Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

From the flap:

It's Jessie's sophomore year of high school. A self-professed "mathlete," she isn't sure where she belongs. Her two best friends have transformed themselves into punks, and one of them is going after her longtime crush. Her beloved older brother will soon leave for college (and in the meantime, has shaved his mohawk and started dating...the homecoming queen!).

Things are changing fast. Jessie needs new friends. And her quest is a hilarious tour through high school clique-dom, with a surprising stop along the way -- the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, who out-nerd everyone! Will hanging out with them make her a nerd, too? And could she really be crushing on a guy with too-short pants and too-white gym shoes?

If you go into the wild nerd yonder, can you ever come back?


Favorite Quotes:

#1 - "Now I play Would You Rather? in my head every night we're at Denny's:

         Would I rather
          a. Be in the Denny’s smoking section
          b. Eat a live turtle, shell included
          c. Lick a turkey’s ass

        Yeah. Tough call these days.” (page 7)


#2 – “ ‘Mother of turds,’ I say, ‘He’s gonna be pissed.” (page 186)


Do I really need to explain why I picked these?  I mean, "mother of turds"?  I'm still laughing.

My Thoughts:

I don’t even know if you need to read my take after you’ve read the quotes. Why wouldn’t you want to read this book? It has been a loooong time since I have laughed so hard while reading a book – any book. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder is freakin’ hysterical. My co-workers were actually giving me strange looks (yes, I read while at my summer job) because I would sporadically burst out laughing (sometimes snorting).

Anyway, besides being hysterical, the book is really well-written. All of the characters sound like actual teenagers, but not in an obnoxious way. The book deals with real issues facing teens -- fitting in, making tough decisions, standing up for yourself, having sex and dealing with the consequences – but it handles them in a non-threatening or overbearing way. Jessie has a lot to deal with and I understood that and empathized, but I didn’t feel suffocated with a social message. Or sad – I’ve been reading a lot of really sad (but really great) lately and Jessie and her crew of elves, trolls, and Ren-festers were the perfect remedy.

Ok, back to the funny. Can I just say how much I loved the D & D kids? Some of the best lines (ever!) came from them.

This book made me feel great about being a nerd! I’m looking forward to reading Halpern’s other novel, soon!


How about you? Are you a nerd and proud of it?



Halpern, Julie. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2009.