Boys Will Be Human: A Get-Real Gut-Check Guide to Becoming the Strongest, Kindest, Bravest Person You Can Be

Gr 5 Up–Baldoni, well-followed actor, social media figure, and man-club buster, has adjusted his straight talk about redefining masculinity to boyhood level. For the most part, it works. This book tackles emotional, social, physical, and psychological aspects of how boys can approach growing into men. He wants to eliminate the “boys will be boys” excuse of bad behavior. Baldoni begins by discussing what it means to belong to the stereotypical “boys’ club”—doing things because of peer pressure and fear of rejection. This can mean how to think about and treat girls, being a fake person because of outside expectations, becoming sexually active prematurely, and other issues. He wants his readers to think about why this peer pressure exists and who actually makes the rules of this “boys’ club.” By asking questions, he encourages boys to stop, think, and feel about how they may be reacting to peer pressures. Baldoni is incredibly honest, telling several intimate personal stories about how he reacted to certain events as a boy and teenager. He is up front about being a heterosexual, cisgender man strongly influenced by his Baha’i faith. However, he is not condescending or dismissive of other viewpoints or experiences; he just cannot write from what he does not know.