Review: Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Geek Girl by Holly Smale


Age Range: 12 and up

Genre: Contemporary

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Paperback: 378 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books (February 28th 2013)

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (thank you!)

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars!

 

 

About the Book:

“My name is Harriet Manners, and I am a geek.”

Harriet Manners knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a “jiffy”
lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per
day. She knows that bats always turn left when exiting a cave and that
peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.



But she doesn’t know why nobody at school seems to like her.



So when Harriet is spotted by a top model agent, she grabs the chance to
reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her best friend's dream,
incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating
herself in front of impossibly handsome model Nick. Even if it means
lying to the people she loves.


Veering from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly
enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, Harriet begins to realize that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than
the real world did.


As her old life starts to fall apart, will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything? 

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About the Author:

Holly fell in love with writing at five years old, when she realized that books didn't grow on trees like apples. A passion for travel, adventure and wearing no shoes
has since led her all over the world: she has visited 20 countries, spent two years working as an English teacher in Japan, volunteered in Nepal, been bartered for in Jamaica and had a number of ear-plugs stolen in Australia, Indonesia and India.

As a teenager, she also did a little modelling in the hope that eventually she would be sent somewhere exciting.


She wasn't.


Holly has a BA in English Literature, an MA in Shakespeare, and currently lives either in London or @holsmale.


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My Thoughts:

This is what a young adult novel should be. It's laugh out loud funny
with a quirky, totally adorable and geeky heroine that sees the world
differently.  Oh my goodness, I just love this book!


Harriet is a wonderful character to read about and she has some
fantastic light-bulb moments throughout the course of the story. She
learns to accept and love herself the way she is, no excuses and no
apologies.  The other characters are fun and quirky in their own way and
add to the humor and insight of the book.


There are a couple of mild expletives, but everything else is very
clean. If you like clean young adult humor, then this is a good choice.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

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Book Review: Bah Humbug, by Heather Horrocks

Bah Humbug, by Heather Horrocks
Lexi Anderson is an up-and-coming, Martha Stewart-type TV hostess whose two kids love the Jared Strong adventure novels, which happen to be written by their new neighbor, Kyle Miller. For the first time in his writing career, Kyle has writer’s block--until he sees the snowman on his lawn and realizes it’s the perfect solution to his plot problem. He digs in and discovers two things: one, his villain’s weapon will fit inside a snowman's body, and two, this particular snowman was supposed to be the backdrop for Lexi’s next show. From this improbable beginning comes friendship, but can there be a happy ending for a woman who is afraid to get close again and a man who has shadows from his childhood? Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.

Print Length: 96 pages
Publisher: Word Garden Press (September 9, 2011)


My Review:
This book is described as PG rated fun, and I would have to agree.  It was a very short, quick read about an up and coming TV star changing her neighbor's outlook on Christmas... and love.  Her neighbor also happens to be a famous author whose books she loves reading with her kids.  

I laughed out loud when Kyle mutilated Lexi's snowman for the sake of "research" for his book.  It is totally something that I would do.  I always get so caught up in whatever I am working on that I forget that someone might not appreciate me beheading their snowman to see if a gun could fit inside.  
This short story was super cute and perfect for the holidays.  Plus it was free, so who can complain about that?  There were a few typos and other little things that made me give it four stars instead of five.

The Cover: I love illustrated covers for contemporary books.  I love the feel of this illustration and the promise of romance that it gives off.    




By the way, it is still FREE on Amazon, so hurry and snatch up this fun little story!

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About the Author:

I’m an author who had a somewhat unorthodox upbringing. I was raised in South America and the Middle East, and wrote my first stories as a teenager in Kuwait, where my sister and I proved it really is hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. I wrote my first novel in three months on a typewriter when I was 21, I used every romance cliché possible (including amnesia — need I say more?), and never rewrote anything, which is why it’s so much fun to pull it out occasionally when I need a good laugh. I wrote sporadically until my youngest child (who is now 18) was two, when I decided it was time to either actually start writing, or to stop saying I was a writer. So I took a class and started doing the scary things that writing requires. Now I’ve written about twelve novels and several children’s books.




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Book Review: Masquerade, by Janette Rallison

When Clarissa takes a much needed job under slightly false pretenses, she doesn't think it will be such a big deal. She may have told her movie-star boss that she was married, but that shouldn't matter. After all, she doesn't want anything to do with men for a long, long time.

It's hard for a woman to keep up the masquerade when her boss is as handsome as Slade Jacobson and the job takes her to Hawaii with him. In between handling his whirlwind four-year-old daughter and dealing with a whole cast of Hollywood personalities, Clarissa has to keep a tight hold on her heart.

***

Another charming and clean romantic comedy by one of my favorite authors, Janette Rallison.  It had the same type of voice and wit as her young adult novels do, but with a grown woman stumbling through embarrassing situations instead of a teen. 

The story was completely enjoyable.  Rallison has the ability to make me forget that I am not part of the plot.  I melt into the world of the characters, and get lost in their ups and downs.  I laughed so much during this book, and it was refreshing to read something other than teen angst.  

I appreciated that both of the main characters were divorced (in a non-morbid way of course).  But it made the story less picture perfect and more believable.  I loved how neither Clarissa or Slade were flawless.  They were both just average people with regular problems that happen to land in one humorous situation after another.  

For only $2.99, you can't go wrong with this one.

Age Level: Adult
File Size: 496 KB
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Review: Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List by Janette Rallison

From Goodreads:
A PC school principal turns West Side Story into a comedy of errors.
Sixteen year-old Jessica dreams of Hollywood fame, and when Jordan moves into her small town, she dreams of him too. He’s a movie star’s son, and hey, he’s gorgeous to boot. Jordan has always wanted to get out from the shadow cast by his superstar father, but now that he and his mother have moved so far away from LA, how can he get his divorced parents back together? Jessica convinces Jordan the way to get his father to come for a long visit is to be a part of the school play. And if she’s “discovered” in the process, all the better. Things go wrong when she lets Jordan’s secret identity slip, and grow even more disastrous when the principal tries to change West Side Story into a gangfree, violence-free, politically correct production.
In the same romantic and sharply witty spirit of Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws, Janette Rallison delivers another comic gem that teen readers are sure to love.

***

After reading so many sci-fi and paranormal books, I really wanted a break from so much end-of-life-as-we-know-it plots and go for something lighthearted and fun.  This was absolutely perfect.  It was a breath of fresh air, and I found myself laughing out loud several times.  

The last few chapters were absolutely hilarious and I was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes.  My husband kept sending odd looks in my direction and my kids tried peeking over my shoulder to see what I was laughing at.  

The main character, Jessica is lovable and funny.  She is a pretty girl that wants to be an actress, but has to learn a few lessons along the way.  Of course, she must learn these lessons in the funniest way possible.  The level of romance was perfect for the story and the age group it's intended for.


Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (August 11, 2005)
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