Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

author’s website: Julie Halpern
release date: September 29, 2009
appeals to: Young Adult
genre: Contemporary
length: 256 pages
publisher: Feiwel & Friends
overall rating: 4 stars

*the inside flap*
It’s Jessie’s sophomore year of high school. A self-professed “mathelete,” she isn’t sure where she belongs. Her two best friends have transformed themselves into punks, and one of them is going after her longtime crush. Her beloved older brother will soon leave for college (and in the meantime, has shaved his Mohawk and started dating . . . the homecoming queen!).

Things are changing fast. Jessie need new friends. And her quest is a hilarious tour through high school clique-dom, with a surprising stop along the way – the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, who out-nerd everyone! Will hanging out with them make her a nerd, too? And could she really be crushing on a guy with too-short pants and too-white gym shoes?

If you go into the wild nerd yonder, can you ever come back?

*my review*
This was a very cute story about the importance of friendship and staying true to yourself. In the book, Jessie is having friend trouble, because her two best friends (Bizza and Char) have decided that being punk and hanging out with Jessie’s brother’s friends is much cooler than they have been before. However, Jessie doesn’t see the transition as a positive thing, and begins to drift away from Bizza and Char, especially when Bizza starts to make decisions that highlight her not-so-nice nature, like going after Jessie’s long-standing crush Van. As Jessie drifts away from Bizza and Char, she experiments with different groups of people in her school and finds some great friends to hang out with at lunch and in her classes. When she is invited to an evening with the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, she has a lot of hesitation because of its “nerdy” nature – even though the evening’s host is a very cute, if pretty nerdy, guy that she might be interested in.

Throughout this book, Jessie meets new people and is questioning the new groups of friends she’s trying out, while she continues to be frustrated with the fact that her old friends dumped her. And through it all, she turns to sewing as her release time. She is on a mission to sew a different skirt for every day of the school year, and is well on her way. The sewing aspect was a fun addition, but it also makes a lot of sense later in the story.

What really stood out to me in this story was the awesome family dynamic in Jessie’s family. Her brother, Barrett, is a senior, but is super supportive of Jessie. Even though he teases her about things, he really cares about his sister, and that comes through strongly in the story. They have the very cool brother-sister relationship that I always wanted when I was growing up (as an only child).

Overall, the book was cute, fun, and easy to read, and it really drives home two important messages: (1) be true to yourself, and (2) friends are important to everyone, but they should let you be yourself.

*short and snappy*
writing: light and easy to read, even when Jessie was having a hard time
plot: a little predictable, but there were some surprises along the way
characters: fun and different – there were a lot of different personalities represented in the book, and all of them had the quirks that made them seem realistic
judging by the cover: the cover is really cute, and the die-20 in the background makes a lot more sense as you read the story!
miscellaneous: there is a lot of Dungeon and Dragon talk throughout the book, and since I know nothing about that, it was sometimes difficult to understand. BUT, Jessie knows nothing too, so it was kind of like learning along with her.

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

author’s website: Elizabeth Eulberg
release date: December 29, 2009
appeals to: Young Adult
*Debut author (technically 2009)
genre: Contemporary
length: 320 pages
overall rating: 4 Stars

*the inside flap*
Love is all you need . . . or is it?
Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating, so she vows: No more. She’s had one too many bad dates, and has been hurt by one too many bad boys.

It’s a personal choice . . . and soon everybody wants to know about it. It seems that Penny’s not the only girl who’s tired of the way girls change themselves (most of the time for the worse) in order to get their guys . . . or the way their guys don’t really care.

Girls are soon thronging to The Lonely Hearts Club, and Penny finds herself near legendary for her nondating ways – which is too bad, since the leader of The Lonely Hearts Club has found a certain boy she can’t help but like . . . .

*my review*
On the cover of the book, Stephenie Meyer is quoted as saying “A must-read for anyone who’s ever fallen in love – or sworn it off completely.” And I completely agree. It really is the story of how swearing off something can lead you to understand how that might not always be the best option.

Penny is a very likable character. She seems confident and doesn’t like getting pulled into the drama that is surrounding her in her daily high school life. Her best friend, Tracey, is equally fun, but with a lot more sass and a bigger, louder personality. Tracey is also very protective of Penny in a way that shows how important the friendship is to her. Diane rounds out the threesome, but she is a character that seems to still be looking for her identity. She’s been in a relationship for so long that she hasn’t been truly able to define her own personality.

These girls seem like many girls in high school. They have been in crappy relationships, they’ve watched (and experienced) their friends changing or ignoring them because of boys, and they have finally had enough. Penny starts the club, but Tracey and Diane quickly join, only to be followed by a huge chunk of the female population of their high school. The best thing about this growing group is that it really shows the importance of friends.

The friendship in this story is amazing. The girls are incredibly supportive of each other. They are the kinds of friends that I wish I’d had in high school – or now for that matter! The book is cute and has a fun plot, but it also has a great message: you shouldn’t ever give up yourself or your friends for a boy.

The story is a little bit predictable, but there is enough doubt about decisions to keep you interested in the story. There is a little bit of romance, a lot of friendship, and of course, a huge helping of The Beatles. In fact, sections of the book are introduced with Beatles lyrics that tie into the plot of the story. And of course, our lead character – Penny Lane – is named after a Beatles song; as are her two sisters – Lucy (in the sky with diamonds) and Rita (Lovely Rita).

*short and snappy*
writing: sincere – Eulberg really captures the essence of Penny to create a fun story
plot: slightly predictable, but there are a lot of times that Penny isn’t even sure what decision she’ll make, and you feel that as a reader
characters: varied in personality, but the main characters are all very fun and supportive of each other
memorable line: Anybody who has ever clung to a song like a musical life raft will understand. Or put on a song to bring out an emotion or a memory. Or had a soundtrack playing in their head to drown out a conversation or a scene. (p. 16)
judging by the cover: the cover is very cute and ties directly into the Beatles theme since it mimics the cover of the Abbey Road album
miscellaneous: I was especially drawn to this story, because my mom actually had a Lonely Hearts Club when she was in high school (in the early 70s). When I told her about this book, she explained that their LHC didn’t have dating restrictions; it was just a group of girls that met for dinner or breakfast or to do fun things. There were even boys that came regularly.