E. Lockhart.  Fly On The Wall  
Delacorte Press  $11.99  ISBN 978-0-385-73282-6  182 pg.
Reviewed by Ceilidh, Age 15

“So. You might want to start thinking about what you want to keep, and what you want to throw away.” Ma executes the should-be-patented Hazel Kaufman switch from sympathetic mother to critical nag.

“What do you mean?” I ask her.

“We’ve got to sort through your junk, Gretchen. We can’t bring all of this”—she waves her arm to indicate my stuff—“to the new place.”

“But I need my stuff!”

"You don’t need all of it. You don’t need most of it.”

“Ma!”

“Gretch, you have to throw it out. We’re starting fresh.”

"You’re starting fresh,” I say. “I’m only moving with you because I’m legally obligated.”

Gretchen Yee just wants to fit in, so more than anything, she wants to be different. She goes to a school called Manhattan High School for the Arts, where she’s known for her drawings of Spiderman, and disliked because of them. Her best friend is always ditching her for the “art freaks”, and her ex-boyfriend is definitely spreading rumours about her, or so she suspects. And then, there’s her crush. Titus, clearly the name of a Greek god, is exactly what he reminds her of. One night, when she feels utterly fed up with the male race, she wishes that she could be “a fly on the wall of the boy’s locker room.” Though, when she wakes up the next morning, she certainly regrets that wish.

This was a book that I found incredibly humorous, in only the best ways. I really, truly enjoyed Fly On The Wall and I really liked that I laughed the entire time. Gretchen’s experiences are really heart-warming but at the same time she had the ability to make the reader laugh until they cried. The way the author writes; her thoughts are very realistic and quite entertaining; especially the way her mind can bounce from one thing to something completely different. Every girl wishes to know what the boys say about her behind her back, and Gretchen gets the real experience.  I recommend this book for ages 13 and up, because after all, most of the book does take place in a boys’ locker room.

I give Fly on the Wall five hilarious stars. I will never forget this novel!