How to Fight a Girl

Billy Forrester, the hero of How to Eat Fried Worms, has his first brush with romance as a direct result of his vermivorous feat. His worsted rivals conspire to involve him in a compromising liaison with Amy Miller, the prettiest girl in the school. When Billy and Amy get together to plan a counter-conspiracy, they are, very predictably, inexorably attracted to each other. In spite of a bewildering density of references to contemporary American culture, I found this book rather old-fashioned, in that Billy and his mates treat the flickerings of incipient sexuality as if they were the symptoms of some shameful disease. I was under the impression that most kids these days can't wait to get started. Perhaps things are different over there. In any case, the book deals in an appropriately tacky manner with the awkwardness of early adolescence, and should provide plenty of entertainment for youngsters who watch enough television to be able to comprehend all the transatlantic idioms.