Item: The Summer I Became a Nerd
Rating: 5
Author: Meg

{Review} The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller
Published by Entangled Teen on 05-07-2013
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 326
Goodreads Buy the Book

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.

The 411:

After an embarrassing moment in middle school that left Maddie humiliated in front of the whole school, she vowed to never let anyone see her nerdy side again. Years later she finds herself desperate to get her hands on the last issue of her favorite comic and has to risk being seen at the local comic book store. She ends up finding way more than the comic, and her life is never the same.

What We Loved:

Do you love well written contemporary novels? This one is for you. Do you love strong families, realistic relationships, and laugh out loud dialogue? This one is for you. Are you a lover of swoony boys like us? This one is definitely for you. We’re not sure our words can do The Summer I Became a Nerd justice, but one thing we do know is that we’ll be talking about it for a very long time.

Sometimes we read a book that leaves us liking the male character (or the female character) but not liking the person they are with, or the person they want to be with. Most of the time it’s because they just don’t seem to fit. That couldn’t be further from the truth with Maddie and Logan. Chemistry leaps from the pages and makes you scream for more as soon as you finish the last word.

We also love that the main characters and secondary characters are all uniquely developed and each serve a specific purpose. The ones you’re supposed to hate, you really hate, and the ones that you are supposed to love, you without a doubt do.

It almost goes without saying that the best part about about TSIBaN is its adorkableness. We’re pretty sure that everyone has a hidden nerd inside of them and whatever your thing is (comics, video games, music, LARPing, hot boys in glasses, and so much more), you will definitely get what you’re looking for.

Um…Not So Much:

What don’t we love? Um…. that there wasn’t more kissing. We could have read an entire 300 page book all about Maddie and Logan kissing. Is that weird? We don’t care.

We also really hated Logan’s ex-girlfriend, Kelsey. But we’re pretty sure that Leah Rae Miller did too, so that’s not really a negative. 🙂

The Boys:

There are several guys we could gush about, but only two that we’re going to focus on. The first is Logan’s best friend, Dan. Dan is the Sandy Frink (Alan Cumming’s role in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion) character of TSIBaN. He’s so full of awesome that we’re almost at a loss for words. If you’ve already read, (or when you do) you know exactly what we’re talking about.

Then there’s Logan. *insert long dreamy sigh here* It’s no surprise to us that Maddie had a crush on him. The only thing we can’t figure out is how she managed to stay away from him for so long. He’s athletic, romantic, nerdy, and sweet. He has an amazing family and was definitely raised the right way. And okay, we’ll admit it- he’s hot. He has a real way with words. Just look at this:

Maddie: “Be true to yourself and others will be true to you, too.” Yeah right, what a crock.

Logan: I’d be true to you no matter what.

Swoony, right? We love him, and he’s all ours so don’t even think about claiming him! hahaha

The Girls:

We already told you how awesome we think the characters are, but it deserves to be repeated. Maddie’s relationship with her best friend, Terra, isn’t without its challenges, but in the end we love how they end up stronger than ever. We also loved the addition of two very involved, very awesome moms.

Then there’s our heroine, Maddie. On the outside she’s a typical pop music loving pretty blonde cheerleader. But on the inside she’s an adorable nerd. We had no trouble at all putting ourselves in her shoes and relating to every decision she made, even the ones that made us want to scream. She goes through a lot of growth in a short amount of time and we love that she does it mostly on her own and for herself. She’s the girl you can’t help cheer for (no pun intended) and the one you’d want as your bff.

Bottom Line:

Run, don’t walk and pick up a copy of this nerd-a-licious debut.

Verdict:

Dream Cast:

It was beyond difficult to find the perfect Logan. He needed both the hot nerd and athletic soccer player vibe, and that’s not easy to come by. After some searching we find our guy and for those of you who know us, you know how much we love this guy. He has the smirk, the glasses hotness, the eyes, and the hair to pull off Logan.

Matt Dallas as “Logan Scott”

What We Think Will Happen Next:

We have no doubt that Logan and Maddie will be together forever with awesome little mini geeks, what we’re really hoping for is another book with more of them. What do you think, Leah Rae Miller? Will you make our dreams come true?