Into the Wild Nerd Yonder Book

It is kind of hard for me to relate to this book totally, because it's about one girl's slow acceptance of her own nerdy ways, and I never struggled with that. I was a magnificently huge nerd in high school. I never had my own car, so I took the bus to and from school all the way through my senior year, and was thus the oldest person to take the bus (although my best friend had a 1960's Dodge Dart with a sweet teal paint job and a passenger door that would swing open unexpectedly during sharp turns, so I did get to risk my life going out to lunch occasionally). In addition, my advanced calculus teacher decided to schedule the class in the super early crack of dawn time slot (so the class time would never be affected by assemblies) so I had to take the early bus. As a result, I was finished with my entire schedule by lunch time, but the bus didn't leave to take me home until 3:00pm. So, I had three hours to kill every single day.

Without fail, I could be found each and every day in the library. Now, that might seem boring and repetitive to some (although maybe not to my excellent goodreader friends) but those hours in the library were possibly my favorite part of high school. My friends and I would get together to do homework, eye up the Brazilian exchange student (who we never spoke to or knew the name of, choosing instead to call him the "green hat guy"), read novels, and revel in our shared nerdery. I realized quite early on that the people I could connect with the most were the quiet ones, the odd ones, the sincere ones. So, I really couldn't wait for Jessie to hurry up and get over her prejudice about nerds. While I was continually exasperated with her disavowal of the "nerd" label, I quite enjoyed the rest of this book. It's a light, funny, entertaining read.

Jessie is a complete and total nerd (she excels at math, she listens to audiobooks while doing…everything, and she has sewn a brand new gaudy skirt for each day of the school year), but she's in denial. She has been somewhat shielded by her brother Barret, a popular in his own way punk senior with a garage band, and her two best friends Bizza (the obnoxious attention seeker) and Char (the mute super model), who she's hung out with since first grade. In the summer before their sophomore year of school, Bizza and Char become boy crazy for her brother and his friends, including Jessie's long time fantasy crush Van. Soon Bizza and Char are abusing Jessie's friendship to become groupies for Barret's band, shopping at Hot Topic, and making some questionable decisions. Jessie must find the courage to leave her safety net behind, dump her poseur friends, and join her nerdy peers.

As I mentioned earlier, Jessie frustrated me. This girl spends an inordinate amount of time judging her peers based on the cliques that they hang out with or their appearances, and fretting about whether she'll be seen as a "nerd" or not. However, I have to admit that given her experience and background it seems believable, and it fits in with her "journey." But I still couldn't help getting exasperated. Just accept it! You make your own Pikachu skirts for crying out loud! Also, as an adult, I found some sympathy for her jerky ex-bff's, but I was still glad that she dumped them.

Henry is sweet and smart and social and he has neon blue eyes and baby fine curls - in short, he is a fantasy. He fits right in with this cute story though. How I wish that boys like that existed in my high school. The truth is, boy nerds are just as socially awkward as girl nerds, if not more so. High school nerd "flirting" is inept and painful and doomed to failure. I'd like to submit this transcript of the one and only time I got asked to go to a school dance as evidence (names have been changed to protect the awesome):

Catie: Hello?
Stu: Hi…uh…Catie? This is…Stu? From biology?
Catie: Oh yeah, Hi.
Stu: Um…didyouwritedownthehomeworkfortomorrowbecauseIforgot?
Catie: Yeah, wait just a sec. *Checking nerdy day planner which has been lovingly decoupaged with comics and literary quotes*
Catie: Wow, I am so sorry, but I must have forgot too!
Stu: …
Catie: Hello?
Stu: Is it…page 136, questions 4-10 and 15, 17, and 19?
Catie: Oh…yeah I think that sounds right actually…
Stu: So, uh, how about that dance this weekend?
Catie: Yeah, I never go. I just hate dances! They're so awful, don't you think?
Stu: (whispers) …butwecouldgotogether…
Catie: Thanks for asking, but really, I absolutely hate dances. I don't want to go.
Stu: …*GIANT SIGH* Wow, okay. Well, maybe we could hang out together some other time?
Catie: Yeah, sure! Just call me or I'll see you at school or whatever.
Stu: Okaybye! *hangs up*
Catie: …bye?

~FIN~

Aaaaand he never called or spoke to me again.

Perfect Musical Pairing

Kate Nash - Mariella

Kate Nash writes clever, sometimes silly lyrics. Her songs can be a bit oddball but I always end up loving them. This one is a big favorite of mine - about a clumsy and loud girl who secretly wishes to be like the silent, black-wearing outcast at her school.