There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom


There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom is a 1987 juvenile fiction book from the author Louis Sachar, about a fifth-grade bully named Bradley whose behavior improves after intervention from a school counselor. The title comes from a point when a character, Jeff, is horribly embarrassed after accidentally entering the girls' bathroom while trying to go to the school counselor's office when a teacher gives him the wrong directions.

Plot

Bradley Chalkers is the protagonist of the book. He is the oldest student in the fifth-grade class, having repeated fourth grade. In his school, he sits at the back of the class, last seat, last row, and never pays any attention, preferring to scribble, cut up pieces of paper, or partake in other mindless tasks which keep his mind off the lesson. He is proud whenever he receives an F on his class tests. He wants everyone to hate him because he believes that they will then leave him alone. Everyone hates him, including the teachers.
A new classmate, Jeff Fishkin, comes in from Washington, D.C., and the only two remaining seats are the ones beside and in front of Bradley. Jeff tries to reason with Bradley, but fails, like everyone else. Then, a counselor named Carla is appointed, and she can't wait to meet Bradley. Carla says she wants to be friends with Bradley, and she begins to try to open him up and reveal his kind interior, which he has been trying to hide. Bradley refuses to come quietly, and his conflicting emotions with Carla and other people induce strife among his fellow schoolmates. As he meets with Carla more and more, he slowly decides to become a better person. He does his homework and forms better relationships with his parents. To help him with a book report, Carla lends him her favorite book, My Parents Didn't Steal an Elephant. Bradley thinks that the book is magical and responsible for his changes.
A subplot of the book involves Jeff and a girl named Colleen Verigold, who seem to have crushes on each other. Bradley thinks girls are gross and especially hates Colleen's best friend, the outspoken Lori. At the beginning of the book, Bradley becomes irritated with Jeff for saying "Hi" to Colleen whenever she says "Hi" to him. Later, Carla tells Jeff and Colleen that Zen Buddhist monks are required to say "Hi" to each other when they meet. Later in the book, Bradley proves his friendship to Jeff by saying "Hi" to him. Towards the end of the book, as Carla helps Bradley change, he is invited to Colleen's birthday party, along with Jeff, and he even wins the party games, getting a harmonica as a prize. He also gets respect from all of the other girls.
Unfortunately, Carla is not as popular with many parents of the students. Colleen's mother becomes angry with her for supposedly preaching religion and counseling Colleen without permission. As a result, Carla is fired and becomes a kindergarten teacher. When he hears this, Bradley becomes very upset and threatens to revert to his original behavior. Although he misses saying goodbye to Carla, he does return to the school and finds a package she leaves for him. The package contains a goodbye note from her and her book. In the end, Bradley starts to come to terms with Carla's departure. He writes her a goodbye letter of his own and sends his most prized possession with it, a small china rabbit named Ronnie.

Characters

Bradley also has a big collection of animals that in his mind all have different personalities. They include a brass lion he found in the garbage, an ivory donkey his parents brought back from Mexico, two owls that were once used as salt and pepper shakers, a glass unicorn with its horn broken, a family of cocker spaniels on an ashtray and other china animals too chipped to identify. In his mind, they speak and see him as their hero and best friend, calling him the smartest person they know and comforting him.