Mr Instapundit seems to be having trouble finding anything about books or help for boys entering Middle School while information for girls seems to be found in abundance.
Well, Glenn, I can personally tell you why that is although my view may be tainted. Middle School is more about survival for boys than finding tips to manage it. Aside from the top tier jocks every other boy is simply trying to avoid getting beat up on a regular basis. And once the beatings start it's hard to climb outta that hole. What tip will help a kid reason with or avoid the neanderthal who's parents think it's perfectly fine to pick on the non-athletic types? I think for boys it's pretty simple, you're either in or you're not.
I could be wrong but girls seem a lot more complex (a phenomenon that continues into adulthood) and have many more levels of "in". They can probably benefit from tips. They also like the self help a lot more. I think this is evidenced by the wealth of "how to make him like me" articles in girl mags.
So, girls = more tiers, viscous attacks but not physical ass kickings (usually), openess to improvement (not from the parents of course).
boys = closed to outside advice, physical attacks, in or out
Seems pretty clear to me. And yeah, I worry about this for all 3 of mine on a regular basis. I'm still several years away from the worst of it but it's still something I consider.