JaReview: Into the Wild Nerd Yonder

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder was the first book I've read by Julie Halpern. I found it wildly entertaining and totally hilarious. In the story, the main character, Jessie, begins a quest in search of new friends, as her old besty-es converted to (poseur) punkers. But when she befriends a group of Dungeons & Dragon playing nerds, she wonders if she really wants to trek into this new, nerdy universe.

I thought Jessie was awesome. She’s a strong lead, despite her constant musings that she’s becoming a nerd. I mean how often do teenagers take huge risks, like ditching their friends and (*gasp*) having to find new peeps to eat lunch with? Plus, she is a character you can identify with, as almost everyone goes through the phase of trying to figure out where they belong.

However, I found her hesitation and preoccupation with becoming a nerd a bit redundant. She sews her own skirts for goodness sakes, by no means is that normal. At least in my head, that would already edge her into the “alternative” and slightly dorky arena. But her internal dialogue cracked me up (“...why doesn’t she go suck on a clove so I don’t have to inhale her secondhand perfumed smoke?” and “I’d like to disinfect Bizza’s annoying head right now”). There tons of laugh out loud moments. Just a warning, though, you may never look at a Krispy Kreme donut the same.

Jessie’s got the same issues that plague all female leads in this genre- The Frenemy. In Jessie’s case, her name is Bizza and she is a bi-t of a witch. For the record, I think Bizza is an incredible stupid name, but it surprisingly works for this character. There’s a third girl in her entourage, but like her character was meant to do, Anna just kind of blends into the background. But Bizza is incredibly condescending, self-centered and just plain unlikeable. There were many areas were I felt like jumping up and down and screaming, “Take that witch down.” Well, actually I was screaming something else, but we’ll keep it censored for younger audiences. Fortunately, there was sufficient “Bizza bashing” and I was quite satisfied, my vengeful side appeased.

While I loved the snarkiness of the book, I have to admit there was a bit too much convenient fluffy plot bunnies. The first was Henry, a D&D boy who’s surprisingly good looking under his lame wardrobe. He’s conveniently buff under the nerdy shirts and role playing get-ups. I know theoretically it could happen, but really? A secretly buff and hot nerd boy? The second was the heroine’s ability to get back at all those who’ve done her wrong. While the kharma thing was completely comical and entertaining, it was a bit too convenient. Last, I think the relationship Jessie has with her older brother was a bit too storybook for me. I don’t know *any* siblings that get along that well (at that age) in real life. I mean, what older brother voluntarily drags his little sister to hang out with him and his friends? By parental force is one thing, but of his own volition? Seriously?? However, I really liked the book so I was okay with suspending reality a bit higher to indulge those fluffy fantasies.

It is possible that I harbor a little idolization for Jessie because she’s an awesome drummer. Though she secretly breaks it down into mathematics making it slightly less cool; which really should have been a clue to her as to how much of a nerd she already was. But you see, I was supposed to be the drummer in my high school crew’s imaginary band (Deaf Oranges in case you’re wondering). But either way, I thought she was awesome. It made me a bit nostalgic, even though, unlike the book, there were no secretly hot boys in among the Magic card-wielding boys at my school. They were just…nerds.

~Ja~