Books4Tomorrow: REVIEW: THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD by Leah Rae Miller

Title: The Summer I Became a Nerd

Author: Leah Rae Miller

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Genre: YA, Romance

Reviewed by: Books4Tomorrow

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley

My star rating: 4/5

SUMMARY

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.

REVIEW

Once again, this is another book that grabbed my interest due to its colorful and eye-catching cover (not to mention the attention-grabbing title); and the story is just as colorful and engaging as what the cover promises it to be. What also got me interested in reading this story is the whole nerd-hides-in-cheerleader’s-body premise. It’s original and different to anything I’ve ever read before. It’s not every day you get to read about a cheerleader living a double life!

It was great to read something that is the opposite of the usual YA plot. Maddie is a charming character and far removed from the stereotypical YA protagonist. I didn’t always agree with her decisions and sometimes she could be downright annoying, but she has loads of redeeming qualities and a fun and outgoing personality, which makes her easy to like. Logan is a great guy, but he’s much more of an introvert than Maddie and although he’s likeable, he’s character didn’t really grow or develop, and it was hard for me to see why Maggie would fall in love with him right at the start of the story, other than for their shared love of comic books. It would’ve been easier for me to understand why they would eventually fall in love after spending some time together and participating in role playing games (like the one they did), but they had that instant-love thing going, and that didn’t work for me. My favorite character, albeit a secondary one, was Dan-the-Man. He brought most of the laugh-out-loud humor to this story and he was easy to visualize and feel a familiarity with. I also liked how the author brought Logan’s family to life. All I’ll say here is he has a really cool mom; the type of mother who’ll be the envy of nerds worldwide, I’m sure.

The only other drawback for me was that although the characters – Maddie and Logan – are described as sixteen-year-olds, their actions, interactions, and their dialogue was more that of two thirteen-year-olds. Their maturity levels were those of two younger teens. It didn’t spoil the story for me or anything, it was just the way I read the story and it worked fine for me. I especially enjoyed the ending and how events came together to form the conclusion. The lesson Maddie learns about trust, honesty, friendship and all the ways it’s possible to hurt the ones we love unintentionally, is a truth the author delivers expertly.

The Summer I Became a Nerd is light, fun, unique, and delightfully entertaining; ideal for those hot summer days next to the pool or on the beach. It is a well-written, fast-paced story with a clean and simple plot, perfect for readers of all ages!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.