This review is for Colne Primet Academy Teenage Reading
Group – thanks for joining the blog and welcome to the Lilypad Library. I hope that you find some inspiration J
Title: Geek Girl
Author: Holly Smale
Release date: 28th February 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.
- Cats have 32 muscles in each ear
- Bluebirds can’t see the colour blue
- The average person laughs 15 times per day
- Peanuts are an ingredient of dynamite
But she doesn’t know why nobody at school seems to like her.
So when she’s offered the chance to reinvent herself, Harriet grabs it. Can she
transform from geek to chic?
geek/gi:k/h noun
informal, chiefly N. Amer.
1 an
unfashionable or socially inept person.
2 an obsessive
enthusiast.
3 a person who
feels the need to look up the word ‘geek’ in the dictionary.
DERIVATIVES geeky adjective.
ORIGIN from the related English dialect
word geck ‘fool’.
Harriet Manners doesn’t really fit in at school and when she
is dragged along on a school trip to The Clothes Show Live in Birmingham, it’s
just another opportunity for her to show how socially awkward she is but she
didn’t realise that this would involve having
her photo taken by someone from Infinity
Models. Whisked into a world that is definitely not her own, Harriet wants
to re-invent herself … but that might be harder than she thought.
Despite being a bit predictable, I did enjoy this book.
Sometimes, I find, when you want an easy read, predictability is a good thing,
like walking down the street and knowing home is just around the corner. That’s
not to say that the book didn’t offer some surprises but it’s an easy, read in
one sitting kind of book, suiting readers who are after something light-hearted.
Harriet Manners is a brilliantly constructed laugh out loud
character (almost as good as Georgia Nicolson- although Georgia is
definitely NOT a geek!) which is demonstrated through her narrative and continues list and plan making. In fact all
the characters are well developed (even though some of them are a bit too eccentric
– but this only adds to their charm). Toby
(Harriet’s stalker) and Wilbur (from Infinity Models) are hilariously weaved
into the story, adding humour and a touch of the ridiculous to Harriet’s world.
For me, it was definitely a girly book, showing an insight
into how fickle and mean teenage girls can be (for anyone who has never
experienced that!) as well as a love interest, although for me, these are not
the main focus of the story. Harriet has to learn to accept that she can’t
change who she is and it is only the realisation of this that will make her
truly happy – along with the love and support of her family and friends.
A typically teenage read about the struggles with loving who
you are and the difficulties of growing up, with lots of laughs and an
absorbing plot - I would definitely give the second book a go.
3.5/5 A fast paced, easy read that will make you giggle.
