Nerd Girls - The Rise of the Dorkasaurus

Author: Alan Lawrence Sitomer

AR Level: 4.7 (worth 7pts)

Lexile Level: 660

Interest Level: Grades 6-8

Book Summary: Standing up to the ThreePees (a group of popular girls) is never a good idea. But Maureen is fed up with their cruelty and decides to do something about it. Unfortunately, her attempt to stop a prank ends up on YouTube where she comes off as a total loser, definitely not heroic. One good thing does come out of Maureen's selfless act. She gains two new friends. 

Maureen (AKA: Mo), Alice (AKA Allergy Alice, Q), and Barbara (AKA: Beanpole), are three self-described middle school nerds. Maureen is the fat one. Alice is the quiet one. Barbara is the clumsy one. The ThreePees taunt and harass the "Nerd Girls" on a daily basis. Tired of the tormenting and sick of seeing the ThreePees win the annual talent show year after year, the three girls band together to win the talent show and knock the ThreePees down to size. However, there are several problems with their plan, the biggest being that they don't have a talent. The "Nerd Girls" begin a mission to find a talent, overcome their fears, and win!

Book Review: Reading Nerd Girls is like running track, it seems like you're going somewhere, but in the end, you are right back where you started. I love a good underdog story, but these underdogs don't make any progress! The characters are stereotypical of nerd girl teenage comedy movies. (Like Clueless and Mean Girls.) Allergy Alice is so awkward and weird that she often takes insults as jokes and her only response is a clueless, "You're funny." She says this a lot. And Barbara (Beanpole) is a klutz who, annoyingly, runs into and trips over everything, repeatedly. She always follows with, "I'm okay, I'm okay." Another character is portrayed as hopelessly stupid. Why would anyone write about girls this way? There is quite a bit of trashy talk in Nerd Girls, all of it sexual. The girls talk about "tongue kissing," several times. Sometimes, it borders on vulgar, if not completely stepping over the line. At least it's all talk, though, and no action.

Profanity:
None

Potentially Inappropriate Behaviors:
Bullying
Name calling
Intimidation
Lying
Destruction of another's property

Potentially Inappropriate References:
"Lick its crouch." This is in reference to the robot and what it can be programmed to do.
"Tongue Jason." This is in reference to kissing a boy, which never actually happens.
"They see those, both of them." This is in reference to large breasts and the reasons why boys like mean girls.
"Tongue kissing."

Parental Concern Rating:
3 out of 5 (0 = no concern, 5 = major concern)