I Speak Boy

by Jessica Brody

A phone-obsessed twelve-year-old girl, frustrated by the cryptic boys in her life, discovers a magic app that can read boys' thoughts in this modern-day retelling of Emma by Jane Austen.

After a matchmaking attempt for her best friend, Harper, goes wrong, Emmy is fed up. Why are boys so hard to figure out? But then something amazing happens--she wakes up with a new app on her phone: iSpeak Boy! Suddenly Emmy has the information every girl wants to know--the super-secret knowledge of how boys think . . . and who they like!

Now Emmy is using her magical app to make matches left and right. But can she use it to help Harper, the only person who doesn't seem to buy into Emmy's "gift"? And when her secret gets out and the app ends up in the wrong hands, can Emmy figure out how to undo the damage she's caused?

Genres: Middle Grade, Romance, Contemporary, Retellings, Juvenile, Realistic Fiction, Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published May 4, 2021

About the author

Jessica Brody is the author of more than 20 novels for teens, tweens, and adults including The Geography of Lost Things, The Chaos of Standing Still, Amelia Gray is Almost Okay, A Week of Mondays, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, the Unremembered trilogy, and the System Divine trilogy which is a sci-fi reimagining of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, co-written with Joanne Rendell. She’s also the author of the #1 bestselling novel-writing guides, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel as well as several books based on popular Disney franchises like Descendants and LEGO Disney Princess. Jessica’s books have been translated and published in over 20 languages and several have been optioned for film and television. She’s the founder of the Writing Mastery Academy and lives with her husband and three dogs near Portland, OR.

Visit her online at JessicaBrody.com or WritingMastery.com. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram @JessicaBrody

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another day, another Emma retelling. :D This one was really a very loose retelling, which works well for me. And the middle school setting might work even more than a high school setting when it comes to telling the story of a character who thinks she knows best!

I really enjoyed it overall. A couple of slighty spoilery notes:


1. There wasn't any LGBT+ representation. I kept expecting Emmy to run into a boy who was at least questioning and it never happened.
2. Emmy didn't have a lock on her phone??? I don't really buy that.

[Kelsey (Bookishly Nerdy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to be gifted an eARC of this book to review. This book is a middle grade retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, with a magical realism twist. I am a huge Jane Austen fan, so the minute I saw this book I knew I needed to check it out.

This experience was amazing! I loved seeing the nods to the story I know, and how Brody incorporated them into this story while making it her own. I think this story will really resonate with young girls and women everywhere. This book took me back to when I was in middle school, and I feel like it really shows what that time is like for girls. I swear Brody was in my brain, writing what I thought and did when I was in middle school. The whole idea surrounding the app to help understand boys, where was that when I needed it in school?! This is such an ingenious idea!

Brody filled this book with truly hilarious moments, as well as good mental health representation. Our main character has anxiety, and I have been told by people who suffer from anxiety that this is described well. It is great to see this representation in books for younger readers, so if they suffer from similar experiences they can see they’re not alone.

I knew this book was going to be fun, but I didn’t know I was going to have as much fun as I did. This book is full of great moments for all readers, and I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who thinks this book sounds interesting. You will not be disappointed!

[dafne_lh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put down this book and read it in one sitting, enough said.

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute! I love a light sci-fi vibe, and the magic translation app was a fun twist. I kind of thought it might be a reveal that she was in love with her best friend and I was a little confused - she was really obsessed with her and how great she is and who she’s “supposed” to be with. I really enjoyed a lot of the side characters, but was rolling my eyes at some bits (the brother’s unsolvable made up language that was SO OBVIOUS, for one) maybe because I’m old 😂

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of people are saying they're fans of Jane Austen and love this re-telling of Emma. I'm here to tell you, you can enjoy this book as well as not enjoy Jane Austen.🙃

Emmy is a pre-teen whose overly obsessed with her cell phone and the thousands of apps available at her fingertips. She's a screen addict. She's also trying to get through seventh grade and understand the mystery of boys. Then, one day she magically has a new app on her phone called "iSpeak Boy" in a totally unexplained magical act this app can translate any male formulated bit of dialogue; a live audio, written text or something painted/drawn into what the creator is actually thinking at that time. Suddenly Emmy goes from pretending to be a 'love coordinator' to actually being a matchmaker for her peers. Naturally there's some problems, I mean what seventh grader could yield that sort of power and everything go off with a hitch? 😂

Here's the scoop. Emmy's mostly likable. Her obsession with her phone and the way she looks down on Grant and useless concepts like 'two cans tied together to communicate' in the beginning is beyond annoying. It physically hurt a part of my heart that knew she'd mock other 'forgotten tools' like writing a damn letter. 🐌💌

I will say there is some character development as she looses her best friend (prior to the iSpeak Boy app discovery) and makes a new friend in Darcy (boo). Okay, actually I liked Darcy until we saw her 'true self', ironically that's about when Emmy starts to see her own self. Actually, that's probably not ironic at all.

All in all, this is a very cute book. It's not too serious, kind of fluffy but still has some really important underlined themes and emotions in there.

*My disclaimer:
I will say, my rating is probably lower than the book actually deserves but for me personally it's three stars. Because, though I did breeze through it in one day I didn't particularly connect or relate to any one character. And, I don't want to read it again. There's a major age gap here though. In fact in the beginning there were a couple times where the text started to play into possible misunderstandings with the app (Emmy thinking a guys thinking about her but it's someone else nearby, you know like when you think someones waving at you and you wave back but they are in fact 112% waving to the person they actually know BEHIND you. Yeah that sort of thing). Anyway, there were a few times similar to that conflict where I thought the book was going to go in a completely different direction, and dang if those thoughts weren't dark.😳 I think that really just shows how aged I am vs. how pure and innocent this book is. Just a little food for thought. Enjoy!

1/30 after sleeping on it, I still say 3 for myself but for the world and for its genre it’s probably a 5.

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions)]

I Speak Boy is exactly the sort of middle grade I've been looking for for years. I've never been able to understand why there are so few middle grade versions of a romance, all about crushes. Obviously it wouldn't be romance in the way a young adult or adult book is romance, with the pinnacle being a hand hold moment or a peck on the lips, but let's be honest middle schoolers are obsessed with crushes! I know I was. Obviously there are exceptions, but tbh they have lots of options already. I went directly from kids books to adult books (to be fair, teen books scarcely existed in my day), partially because I needed romantic content from my books, and it wasn't to be found in kids' books by and large. Middle school is peak hormone and the first big crushes, and I love that I Speak Boy is all about that.

The concept is also very cute, kinda middle grade, app-focused What Women Want. After a dunking in a "magic" fountain, Emma's phone has a knew app called I Speak Boy, which can translate what boys and men are saying to what they actually mean. So cute, right? My one frustration is sometimes the translations are bogus, as in they'll be something completely unrelated to what is being said in a way that doesn't feel real. Okay, wait, one other frustration is it's very heavily into the "if a boy is picking on you, he must like you" idea. While that does happen, it would have been nice to see an example where a mean boy was actually just being mean. Each instance in this book, he was definitely into her.

I Speak Boy also does a nice job covering the ethical side of this, which was a pleasant surprise. And I loved that in the end, one of the messages was that boys are people too, and that just talking to them like people is really the best way to learn about them. That's actually a really good life lesson.

[JJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trying not to get self-conscious about the fact that I enjoyed reading about a middle schooler who is obsessed with boys, her phone, and meddling with people's lives, but screw it! I take no criticism, no shame! I loved this book! It's rare these days to find middle grade books that don't portray children in a cringey, unrealistic way. But this book here has one of the best friendship stories and character development I've seen in even today's more popular books.

The main character Emmy made so many mistakes. Like, sooooooo many life blunders that were so embarrassing I considered closing the book and putting it in the corner of my bottommost drawer never to see the light of day. But her realization that you should be careful with your secrets, and that some things are meant to happen on its own, and that the people around you are almost always just as nervous as you are is so precious and valuable, I don't know why I put off reading this for so long. It's so important that middle grade books show us that young people can be self-aware, too. So, yeah. I'm gonna be on the lookout for more books like this from now on.

#onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightninetentwelve

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been eagerly awaiting a new book from Jessica Brody and I was excited to pick this one up. It’s basically a middle grade retelling of Emma with some (very) slight magical elements (a magical app that translates boys’ thoughts appears on her phone). I really liked Emmy as a narrator. She was quirky and spunky and a lot of fun to read about (as almost all of Jessica Brody’s main characters are). The romance was slight as it is a middle grade read, but there was plenty of humor and I laughed out loud more than once. I wish there had been more app translating though - it was funny to see what the boys were thinking.

[Kim Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable, totally appropriate middle grade romancy book. It will not out cute you. It is not unrealistic--well, except for the app being able to translate boy-speak. But that's the fun part. Kids will love this, much like they love Brody's Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up.

My only complaint is the cartoon cover. Please stop doing Disney-style cartoon covers for middle grade books. I am not sure who is picking the covers for middle grade books these days (I know it's not the authors), but PLEASE stop with the little kiddish covers! This is a solidly middle grade book that doesn't need to be marketed to elementary aged kids.

The story is 5 stars.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

[Kiran · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, it was fine. It was alright for a late-night read when I just wanted something light & easy to read, but if you're looking for a GOOD book, I wouldn't really recommend this.

[୨⎯ gabs (semi-hiatus)(megan’s version!) ⎯୧ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was one of those,” Nothing changes.Oh shoot something happened!” Books. If you’re a BIG fan of Romance middle school books,this one is perfect for you!

[Kirbygirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say it's 10 stars, but I had to do 5. It was an amazing book and I wish I could read it again for the first time. I think the ending was really, really good and you should totally read it!

[Madelyn (Maddie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

really funny

[Devon Flaherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Speak Boy by Jessica Brody (2021) is a solid read for middle grades readers, especially if they are interested in a little romance. With a fun premise and modern lessons, there are plenty of twists and turns and memorable characters in this loose retelling if Jane Austen’s Emma.

Emmy is obsessed—and not in a good way—with her smartphone and all the apps she keeps neatly organized and within reach. During a disastrous set-up that Emmy orchestrates for her bestie and a boy at her middle school carnival, Emmy and her fancy, expensive phone end up in the “magical lagoon.” As her friendships and her attempts at love-matching fall apart, Emmy discovers a new app on her phone that translates boy-speak into plain English that she can understand. Obviously, this will help immensely with pairing off her classmates and restoring her most cherished friendship. But not everything is smooth sailing, even when you’re a girl who speaks boy.

I have been reading quite a bit of YA and middle grades literature, lately (again). I have been reading YA because I am writing YA. I have been reading middle grades partly because I have been taking classes from Jessica Brody on Writing Mastery Academy and she references some middle grades books, including her own. I mean, part of me felt taken in, buying her books after taking her classes. But she hadn’t told me to read them, hadn’t been pushy at all. She just referred to them as examples. And some of her books had the cutest set-ups. Some of her writing examples were impressive to me. She’s not super famous as a fiction author, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I ordered like four of her books and picked this one up first.

I was not super impressed with the beginning, which was pretty, um, common in writing, plot, and characters. (Part of the rocky start is the secret language that her brothers speak in, stumping everyone around them for months... um, I figured it out in about ten seconds. So that was weird.) But I decided to trust the journey, assuming at the least that I would see a story full of stakes and twists unfolding in a way that I could learn from. The story warms up. It keeps you guessing even though some of it is obvious. And in the end, the message is good. It is quite middle grades (why don’t we call it MG?). Okay, it’s very MG. It’s not the kind of book that most adults are going to enjoy reading, even though it is a retelling of Emma by Jane Austen (pretty darn loosely, but I did catch on at some point, without being told ahead of time). I am recommending it for middle grades kids because it’s a pretty good book as far as their likes and developmental stage are concerned. But even I enjoyed reading it, even so, because I am a curious person.

It’s on the lighter side of MG reading, but still has some moments of learning and introspection mixed in with the fun and the MG romance. I was concerned for some time that it was going to be too gendered, as in generalizing to an unhelpful point, but by the end that’s not at all where it lands. It’s a sweet book: she kinda loses her way but is surrounded by caring people… and of course finds her way back. Emmy has some modern lessons to learn and going along with her will be a fun read for many kids, especially ones who want a little innocent romance.

QUOTES:

“Because even though she claims she doesn’t know what she’d say if Mr. Weston asked her out, I do …. To anyone else, it would have been invisible …. But to me, it was as bright and glowing as a spotlight” (p251).

“Because that’s what I do. I smile when she frowns. I order food when she’s hungry. I clean up when she forgets to. I help the boys with their homework when she’s too busy” (p251).

“It just takes him a while to open up. It’s like he wants to make sure he can trust you before he lets you in. Knowing how middle school can go, I don’t think it’s a terrible strategy” (p354).

***REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST BLOG***

[Ellie M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of what I've been reading recently is super dramatic YA, so this book was perfect to balance that out. It was like going back to middle school myself. I love it.
Now, I haven't actually read Emma (the closest I've gotten is the retelling "Off Script") so I don't know how accurate to the original story any of it was. But I'd recommend this book to fans of A Match Made in Mehendi or The Retake. And it isn't really as "supernatural" as this author's other books (A Week of Mondays, Better You than Me or Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up,) which I actually liked, as there was far less drama.
Emerie "Emmy" Woods is obsessed with her phone. She has an app for everything, from identifying constellations to translating voices. And she's a little too much of a risk-taker-- she just wants to set up her best friend, Harper, with the guy she likes, but when it turns out that this boy likes Emmy instead, Harper is humiliated and their friendship might never be the same.
Until the next day, when Emmy wakes up and discovers that her phone has a new app she's never heard of before: an app called iSpeak Boy. She soon finds out that the app can tell her exactly what boys are really thinking, and uses it to set up two classmates who would've otherwise never talked to each other. She even learns that her computer science teacher is interested in her mom, who is divorced and has not been on a date in over a decade. It doesn't take long for Emmy's gift to become known all across the school, and soon girls are lining up to ask her to figure out what their crushes really think. But how long can she keep the app itself a secret? And what is she going to do about Harper?
One thing I like about this book (as well as Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up) was that it's told from the perspective of the "boy-crazy, growing up too fast" friend. Instead of being constantly jealous of her gorgeous best friend and wishing to be extroverted like her, or complaining about how her friend only talks about boys, these books feature characters who learn to slow down and listen to their friends' concerns. It's important to have books that show different types of main characters, because I'm pretty tired of the self-proclaimed awkward girl with jealousy issues.
There are also a few references to characters and situations from this author's other books (Ruby from Better You Than Me comes up, as does Addie Bell's favorite boyband) and that was another favorite thing. I read Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up in eighth grade, and now I'm a senior in high school and I just realized that this would be the year that Addie would actually be sixteen? Some fun nostalgia if you liked that book.
The characters are 12/13, but I kept forgetting that they weren't in high school because that's the age group I normally read about. If you like similar YA books (like The Code for Love and Heartbreak), please read this.
As I mentioned, there's no supernatural drama in this book like there was in Better You Than Me. The app just shows up on Emmy's phone after she makes a wish, and she is allowed to delete it any time she wants. Nothing involving reversing her wish or going back in time or anything like that. Very little stress comes from reading this book, and we honestly need more books like that.
I haven't given a five-star review in a long time, and this is well deserved.

[Paul Sheckarski · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is the best way to address adolescent sexuality in a middle-grade novel? I have no idea, and the more I reflect on this question the more uncomfortable I become. I do not begrudge Brody for excising (almost entirely) from this novel the human sexual impulse; but if the conceit is that our protagonist has a "magic" app that allows her to peer into the unfiltered thoughts of every boy around her then I think most boys will not recognize themselves in this novel.

Most novels elide this problem by allowing their characters' private thoughts to remain private, untranslated. (Does iSpeak Boy translate utterances or reveal private thoughts? These are distinct concepts but the book seems to toggle from one to the other as the plot requires.) This novel demands we attend directly to the swirling chaos of the male id while kindly ignoring all the censored lacunae.

The result is a cast of bloodless, anodyne figures.

You might object, "Would this critic rather have a middle-grade novel full of pornographic description?" Obviously not. But obviously there's a middle road between pornography and a world where sex doesn't exist.

And there are a few strange hints of the existence of sex in this novel's world: a brief discussion by young women of men's cute butts, kicked off by a young man's insecurity about his own; and a rumination about the male obsession with bras. The former is interesting because it inverts the "standard" male objectification of women's bodies. It also acknowledges that men, too, have insecurities about their bodies. The latter is interesting because it's so off the mark; very few boys wonder what it's like to wear a bra ("Is it itchy?" is a thought that has never occurred to me to ask. If I had to guess, I think this is just the author's way of acknowledging that most men enjoy breasts, and it's more acceptable in a middle-grade novel to write "bra" than it is to write "breast." Put simply, 'the thing that covers up is better than the thing that is' — and isn't that an unsettling way to think about our bodies?)

So why are these hints in the book at all? I think the author knows on some level it would be dishonest and perhaps even alienating to depict an absolutely sexless world. These hints nod at the existence of human sexuality, and by treating them as mere punchlines the author allows herself the excuse to discard them instead of treating them as serious topics of discussion.

But those adolescents with anxiety about their bodies and their sexual urges — which is to say, nearly all of them — will naturally want to see themselves in what they read. To resolve their anxieties through story. If books cannot or will not do that, then readers will naturally seek out other media. Is it any wonder that "the kids today" are looking at their phones? At least their apps don't pretend their worries and obsessions don't exist.

[Peyton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a lot of problems. I understand that it is a retelling of Austen’s Emma, but other than the use of phones it really has moved to match today’s world. Firstly, it has a very heteronormative ideology throughout that is off putting and makes the story difficult to read. Why does every girl have to find a perfect match with a boy? What if the do not conform to those standards? I was really hoping for a twist at the end where one of the girls would go “What if I don’t like boys?! What if I want to love a girl?!” That would have definitely made the story better. Alas, my disappointment remained.

The fact that everyone is pushed into a relationship is concerning. It is not an attitude I like being pushed onto middle grade kids. They are already struggling to fit into societal standards and now if they don’t find a hetero date for the dance they’re broken?! It’s a huge problem with the narrative that is never addressed. It would have been nice to see some LGBTQ+ people and some people going with friends because dating is not the be-all-end-all of middle school.

Honestly, I didn’t read the description closely and if I have seen it was an Emma retelling I would have never gone for it. I avoid retelling because it is so rare for them to hold their own and stand up as comparable to the original. This one falls flat and I regret having wasted my time with it.

[Seanean · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://librarytalker.blogspot.com/20...

After Emmy messes up a "meet cute" setup that she was making for her best friend and a boy at school, she ends up dunked in the dirty water of the "Enchanted Lagoon" at their school's first-ever carnival. Desperate to keep her phone from becoming permanently drowned, she drops it into a bag of expired rice.

While waiting for her phone to recover, Emmy thinks over the disastrous night and wishes that she could understand the alien language of boys.

Wish granted.

Once the phone is up an running, Emmy's translator app on her phone suddenly is no longer just "iSpeak" but "iSpeak Boy". Now everything that males of the species say, write, and draw can be translated in this handy little app, making Emmy the "Love Coordinator" of her middle school. She's helping girls figure out the boys they like and she's getting popular as she does it.

But not everyone likes what Emmy is doing and not everyone who likes what she is doing can be trusted.

Final thoughts: Modern day middle school retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. This is written for upper elementary and middle school students so that should be considered, but it really is cute and fun.

Rating: 4/5

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/sh...

[Mariah (Homerun Reads)]

Content Rating: 🟡

Language: mild. They say the word butt a lot.

Violence: none.

Sex/Nudity: some. Crushes. Boys think about bras and wonder if girls think their butts are cute. A girl looks at a boy's butt. Mention of French kissing.

LGBTQ+ Content: none.

Other: poor internet safety.

My Review: ⭐⭐

Overall, it was fun. Not my favorite, but not bad either. A lot of the plot centers around friend troubles, rather than actual romance.

Emmie has a single mom, and I appreciate that she actually misses her dad and wishes he were still around. Strangely, I don't think we see that in books as much as we should. She has to take on a lot more responsibility as a kid because her mom is busy with work, and there's no one else to do it.

And it's very clean. It could go into dirty thoughts of middle school boys, but it doesn't. The closest it gets is mentioning that they think about bras a lot. And butts.

However, it doesn't teach very good internet/phone safety. A lot of secrecy, interacting with strangers online, disobeying rules, phone addiction, etc. This gets addressed in the end, but it takes a while.

Find more clean reads on my site (link in bio). Follow me to easily see my content reviews (if available) when you look up books here on Goodreads.

[Ashley Dang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magical app that translates what boys really mean when they speak and a 12 year old matchmaker, what could go wrong? In this modern-day retelling of Emma by Jane Austen, the story follows Emmy, a girl who just wants to matchmake couples up. When a match for her best friend goes wrong, and she discovers the magical new app iSpeakBoy! which translates what boys mean when they really talk, Emmy takes it into her hands to try and make as many matches as possible. Too bad things start going wrong and now Emmy has to figure out how to really fix all the damage she’s done. Throw in old ex-best friend and neighbor, Grant Knightly, a shy artist Robby Martinez, and Emmy’s mom and a certain Mr. Weston, and the drama goes on!

This was definitely an interesting take on the classic Emma story. It had a lot of the classic elements while incorporating new ones. I think it would be a fun read for middle-grade readers!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book it was a fantastic cute read! It reminded me of the DCOM Zapped, even though it’s a very different story. They both just deal with an app that has to do with boys🤣. I love seeing the main characters arc unfold throughout the book. Every character was extremely fleshed out and felt real. Although I could predict a lot of what was going to happen I couldn’t put down the book. I became emotionally invested in the characters even from Chapter 1. There are so many great moral lessons / messages being told throughout the book that I highly appreciate it.

The way the story played out was perfectly done. I could picture of some of the scenes in a cinematic format. Even some of the ways the emotions unfolded for the characters, were so perfectly written. At the end I wish there was only more book, but all great things have to come to an end🤣. This is also a perfect book for young years who would one day end up reading YA romcoms. I highly recommend this read I will definitely be reading this again in the future! Thank you for writing an amazing story!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emmy is trying to be a matchmaker, when she screws up on matching with her best friend, Harper. Harper is so annoyed and humiliated, and upset that she stops being her friend.

But, Emmy has found an app on her phone that translates what boys are really saying, and she knows she can find the perfect boy for Harper now, if only Harper was still talking with her.

It takes Emmy a while to figure out the right thing to do, but in the meantime she tries to match up everyone she can find, because she likes to. And she misses what is right in front of her nose.

Nice story. I haven't read Emma, which is what this is based on, but this is a fun story, where you, as the reader, will probably see what Emmy is missing because she is staring at her phone.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just LOVED this novel! It was just so pitch perfect middle school!

It was charming and spot on for middle school drama/relationships. I can't wait to introduce my middle schoolers to this one!

I liked how Emmy had to sort through her friendships and her slow burn feelings for the boy next door. I liked how she had to realize that her need to pair people together had deeper roots than just a desire to see people happy.

Just a super well done book!

Content Notes:

Profanity/Swearing: A few OMGs

Sex/Sexual References: Just kissing (and not overly described)

Religious References: None that I remember

LGBTQ Rep: None; one character says she would be happy if her friend was dating someone no matter their gender or sexual orientation

[Jenny Ashby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, Jessica Brody - you are my favorite author of "junk" books. Although you take familiar concepts sometimes stolen directly from movies like "Groundhog Day" or "Freaky Friday", you always bring a little something extra with your characters and (slightly) more serious subplots. I blaze through the books and I booktalk them constantly to my students who want a romance or something lighter than the latest book on cutting. You are perfection in this genre! I Speak Boy is exactly what I wanted after bogging down in two heavy fantasy ARCs. Although Emmy is objectively not a good friend, you are still rooting for her to work things out. The peek into what boys are thinking is also fun, even in fictional format.

[Stephanie Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book since I read an Emma MG retelling was going to come out earlier this year. Jessica Brody takes Jane Austen’s Emma’s essence and brings her to the 21st century as a 12 year old. I like the inclusion of a magical app and how that works with the story line. Emmy’s first person narration is lively and allows readers to see everything even if she can’t. I really like how Harper is the main focus of the story/conflict as I always have issues with the Harriet resolution in the original.

[Cara (Wilde Book Garden) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping the book would delve into the issues (ethics, gender, etc) it raised with the app and it totally delivered! Also really impressed with how well the friendship conflict was written - it was so clear how difficult it was for Emmy and how meaningful this friendship was despite the limited scenes between them.

I enjoyed the cast of characters and the Emma parallels were fun to find, though I don’t think you need to be an Austen fan to enjoy this book.

And I also think the book does a good job of discussing middle school crushes without it feeling overdone or weird.

CW: Anxiety

[Dom Graham]

At 31 years old, you'd think I wouldn't enjoy a book like this, but after years of diving into high stakes, adrenaline-pumping Urban Fantasy, stories like this are a breath of fresh air. It's nice to read about a main character whose problems are rather mundane.

This is the second Jessica Brody book I've read, and I love the adventures she takes us on! This is the 5th Suzy Jackson book I've listened to and I love the life she gives the characters!

[Lisa McCombs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe author Jessica Brody really DOES speak boy in this fun middle-grade romp. When matchmaker Emmy discovers a magical phone app her life changes drastically. She can finally help her best friend Harper find the boy of her dreams. That is if she correctly interprets the app's message. Fun, fun, fun!

[Lennie Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤❤❤ Super cute middle school fluff. ❤❤❤ it made me really happy & i loved the balance between mush tween romance and the friendship. I also really love how this book takes place in the same universe and Jessica Brody's other middle grade books.

:) a great pick of you like Jessica brody's other works or middle grade contemporary books with just a splash of nagic.