Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

Let me just say that repeated use of the word “poop” when referring to something/someone other than a dog or a baby is a pretty good indication that I’m probably not going to love a book. Throw in a some more bodily function terminology and I’m going to have a hard time keeping the eye rolling to a minimum.

Potty language aside, Into the Wild Nerd Yonder wasn’t bad. OK, so that’s not exactly high praise, but it’s the best I can do. I was really looking forward to reading this book because I thought it was about a teenager’s enthusiastic embracing of her inner nerd. Instead, the book appears to be more about a girl’s horror at discovering that she is, in fact, a nerd. Listen, Sister, your hobby is making a different skirt for each day of the school year and listening to audio books. Your favorite subject is not gym, but pre-calculus. Hello Nerd.

Jessie Sloan and her lifelong best friends are undergoing a change. Char and Bizza, typical teenagers, are obsessed with being cool. This year finds them deciding to go punk - which is ironic since the last thing a real punk would be interested in would be “trying” to be anything. Bizza is so interested in being accepted into the new scene, and by one guy in particular, that she will do anything - and I mean anything. Ewww.

Ironically, doing her own thing is probably makes Jessie more of a punk than her two head-shaved friends. She thinks a lot about being cool as well, but she also thinks a lot about her skirt-making/audio book hobbies, too. And when Bizza tries to “impress” Jessie’s beloved crush, Van, Jess realizes she needs a new group of friends. Enter the Dungeon and Dragons crew.

Increasingly, Jessie finds herself drawn into a new circle, one in which being true to yourself, even when that means Dungeons and Dragons and cosplay, is more important that being cool. Her new friends are happy to see her, welcoming, and interesting. There’s even a new guy on whom Jessie turns her attention.

So what’s the problem? Well, as much as Jessie sees the good side of her new friends and the bad side of her former friends, she is very reluctant to become one of “them.” She continually asks herself if hanging around with nerds means she is a nerd. Uh..so what? And yes, Jessie, you are a nerd; get over it.

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder could have been a great lesson for kids struggling to find themselves - you know, be true to who you are and all that. Instead of realizing that being cool means being who you are and being happy with it, the book seems to suggest that sometimes you just need to accept that you’re not cool. I don’t think I like that.

LAME FACTOR: Into the Wild Nerd Yonder was a little disappointing. I’ll have to give it a 2.

YOUR PARENTS WILL FREAK FACTOR: Oh yes, they might. Among other things (and there are quite a few of them), Bizza’s recreational activities with Van are downright disgusting - although not described in graphic detail.

BRAIN POWER: In terms of the other YA books I’ve read, the writing here isn’t overly complex. If you are looking for a relatively easy summer read, give it a try.