got was, for me, a heart-wrenching look at some of the cruelty and bullying that goes on in high schools.

Sherman is absolutely hilarious as the bumbling detective to be, but the real beauty of his character is his willingness to stand against wrong, no matter the consequences. He really is quite a hero in my opinion. No-one deserves the kind of punishment that is meted out by becoming 'defiled'. There are a couple of little surprises in the book that kept me interested and I loved Sherman and Rick's adventures with cooking class. All in all, I really enjoyed it.

For anyone out there looking for ISU material on bullying, this book gives a whole new perspective. Interesting book Ms. Juby.

BTW, have you entered our Smart Chicks Kick It Aftermath Signed Book bash? Yep, we're giving away signed books. The contest is open to Canadian and American residents and runs until the end of the month. You must be a Google follower to qualify (although extra entries can be earned as well)