Yes, I feel like I'm back from the dead. Neck problems have made reading & typing my un-favorite activites for the last few weeks, so I haven't even finished talking about the other two "pink" books I read a couple of weeks ago. And my aching neck is actually doing well enough that I read a few new ones, so now I have lots to talk about.
First up: Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart. Much fun for anyone who ever really wanted to be, well, a fly on the wall. That's Gretchen Yee's wish - she wants to be a fly on the wall in the boy's locker room in hopes of unlocking the mysterious secrets of men. Then next morning she wakes up an - poof! - what do you know? She's a fly on the wall of the boys locker room. And she's about to learn more about boys than she ever wanted to know.
Gretchen's always been something of a misfit, and she doesn't have many friends. Attending Manhattan High School for the Arts, you'd think her artistic talent would be appreciated, but, unfortunately for Gretchen, her art teachers don't have much respect for the comic book style art that Gretchen loves. And she feels so normal, in a school of distinct individuals, that she knows she doesn't fit in. Her only friend, Katya, seems to be avoiding her, and they guy she has a crush on, Titus, doesn't know she's alive. And guys are so confusing that Gretchen is sure things won't get any better unless she gets some inside info. Which is what leads to The Wish.
Stuck in the boys' locker room, Gretchen learns a lot - although not exactly what she had in mind. Five days in the boys' locker room is enough to educate any girl - and change her for good.
This is a hilariously fun read - I particularly like Gretchen's grading scale for boy's butts, developed after much study. But aside from the humor, it's also a great book about an awkward girl realizing that boys are people, too, and that they can feel just as insecure as she does.

Lockhart, E. Fly on the Wall. New York: Delecorte Press, 2006. ISBN: 0385732813. $15.95.