Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

by Kate Brian

Book Overview

When she was nine, Megan Meade met a group of terrible, mean, Popsicle-goo-covered boys, the sons of her father's friend -- the McGowan boys. Now, seven years later, Megan's army doctor parents are shipping off to Korea and Megan is being sent to live with the little monsters, who are older now and quite different than she remembered them. Living in a house with seven boys will give Megan, who has never even been kissed, the perfect opportunity to...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416900306
• ISBN13: 9781416900306
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 206 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Megan has always moved around a lot, but this time her living situation has changed even more drastically than usual. When she refused to pack up and move to South Korea with her parents, both in the army, they proposed another option: spending her last two years of high school living in Boston with the McGowans. John McGowan is an old friend of her father's. What makes this so different? The fact that the McGowans have seven sons. Megan is an only child, and can't imagine living with seven boys! Life with Evan, Sean, Finn, Caleb, Ian, Miller, and Doug McGowan is as foreign to Megan as South Korea would have been. Her best friend from Texas, Tracy, even calls it an immersion experience; Megan will go in clueless and come out speaking the language of boys! Even if the McGowan boys and Megan are supposed to be siblings, they don't exactly relate that way. After all, they haven't seen each other since they were little kids. Now Megan is in hostile territory; she's not exactly welcomed by each of the nine members of the McGowan family (though Regina, John's wife, is more than thrilled to have another female in the house, taking tomboyish Megan on shopping sprees and to the spa). And then there's the fact that Finn and Evan are, well, hot. And John and Regina even had a family meeting to tell the kids that they're all siblings now...but siblings don't want to kiss each other. On top of dealing with the drama of living with the McGowan boys, Megan also has to handle starting over at a new school. She gets off to a good start when she makes the soccer team and even a few new possible friends. That quickly goes sour, though, when she is targeted by Hailey, Evan's girlfriend, who's jealous of Megan's talent on the soccer field--and her living arrangements. Can Megan handle Boston and the McGowan boys, or will South Korea turn out the be the easier option? MEGAN MEADE'S GUIDE TO THE MCGOWAN BOYS is a fantastically fun book! It's full of great characters; even the minor characters seem three-dimensional. Kate Brian is a talented writer, and this novel is an awesome page-turner. I devoured this book; I read at every spare moment and took less than twenty-four hours to finish it--on a weekday! Megan's transition from shy to outspoken didn't feel one hundred percent real to me, but that was only a tiny issue; the book was still great. This is one book that definitely feels like there could be a sequel in the works (which is exciting), but that didn't stop it from being a complete (and completely awesome) story on its own. Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

One of My Most Favorites!

I LOVED this book! Not only did I read it in one night, it had so many interesting conflicts, characters, and twists, all my friends have read it as well. This is a must-read. :) Megan Meade's parents are off to Korea, and Megan decides to stay in the states with a family friend- The McGowan's. Megan recalls them all being sticky icky boys who she's not exactly looking forward to living with for a school year. But, oh, is she surprised when she arrives at the McGowan residence to find Abercrombie Model-worthy guys. At first, she isn't convinced they've changed over the years, but after a few flings with the oldest, and sparks flying with another, she's changed her mind. And, of course, there's the evil high school queen who challenges Megan on the soccer field- and with a certain McGowan boy. Megan finds surprising friendships and unexpected sparks in this tale of a teen girl who's just trying to survive her existence in a house full of guys. But even though it sounds like a superficial teen novel, it has several real-life conflicts and you can relate to all of Megan's trials and tribulations. Again, I couldn't put it down, and I was even a little jealous of Megan in the end. This book is great through and through and I can't say enough good things about it. :)

Every Girls Dream Book!

So Kate Brian basically took every High School girls fantasy and wrote about it? Your parents get shipped to Korea and you get to live with 7 Abercrombie model looking guys. That's exactly what happens to Megan Meade. She's got Sean the quiet biker rebel, Evan the resident greek god, and Finn the shy artist. Okay and then there is the rest who don't seem to like her very much. Especially Doug, wannabe Eminem and bitter about her taking up space in his former room. Another person not thrilled about the situation is Evan's girlfriend and Megan rival on the soccer team. It's a knock down drag out fight on and off the field for these two. Because even fantasies turned into books need a little conflict. I got three books from the library and this was the one that had me still reading past page 5. I don't think I put it down once. Kate Brian is a great author who knows exactly what girls want. Info on boys! And this book is not only entertaining and funny, it also gives you an inside peek at the world of boys. Pick it up today.

really good

This was a very good book. It was about this army brat whose parents are moving to Korea and her parents gave her the choice to stay with a family friend or to move to Korea. The family friend has seven boys (jocks) who have never lived with a girl except for their mom. She learns a lot about them and there is a lot of drama. I liked this book because it was full of drama and humor. There is also romance which you cannot read a book without. It also is about Megan finding herself. I definitely recommend this book to any girl. It was really good.

Awesome Book!

This is one of the best books I have ever read! Megan is just the best character! Well, maybe I think that cause I personally like it when the girls are better than the guys and also very athletic. In this book, Megan, a 16 year old army brat, finds out her parents are about to whisk her away to South Korea just when she isnt prepared for it. I mean who would be, she hasn't moved for three years and has actually made some friends. For the first time Megan puts down her feet and says she isn't moving to South Korea. Hearing this her parents give her an option either go to South Korea or go live with the Mcgowan family for 2 years. The Mcgowans are a family of 9 with 2 parents and 7 teenage boys. Megan chooses the Mcgowans. There a most interesting string of events occur including: everyone thinking she hooks up with Evan, Doug giving her the cold shoulder for no reason all the time, finding a friend and maybe somthing more in Finn, and trying to talk to Miller who has Asperger's syndrome. Overall, I think this is one of the best teen books I have ever read