The Summer I Became A Nerd

The Summer I Became A Nerd
by: Leah Rae Miller

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Rating: 5/5 Stars

Blurb:

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Rating:

This is definitely a great book for teens with an inspiring morale.  Be Yourself!  I was super excited to have received a review copy from Entangled Publishing.  I started reading it immediately after receiving the email.  Maddie is easy to relate to, even though I'm no longer a teen.  I'm not that far off though, so I remember the days of high school where I was trying to be who I thought that everyone wanted me to be.  Who didn't have that side of them that they were too embarassed to make public?  My "other side" just happened to be geekiness, as well. 

I think the entire premise of the story is just an awesome way to show teens that it's okay to be yourself.  In these days of bullying, it can be easy to just hide yourself to prevent potential problems, but you never know who will have your back when your secret is out. 

Maddie and Logan's romance was sweet and believeable.  I loved the fact that there were parents involved in this story, as so many teen books seem to be sans parental figures.  All of the families were so supportive of their children, and I found this endearing, as well as an important part of a balanced teen novel.

Lastly, I'm not going to lie here.  I've had my beef against people that LARP.  I've had friends for years that are active in their own LARP communties, but I never considered it to be something that I would ever do.  Reading this totally made me want to make a fun costume and get down to business.  I never realized that LARP is a lot more than dressing in some hokey costume and throwing random peices of aluminum foil (or any other ridiculous item) at other people in hokey costumes.  This has completely changed my opinion of it!  It sounds so much fun, but perhaps that's my inner geek speaking. =P

I loved reading this book so I definitely recommend it - and not only to teens!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”