The Boy Trap

The comic premise of this breezy first novel about an elementary battle of the sexes is undermined, ironically, by its gender stereotypes. Aspiring fifth-grade scientist Emma, furious with boys, decides to prove that girls are superior to boys in her school science fair project. Although Emma thinks of her best friend Louise as more of a jock than a scientist, she enlists Louise's help. The competition escalates when their respective crushes, Wally and Robert, set out to document the opposite hypothesis. What starts out as humorous, however, devolves into a series of biased and superficial experiments, and readers may find it increasingly implausible that the entire student body and faculty jump on the bandwagon. More convincing is Emma's evolving perception of her friend. However, readers will likely have difficulty believing that even though Emma and Louise ""had been best friends so long their conversations didn't have beginnings or endings,"" Emma never considered Louise smart. Several other inconsistencies emerge, and some of the gender roles seem dated (e.g., Louise must do all the housework because her ""brother was a real brain and never had to do any household chores""). Ages 8-12. (Oct.)