Hey there, guys!
I’m really sorry about the long absence. A lot was going on in the last few months and I just didn’t have the time/energy/motivation to work on my blog – and this is supposed to be a fun hobby and not a chore after all. :) But things are looking up a bit at the moment, so hopefully I’ll manage to at least somewhat catch up on my reviews and wrap-ups! Hope you’ve been doing well & without further ado, let’s get reviewing!
Basics
Title: Into the Wild Nerd Yonder
Author: Julie Halpern
Release Date: September 29th 2009
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
ISBN: 9780312382520
Number of Pages: 245
Summary
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 prom princess!) . . .
Things are changing fast. Jessie needs 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 Opinion
“I so used to love the first day of school. Ever since my mom let me pick out my first pair of first-day-of-school navy Mary Janes with the flower pattern puckered into the top, I knew I’d like the newness, yet revel in the sameness that the first day of school always brings. New pens I’ll lose after first period, new schedules with the promise of a cool new teacher or intriguing new exchange student, and new classes to ace.”
This book is really difficult to rate.
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder has always held a very special place in my heart as it was the first book I ever read in English & made me fall in love with the language. Back then I related a lot to the protagonist Jessie and her friendship struggles and basically began copying her for the next year. I was suddenly really into audio books, taught myself how to sew skirts, and really wanted to try DnD.
But after rereading it now, I’ve become disillusioned with the book and had to realize some ugly truths. There is no proper pacing or story structure, the characters are cardboard cut-outs for the most part, and Jessie’s friends are basically designed to be unlikeable. Everything they do is supposed to outrage the reader and make Jessie appear as better and more likeable in turn. But honestly, Jessie’s actually a pretty shitty person, too. She comes across as incredibly bitter, stuck-up, and more than a little stupid (why would she think people in Denmark wear Renaissance dresses as regular outfits??). On top of that she is the main source of slutshaming in this book (what the hell even was up with the entire ‘being sexually active = deserving to get an STD’ plot point?!). Jessie’s constant ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude became incredibly annoying really quickly.
The one redeeming aspect of this entire book is Bennett, Jessie’s older brother. He’s an incredibly kind, caring, and self-confident person and while he has his faults too, he is really willing to do anything for his little sister.
“Yeah, I used to like the first day of school. Until my best friends decided to turn punk.”
Rating
2 out of 5 stars
book dwarf 