Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com
Jessie doesn't know where she belongs in high school anymore. Her best friends have turned into overnight punks. Her punk rock brother is dating the prom princess. In a quest to find new friends, Jessie stumbles upon the Dungeons and Dragons crowd. But if she ventures into the wild nerd yonder, can she ever come back?
I love Julie Halpern - she writes with so much humor and heart that it makes for a great read. As a fellow nerd, I adored Jessie's journey to the nerd side. Granted, Jessie was never a super-popular girl herself. She claims to be a mathlete and her hobby is sewing various skirts made from fun themed fabric. (I wish I could sew just to do that, too!) But Jessie knows the D&D crowd is a new level of nerd and she doesn't know if she's ready to go there.
Aside from the nerd storyline, there's also a great storyline about what makes a true friend. And we all know friendships don't suddenly become easier because you get older. Honestly, I hated Bizza (one of Jessie's punk-turned-best friends). She was an uber jerk, but like many people in that situation, Jessie didn't see it. I was cheering her on the whole way to stand up for herself.
What I liked most about this book is that the nerds aren't all that nerdy. Sure, Jessie's embarrassed about the D&D crowd, but when you get down to it, they're just normal people having fun with a hobby they enjoy. After finishing this one, I told my husband I need to nerd it up more. (Not sure how to do that really, since I'm pretty nerdy already.) But INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER made me miss my nerdy high school days of gushing over Star Trek and The X-Files and writing fan fiction (and yes, acting out our fan fiction in my friend's basement). I even have an interest in giving Dungeons and Dragons a try sometime!
Nerd or not, I think anyone who has ever tried to break into a new clique or struggled with friendship will enjoy INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER. Plus, there's some nerdy love that's so super cute!!
Jessie doesn't know where she belongs in high school anymore. Her best friends have turned into overnight punks. Her punk rock brother is dating the prom princess. In a quest to find new friends, Jessie stumbles upon the Dungeons and Dragons crowd. But if she ventures into the wild nerd yonder, can she ever come back?
I love Julie Halpern - she writes with so much humor and heart that it makes for a great read. As a fellow nerd, I adored Jessie's journey to the nerd side. Granted, Jessie was never a super-popular girl herself. She claims to be a mathlete and her hobby is sewing various skirts made from fun themed fabric. (I wish I could sew just to do that, too!) But Jessie knows the D&D crowd is a new level of nerd and she doesn't know if she's ready to go there.
Aside from the nerd storyline, there's also a great storyline about what makes a true friend. And we all know friendships don't suddenly become easier because you get older. Honestly, I hated Bizza (one of Jessie's punk-turned-best friends). She was an uber jerk, but like many people in that situation, Jessie didn't see it. I was cheering her on the whole way to stand up for herself.
What I liked most about this book is that the nerds aren't all that nerdy. Sure, Jessie's embarrassed about the D&D crowd, but when you get down to it, they're just normal people having fun with a hobby they enjoy. After finishing this one, I told my husband I need to nerd it up more. (Not sure how to do that really, since I'm pretty nerdy already.) But INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER made me miss my nerdy high school days of gushing over Star Trek and The X-Files and writing fan fiction (and yes, acting out our fan fiction in my friend's basement). I even have an interest in giving Dungeons and Dragons a try sometime!
Nerd or not, I think anyone who has ever tried to break into a new clique or struggled with friendship will enjoy INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER. Plus, there's some nerdy love that's so super cute!!
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
