Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd

by Holly Black (Editor), Cecil Castellucci (Editor)

Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside) and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr.With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

Genres: Young Adult, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Contemporary, Humor, Fantasy

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.

Reviews

[Criss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like others, I didn't connect to all the stories; I don't think I qualify as a "geek" (in high school I was more the Sweet Valley High type than the Star Trek type) but that didn't stop me from enjoying the stories.

Until I got to "The Truth About Dino Girl."

I wanted to love this one. I wanted to like the character, and I did. I LOOOOOVED the line about dinosaurs and lizards and who survived.

But then we found out Dino Girl's plan to "get even." And NO. What she did is completely unacceptable and unjustifiable. It wasn't a "prank," it was sexual harassment. It was disgusting. I almost stopped reading the other stories after that, because I was so appalled that anyone reading that (editing the anthology and choosing the stories) would have felt that portraying those actions as "a victory" and something the antagonist "deserved" was acceptable in any way.

All I remember from the anthology is that one story, and the nasty taste it left in my mouth. There were other stories I enjoyed, but I have a hard time getting past Dino Girl.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s 7:55am. I’m at the light at Susie Wilson Road. (Local folklore states that Susie Wilson was the town Madam. Bit of trivia for you there…) I woke up 10 minutes ago, showered, dropped my kid off at school and here I wait. I hate this light. I hate driving. Most of all, I hate vanity plates. ‘GOTHAM1’ is in front of me. A blue mid 2000s Durango. I’m sure that Batman would be honored. I wonder if other superhero fans nod or finger pistol the driver like there is some sort of unspoken clubhouse sign that shows solidarity. You know, like when bus drivers or bikers wave to each other? Maybe he has the bat symbol on his headlights or a set of wonder twin rings in the glove box. ‘GOTHAM1’ is not like its namesake. It takes a good 20 seconds for it to ease up on the gas at the light. I wonder if there is a ‘GOTHAM2’ somewhere and if their avatars bunk together.

I chastise myself for being so hackneyed in my reveries. Who am I to judge? I read vampire books and watch the CW (on occasion).

Still… I was never a full out geek. When I say ‘geek’, I’m talking physics geeks, mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comic book geeks, theater geeks, music geeks (including band geeks), art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, historical reenactment geeks, video game geeks, roleplay geeks. Whovians, cyberpunk geeks, steampunk geeks, Trekkies, Jedis, D&D, BSG, TMNT, HPRP, LARP, MMORPG, GED/J d-- s:++>: a--C++(++++) ULU++ P+ L++E---- W+(-) N+++ o+ K+++ w--- O-M+ V--PS++>$ PE++>$Y++ PGP++ t-5+++ X++ R+++>$tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++ G+++++ e++ h r--y++**,LOTR, Buffys, Wesleys, RHPS, "bright young man (or woman) turned inward, poorly socialized, who felt so little kinship with his(her) own planet that he (she) routinely traveled to the ones invented by his(her) favorite authors, who thought of that secret, dreamy place his(her)computer took him (her) to as cyberspace—somewhere exciting, a place more real than his(her) own life, a land he(she) could conquer, not a drab teenager's room in his(her)parents' house." (as defined by Julie Smith (not sure if they meant the soft core porn actress or the mystery novelist)).

Okay, now that I’ve offended a great deal of people who are furiously hunting down my IP address and inserting many a virus to my account, I will get to the point. (yes, there is one)

I am a booknerd. A proud one. I haven’t given into the ‘man’ yet and bought a Kindle or a Nook or Ipad or whatever. I still haul around 2-3 books and notebooks everywhere I go. I juggle coffee and hardcovers on shuttle buses and never (NEVER) pass a bookshop without checking it out. I feel a kinship with the geeks. (“Ohhh. Great warrior. Wars not make one great.”) I really do.

Geektastic is the neutral zone for booknerds and geeks (yes, there are many that are one in the same and kudos to you if you are, you will long rule middle earth or something.) 15 stories about teen angst written in the geek narrative. There is the classic Romeo and Juliet (Jedi Apprentice and Klingon-respectively)tale where ComiCon is the new Verona.

There is a raver of a Role Playing party hosted by a polyamorous middle aged Xena at her lakeside condo where Catherine Earnshaw hopes to meet Heathcliff but instead falls for Mr. Kool-Aid who really turns out to be Heathcliff without all the asshole traits (Cyrano De Bergerac)

There is the Buffy Sing Along (ala Rocky Horror) where our hero, Dawn, stands up to all the Buffys and speaks for all the ‘previously unknown, never-mentioned, pseudo-sibling who appears suddenly out of nowhere’ gaining the admiration of her peers (sort of) (Cinderella?)

There is the online relationship twist where a young girl (Enchantress Magic Eightball) travels to New York to meet her first love (the master thief Boggle) and to tell him that she is really just a 15 year old girl from Keokuk, Illinois and hopes that his 34yr old non-profit tech self won’t really mind. (‘To Catch A Predator’??)

There is the story of Dino Girl, a freshman who has only ever had eyes for the Jurassic type..always ‘a Compsognathus among Carcharodontosaurs’ until she meets Jamie Terravozza. The junior baseball player in her science class and suddenly hormones make the scene and the cropolite hits the fan. (Any teen movie in the last 25 years)


What I’m saying is that you need not be a geek to enjoy these stories. Yes, I haven’t done them justice with my flip little paragraphs, but they are as precious as Eärendil. Some of my favorite YA authors contributed to this anthology, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, M.T. Anderson, Garth Nix, John Green and so on...Pure ‘Please, Captain, not in front of the Klingons’ young adult nirvana. This may be the best book that I’ve read this year.

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

i distinctly remember reading this anthology in my middle school environmental science class, which maybe would have been an apt setting if i liked science even a little bit, even at all.

but i've always been a useless humanities nerd and never a more traditional STEM one. if i liked science or math, do you think i'd be here right now, devoting swaths of my daily life to this hellsite? no. i'd be off making millions and discovering the cure for some niche disease or solving insane equations like good will goddamn hunting or something.

but i am math illiterate and have the scientific prowess of a misogynistic cheerleader stereotype on a mid-2000s teen drama, so. if wishes were fishes or whatever.

this collection is so mediocre that the memory of its mediocrity traveled through time from sixth grade, a time i have attempted to fully repress filled as it was with Aeropostale long-sleeve graphic tees, light bullying, and cultural appropriation-based group projects.

nevertheless, this book's mehness has persisted. you kind of have to give it credit for that.

this review is part of a project i'm doing where i review books i read a long time ago, as part of my life's unending and doomed quest for perfection.

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I seriously thought I wasn't going to be able to finish this book. I had gotten to around page 60 and I felt like I wasn't going to be able to connect with these stories. In a way I'm glad I pushed through it but I wasn't as happy with it like I thought I would be.

Clearly what interested me was the whole culture of being a geek and there were a good collection of young adult authors who contributed to this book, so I totally expected to be thrilled with it. I figured out fairly quickly that my concept of being a geek is not the same as everyone else's. Honestly I thought I was pretty geeky, boy was I wrong (at least according to this book). I totally felt out of my realm at first. A lot of terms and things that were mentioned would just whoosh over my head. It had sci-fi, LOTR, role-play (real and not real), gamers, nerds, drama people, and so many other hobbies and people I couldn't really keep track of. I did have a general knowledge of most of these things, but I did notice how much I actually didn't know.

Since this is a collection of short stories, it was kind hard for me to really connect with any of the characters. A lot of the time I thought any of the good stories would be great full length novels. Really understanding the characters is important to me, and it's hard to establish that kind of kinship toward the characters without a lot of pages to do it in. Short stories remind me of when you're in school and assigned to read a story and answer a list of questions. Not fun times. A lot of the stories had teen drinking, which is realistic. I'm not naive or oblivious and I know teenagers drink, but there were only a handful of stories that did not have drinking, and it kind of felt like it was stuck in there to make geeks look cool. Isn't that a bit I don't know... trying too hard? It just didn't sit right with me.

I did enjoy a few of the stories, my favorites being the second to last one that dealt with astronomy and the one that Garth Nix wrote. Some of the stories concentrated a lot on the geeky hobby (more like obsessions) and others had that as a sidenote and dealt with deeper issues. I'm glad I picked it up, but not as funny as I had hoped.

[Kogiopsis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an awkward book to review.

I first read this back in 2009, as the two galleys sent to the library teen group were passed around enthusiastically from member to member. I can’t remember any of us disliking it - we all saw something of ourselves in this book, and it didn’t hurt that it was full of authors we all loved. (Mortal Instruments was at its heyday in that group, for a start.)

Now, seven years later, I’ve returned to that same galley to find that... oh yes, I still see my high school self in it. All the worst parts of high school me, that is. Everything I’m relieved to have grown out of and shaken off stares back at me here. All the immaturity, the unquestioning acceptance of shallow judgements, the desperate conflict between wanting to be liked and not wanting to conform… it’s all here. The thing is: moving past that phase of your life takes effort, and quite often it takes being jolted out of your comfort zone. There’s none of that to be found in this book.

Perhaps Geektastic’s greatest weakness is the prevalence of stereotypes. Geeks, as portrayed here, have few friends (usually 1-3 close companions). Groups tend to be mostly male, and with the notable exception of David Levithan’s story (unsurprisingly), everyone is straight. Athletic characters are presented as the antithesis of, and often antagonists to, geekdom, and many of them are blond. There’s no overlap between interests in fashion and makeup and ‘geekier’ things (unsurprising, given the lack of female geeks here, but also: have you met cosplayers? For that matter, most makeup gurus meet the definition of ‘geek’ given on the back of this book).

There’s something about the tone of Geektastic, too, that bothers me. Maybe it’s just the continuation of the ‘us vs. them’ pattern; maybe it’s the pattern that stories about being a geek must be stories about being treated like crap, romantically frustrated and universally derided by your peers. Maybe it’s the fact that in much of this book, the only hope offered for young geeks is “you’re better than them”, which is a terribly close-minded and restrictive way of looking at the world. Maybe it’s the fact that there are multiple stories about creepy guys in geek spaces where the creepiness was acknowledged, but everyone seemed to shrug their shoulders and apply a “boys will be boys” sort of attitude to it. I don’t know. It just… wasn’t a pleasant reading experience at all.

Here is what I would like to tell my 2009 self, who read and loved this stuff:

It’s going to be okay. You will find that your ‘geeky’ interests will lead to more friendships than bullies. You’ll figure out how to use the things you’re passionate about to start conversations, and while you may never be a social butterfly, you won’t be alone. That babbling enthusiasm you’re embarrassed about? You’ll find people who love to listen, or to babble right back. Your best friend in college will be someone you discuss webcomics with on your first night in the dorms. It’ll take a while to shake the idea that you’re doing something wrong because you’re not ‘normal’, but eventually you’ll get used to it: to the fact that there is no such thing as ‘normal’ anyway, and your life is about you, not anyone around you or what they think.

Story-by-story breakdown of this book under the spoiler cut.

1. Once You’re a Jedi, You’re a Jedi All the Way: Not… bad, but nothing particularly special either. There’s something cartoonish about this story, like it would be the quirky Con Episode of a tv show. I’m not sure if this degree of dedication to playing a part in cosplay is real; it certainly doesn’t mesh with my experience of cosplayers, but I’m very much an observer of those circles rather than a participant.

2. One Of Us: This story is a cringe-worthy pastiche of stereotypes building up to a corny, halfhearted ending. Cheerleader (blonde, non-geek, football player boyfriend) asks the school nerds (three guys, one girl; though they’re described as the ‘most prominent members’ of their club, no other members appear) to teach her about geek culture so she can better understand her boyfriend. It’s trying to be a story about mutual understanding, but it feels like a made-for-tv movie. Of course the nerds are 75% male, and of course one of them is known to creep on girls but never actually called out for his behavior, and of course the boyfriend turns out not to actually care about her efforts and cheats on her, and of course there are hints that she’ll get together with one of the geeks. Of course.

3. Definitional Chaos: Definitely one of the weirder and more unsettling stories, with people threatening to shoot each other. It’s an interesting exploration of morality systems, but the actual story doesn’t feel like it really… goes anywhere. Also, by far the most frustrating on the sexuality front, because it’s narrated in first person and the fact that the narrator is male isn’t clear for a while - at first, all you know is that the narrator has a female MMO character, and I got my hopes up for a f/f couple.

4. I Never: OHH CASSIE CLARE. First of all, this story is a checklist of things you should NOT do when meeting people you only know online (*). Private location? Check. No one informed of your actual destination? Check. Lying about your age? Check. Alcohol involved? Checkkkk. No exit strategy? Check. This is made even worse by the fact that the boy our main character is specifically hoping to meet up with turns out to be kinda predatory:

“He said meetups like this were always full of lonely, geeky girls who go online looking to hook up. He said he was certain to score with someone.”

The actual love interest is Creepy Dude’s friend, but why he’s friends with such a douchebag is unclear - it sure doesn’t speak well of him.

5. The King of Pellinesse: M.T. Anderson is a weird dude, but this story had a certain… something to it. It’s one of two ‘period pieces’ in the book, both of which have an unsettling air to them but also a kind of clarity. This story brings to mind the word ‘sordid’, which… isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but puts it pretty out of tone with the rest of the book. It’s thought-provoking, yeah, but in a somber and vaguely middle-aged sort of way.

6. The Wrath of Dawn: I’m not a fan of Cynthia Leitich Smith, and had I forgotten that fact, this story would have reminded me. It’s short, shallowly characterized, and just agonizingly pointless.

7. Quiz Bowl Antichrist: To no one’s surprise, David Levithan contributes the only queer story in the book! It also turned out to be far more self-aware and mature than the rest of the collection:

“We like to think that just because we’re geeks, that means we can’t be assholes. But we can be. Most of the time, though, it’s not coming from meanness or coldness. It’s coming from anger. Or sadness.”

and

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Wes asked. “Nobody’s a quiz bowl geek. We’re all just people.”

Levithan does a good job of capturing all of that teenage discomfort and status worries, without allowing that angst to control the plot. It’s not a comfortable read - the main character is pretty much an asshole - but it’s also clearly not supposed to be comfortable.

8. The Quiet Knight: I like Garth Nix, but this story was just too short to really explore its themes. The idea at its heart (of LARP being an escape for someone who feels isolated in ‘real life’) is rich, but needs more elaboration. Additionally, it falls into the narrative trap of using acquisition of a love interest as a sign of character development, but the love interest in question is hardly developed at all, so it just feels like ‘damsel as reward’.

9. Everyone But You: Frasier-level secondhand embarrassment. The main character is at best naive, at worst immature and clueless, and either way I cringed a lot reading her perspective. There’s interesting subtext going on re: poverty and mental illness, but the pacing doesn’t allow for it to be the focus at all. Instead, we get several detailed scenes of Felicity being humiliated by popular kids, and then skim blithely over the next year of her life until she’s magically grown in confidence. Look, I’ll be the first to say that ‘show, don’t tell’ is not the be-all end-all of writing, but you do kinda need to show this kind of character growth for it to be believable or satisfying.

10. Secret Identity: Alarm bells after the first page, when we find out that our narrator is a fifteen year-old who’s convinced she’s in love with a thirty-four year old man. By far the best part of this story it its surreal background, as it’s set in a world where superheroes exist but at first seems to just be taking place at a con… but unfortunately, the interesting aspects of the setting cede center stage to the pretty fucked up main plot. Again, our (minor) narrator takes stupid risks meeting someone: traveling alone, informing no one, no control over her own transportation home, staying in his hotel room. Her behavior had me on edge the whole time. The main question of the story seemed to be whether or not the object of her affections was a superhero, but you’ll forgive me if I got a little distracted by the fact that she got drunk and passed out on his bed. That's the beginning of a cautionary horror story right there.

11. Freak the Geek: There’s not much to say about this story: it’s about being bullied, and about being ‘better’ than the bullies, and it’s cardboard-thin. Maybe John Green was trying to say something profound about genuine friendship, but what came out just has no substance whatsoever.

12. The Truth About Dino Girl: Fuck off, Barry Lyga. Another bullying story, except Lyga seems to expect us to cheer when his heroine plasters suggestive topless photos of her (17 year-old) rival around town, with the girl’s home address and phone number on them. Missing: the sequel story, wherein Katie is put on trial for sexual harassment and distributing pornographic images of a minor.

13. Sarah Zarr’s story is not included in my galley copy, and I don't care enough to track it down.

14. The Stars At The Finish Line: This one was a little cheesy, but by far the most enjoyable story of the set. The romance is sweet, and I enjoyed the theme of people realizing that just because they’ve been on a path since they were in elementary school doesn’t mean they have to stay there. The description of astronomy equipment and the Messier Marathon feels very genuinely enthusiastic, too.

15. It’s Just A Jump To The Left: Another period piece, similarly unsettling but clear-eyed. For all its inclusion in an anthology called Geektastic, a lot of this story was less about geekdom than it was about first sexual experiences and loss of innocence. However, Libba Bray captures the in-between feeling of adolescence well, and I can respect that.

(* As someone who’s met several internet friends in ‘real life’, I have yet to encounter someone who isn’t who they say they are, but that doesn’t mean I don’t take precautions the first time. Perhaps most importantly, whenever you’re spending time with anyone for the first time, no matter how you met, it’s important to have a way out - a friend who’ll call to get you out of a blind date gone bad, transportation so you’re not dependent on a stranger, and for heaven’s sake, someone who knows where you are. It doesn’t have to be ‘stranger danger’ on that last one - car accidents happen; people get lost in unfamiliar places; it’s just common sense.)

[Tamora Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a combination of short stories and single-page graphic humor ("Ten Words or Phrases You Should Know in Klingon," "What to Remember When Going to a Convention," "What Kind of Geek Are You?") that should go like gangbusters with middle grade and even early high school readers. The author list is like a Guide to Who's Hip: Holly Black, Cecil Castellucci, David Levitan, Barry Lyga, Cassandra Clare, Scott Westerfeld, and I won't wear out my fingers giving the whole list, but it is a stellar one. It starts with a rocker (well, I can't say bang, can I?) when a young Klingon wakes up in bed with a Jedi padwan at a science fiction convention, and confusion ensues (it seems the forms aren't supposed to mix).

The stories go from fun to serious (Garth Nix hit all of my chimes with his damaged costume player who finds his game values matter in the real world), including biting satire, coming out, and something very few people mention, geek ambition.

It's a good thing this book wasn't a box of chocolates, because with the way I devoured it, my blood sugar would be over the moon today. It hits the stores in August. Take it for those last beach days!

[Mon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have much geek-cred.

The only star trek I've seen is the new one with Simon Pegg, and I only read Lord of the Rings because it was on sales. I watched Firefly because my ex was a massive fan, and I still confuse Star Trek with Star Wars (don't even talk to me about Battlestar). Although I love comix, JLA and anything too DC is out of my league. Most superheroes are misogynistic and my appreciation of fantasy is limited to the one Discworld I borrowed for a train trip. I also failed history, and physics if it wasn't for the maths. People think of me as a geek not because I can play chess or code in Python, but rather my indifference to other non-geek interests. I can't tell if video games are geeky anymore, is L4D or Modern Warfare geeky? Or only MMORPGs like Age of Empire?*

What makes someone a geek? After all, it doesn't matter if you're into comics or dinosaurs or guns or Lovecraft, they are almost all equal in terms of geek-cred. Is it the cult following aspect? If so, why isn't NBA or Ingmar Bergman geeky? Or is it the escapist tone? Then unrealistic mainstream chic flicks should also be part of the nerd culture. I think what makes a geek has more to do with devotion and obsession rather than the subject. I know geeks who are into ancient history, as well as geeks who are into argumented reality programming or Mexican culinary, fields that are completely unrelated. A fan of something usually remembers trivial details and has a concern for continuity and character profile. It isn't so much about the story, but rather identifying familiar quotes and references. Geektastic is an example of this. Most of the stories consist of little more than just a bunch of nerd brands put together. For a geek, it's exciting because you can laugh at so many names and places nobody else would 'get', yet feel frustrated at the same time because We are worth more than a machine that can recite the complete history of the doctor. Contrary to other reviews, I didn't find the geekeries in the book too hard-core. The first few stories may require more than rudimentary knowledge of pop culture with titles that go STAR-something (starfleet, starcraft, stargate, star-in-case-you-don't-know-I'm about-science). Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed Scott Westerfeld's story which exempts itself from the name-dropping humour (since when is Westerfeld a geek? I guess most of his fiction deals with vampire and random monster/magic things, but wasn't his fist book worshiped by hipsters?). Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley's drawings are adorable as well (in a geeky way, of course).

Anyway, you've done it. I'm officially renting the whole series of Star Wars tonight.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

*Edit: Apparently AoE isn't a MMORPG, I guess this proves my geekiness.

[AennA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to believe that we all are geeks at a certain degree. We may not be like the stereotype geeks but we geek when something hit our geeky nerves. Geektastic is a fantastic tool to wake up the sleeping geeks inside us. Reading this book helped me get in touch with my inner geek, and helped me remember those times when I was addicted to watching and collecting trading cards of Street Fighter, Ultraman and other Japanese superheroes in my younger days. Funny though, I cannot remember much of the details of those characters. I eventually forgot about it, or maybe I tried to forget about it, because my male classmates started to think I am one of them. Anyway, it's a totally different story.

Geektastic features 15 short stories written by famous Contemporary / YA novelists such as David Levithan, John Green, Holly Black and among others. There's 15 comic interstitials written by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci, illustrated by Bryan Lee O'Malley and Hope Larson. Appreciating this book would not require a reader to be a total geek. At one point or another you'll find yourself relating to the stories. The book features various stories, tackling the complex stories of different kinds of geeks (e.g. Computer Geeks; Theater geeks, Science geeks, etc.)

The first story, Once You’re a Jedi, You’re a Jedi All The Way, was written by Hollie Black and Cecil Castellucci, it's a different approach on the fusion of the Klingon and Jedi character. Discover what will happen if a Jedi woke up with a Klingon in bed. "Could it be like Romeo and Juliet?"

One of Us by Tracy Lynn tells us the story of a cheerleader who wanted to impress and understand her boyfriend’s geekiness to Star Trek, Anime, Comics, Sci-Fi movies, and other geek stuffs, so she hired a group of certified geeks to give her walkthroughs on the geek’s world. The cheerleader doesn’t seem to fit in their world, but eventually a little dose of geekiness will prove to be good for her.

There are stories written by other authors, but there are some that I liked best:

There’s Cassandra Clare’s I Never, telling us the story of online gamers and the complex game of online and offline personalities. It tells us the danger of falling in the trap of online characters, not knowing what they really are when we see them for real.

Quiz Bowl Antichrist by David Levithan (I love Levithan's The Lover's Dictionary.) also made a mark on me. It’s about a Quiz Bowl competition and its participants competing within their group. You’ll see a character trying to prove his worth to the group, with his knowledge limited only to literature. It tells us about determination and believing in ourselves no matter what.

John Green’s Freak The Geek talks about the traditional “Freak the Geek” at Hoover Preparatory School, and how Lauren turned to be a victim of such tradition. It tells a good story of friendship and standing up against anything that comes your way.

The story of Barry Lyga’s The Truth About Dino Girl is interesting but kind of “dark”. This tells us about a girl who’s very much interested in dinosaurs; in anthropology, but eventually found herself falling in love with a classmate. There’s something scary with how the main character stood up for herself and fight for what she thinks she deserve, but it’s interesting. One of my favorite paragraphs in it: “The earth shook with my footsteps. It shook. From now one, the earth would tremble in my wake. And I knew. I knew what the dinosaurs sound like. They sounded like me.”

Here’s a cute love story. The Stars at the Finish Line by Wendy Mass. It’s about two teenagers who tried to outdo each other, especially in astronomy. They are both smart and intelligent, and they see each other as competitors. Until, an astronomical marathon brought them close together and they discovered how each other can be attractive. The story ended in a cute way. Not too mushy. It makes me remember my high school days. Just the high school days, sans the love story that comes with it.

Another story about friendship, Libba Bray’s It’s Just a Jump to the Left, introduces Leta and Agnes who are a fan of a cult The Rocky Horror Picture Show. They’re best of friends, and they made a pact on the things they should do before the end of the year. They’re teenagers, and like the usual personalities of each teenage character, they are experimental. Easy to be lured, easy to prey and before they knew it they are victims. At the end of the story, they find comfort in their friendship and they realized how much they still need each other.

I like the way each geek was given a life, a personality of their own aside from their geeky side. It’s being realized how they can be so misunderstood and treated unwisely.

Finishing the book, you'll get a grasp of the stigma people throws to the geeks. They are considered weird, always bullied and was seldom appreciated. If you experienced to be isolated because of your being geek, you'll find yourself loving the characters in each stories.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection of short stories plus some amusing one page panels (my favorite being about lucky dice). Some are are tinged with romance (including some LGBT), others are funny. Some heartbreaking, some very realistic. From roleplaying, anime, comics, sci-fi, astonomy, theatre and even your more commonplace school nerd, this book has a wise variety of stories. Not all are up my alley, and others I really liked. A little something for everyone. Here are my thoughts on the stories:

Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi all the Way.
by Holly Black & Cecil Castellucci
4 stars
What happens when a Jedi sleeps with a Klingon? Trouble. Quick story in learning to work past differences. Or....Not... As a fan of both I felt conflicted here.

One of Us
by Tracy Lynn
5 stars
Montgomery is no geek. but her boyfriend has some tendenceis in that direction so she pays the school geeks some money to teach her. I related to so many references! All the things they teach her are things I love. How she gets into RPG games cracked me up and when she is asked what she likes by Mica, I fully get where his question came from. Reminded me a bit of 'The Summer I Became a Nerd.'


Definitional Chaos
by Scott Westerfield
2.5 stars
Wasn't much a fan of this one. Strange train ride involving, alignments and $84,000. What I want to know is what committee lets a member run around with that kind of cash?! Guns, betrayal and gaming all come into play in this strange, slightly confusing tale.

I Never
by Cassandra Clare
4 stars
An overall non-geek girl joins a Game of peron pretending to be someone else online, another famous character from a movie, game, etc. She is more the hopeless romantic and when she meets some of her fellow gamers in real life, things take some interesting turns. Mild romance, sex and drinking in this one.

The King of Pellinese
by MT Anderson
2.5 stars
So far the strangest of the tales. A boy runs away from home to meet his favorite comic author. But not for the usual reasons. More mature things in this one that are a bit disturbing in their own right. And the author is just plain bizarre.


The Wrath of Dawn
by Cynthia & Greg Leitich Smith
3.5 stars
Very short story about sisterhood and Buffy. Interesting viewpoint on this one but I felt I needed more to really appreciate this one to it's fullest.

Quiz Bowl Antichrist
by David Levithan
3.5 stars
A guy (wasn't sure about gender at first) joins Quiz team because his crush is on it. But he and the leader do not get along and his nerdy side does not align to the others. Interesting viewpoints and story. This definitely more toward the school Nerdy Geek side of the spectrum.

The Quiet Knight
by Garth Nix
4 stars
I liked this one quite a bit. I wanted more here. A must for Larpers! Tony doesn't like to speak. He has no friends outside his Larping group and even then, one one of them knows who he really is. This one had me sad until where I finished with a happy grin.

Everyone But You
by Lisa Yee
4 stars
When you change school, the transfer isn't always a fun one. In this story felicity is isolated, and teased without mercy. From a challenged brother, cruel hot guys and good grades, Felicity needs to stand strong! Not something I would expect in this book, but I really enjoyed it.

Secret Identity
by Kelly Link
2 stars
The longest story in the book and my least favorite. A strangely written letter filled with flashbacks. Honestly I was very confused through much of this book. I even resorted to skim reading part of it because the confusion had me about ready to skip it entirely.

Freak the Geek
by John Green
3.5 stars
These girls didn't seem like they would top the lst at the Geekiest kids but it is hard to tell in this short story. First time seeing Ork spelled in this manner in a story. In this, bullies will be bullies and but friendships matter!

The Truth about Dino Girl
by Barry Lyga
4 stars
A future paleontologist deals with her first crush. Cute story about desire and revenge. Although she really is single-minded in her thought patterns. For her to comprehend things, every thing must be translated to dinosaurs and paleontology. Still, I enjoyed it. Very well written!

This is My Audition Monologue
by Sara Zarr
4 stars
Interesting and different. A girl uses her own monologue to share how she is feeling and what she wants. I have been in this girl's shoes to an extent. She is easy to relate to. Can't say too much here without spoilers.

The Stars at the Finish Line
by Wendy Mass
4.5 Stars.
My second favorite in this book. A boys wants claims he wants to be an astronaut when he feels a classmate is outdoing him. Years later the competition is still on. But the rules are changing as they look toward the stars together. Very cute and well written.

It's Just a Jump to the Left
by Libba Bray
3 stars
Boys, coming of age and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Need I say more? Why are 8th graders doing these things?! This story was good but part of me was horrified that girls so young would act this way. Forget first kisses! Lets turn it up a few notches! Well written but I would have felt out of my element as a teen and as an adult, I worry for the young girls out there now if they act this way.



So most of these I enjoyed. This is a more mature Young Adult novel with several of the themes. I feel Holly Black and Cecel Castellucci did a good job selecting these stories. Good variety!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5

As its name suggests, this anthology consists of 15 stories about geeks. There are a lot of different kinds, with a main focus on sci-fi fans. I thought that the stories would get repetitive and the geeks would be cliched, and while there was some of that, it was largely not a problem. There were a bunch of stories that I really liked, and only one that I hated. Here we go:

Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi All the Way by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci: 5/5
I didn't like Tithe, which Black wrote, so I assumed I wouldn't like this one. But I'm having trouble coming up with any complaints. Actually, it was awesome; the writing was good, there were tons of funny moments, and the characters were well rounded. I thought that there would be too many Star Trek references I wouldn't get (I've seen all of the Star Wars movies, so that wouldn't be a problem), but Black made them subtle enough that I didn't feel like there was anything missing, and Castellucci put in enough great Star Wars jokes that it carried the story. Basically the two authors took what could've been a train wreck and made it into one of my favorite stories in the anthology. It's available for free legally online, so you can check it out if you want. I strongly encourage it.

One of Us by Tracy Lynn: 2/5
In contrast from the last one, Lynn took a premise that could've been hilarious and turned it into a train wreck. It had some potential, and it was funny for the first few pages, but once the repetitive plot kicked in, it fell flat. Most of the story consisted of the narrator (whose name I forget) going to different geeks' houses learning about geeky arts. Not to mention that these geeks were cliched. You have to understand: there's nothing I hate more than cliched geeks. For some reason, I find them horribly depressing. The geeks in this story were the worst in the book. To be fair, they were fleshed out a little more than most stereotypes were, but they were fleshed out identically, which defeated the purpose. The writing was pretty good, but other than that, I really hated this one.

Definitional Chaos by Scott Westerfeld: 2/5
Everything I've heard about Westerfield's writing (Uglies in particular) suggests that I would hate it, and this basically confirmed that for me. First off, the writing wasn't great. WEsterfield often left out important details, particularly when describing setting. It took me about 5 pages to figure out that the main scene took place on a train, and I still have no idea where the first scene was supposed to be. And speaking of pages, almost 10 of them (in a 15 or so page story) were dedicated to a boring conversation about lawful good, lawful evil, ect. Don't get me wrong, I liked that it developed Lexia (she was the only thing I liked about this story), but it was just plain boring. Once the plot started again, it was rather weird. It really stood out among the others in this book; it's not the kind of thing I'd expect here. And, last but not least, it had the stupidest plot twist ever written. If I had thought it was mediocre before, the ending sent it spinning into the waters of terrible. (I have horrible metaphors, I know.) Overall, the only thing I could find to like about this was Lexia; other than that, it was pure shit.

I Never by Cassandra Clare: 4/5
Cassandra Clare was one of three authors that convinced me to read this story, the other two coming later. I am in love with everything she writes. That being said, this was slightly disappointing, if only because she's normally so awesome. But it was still really good. The writing was great (as usual), and so were the characters. The main one (WHY CAN I REMEMBER NO ONE'S NAME) was particularly vivid and real. I also really loved the premise, although I can't really talk about why without spoiling it. The only thing I didn't like was the pacing; it could've gone a lot faster. It's too bad, because other than that, this was pretty much perfect.

The King of Pelinesse by M.T. Anderson: 4/5
This one was a lot deeper than anything we've seen so far, and it's only going to get deeper from here. I have mixed feelings about the writing; the descriptions were kind of awkward, but the dialogue was GREAT. If it was edited a little more, it could've been amazing. I also loved the plot. It was geeky enough to fit into this anthology, but not so geeky it couldn't tackle other issues, which it does amazingly. If not for the awkward descriptions, this would've been one of my favorites.

The Wrath of Dawn by Cynthia and Greg Leitcich Smith: 4/5
This was yet another one that I really liked. This has to be the best section of the anthology; most of the ones I loved were here. The writing was pretty good, but the plot was... mixed. I loved the depth it presented, and it had a great ability to tackle bigger issues, much like the last one. But if you haven't seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I'm actually watching it right now; I just finished the first season) this plot will be totally incomprehensible to you. And for me, who's seen enough to know the general plot and characters, but hasn't seen everything, it ruined a couple plot twists for me. It's really too bad, because if the Smiths had eased off the Buffy references a bit, the characters alone would've been able to make this a five star rating. I liked how everyone started off as caricatures, but even over the course of a very short plot, they showed themselves to be more than that - just like real people do.

The Quiz Bowl Antichrist by David Levithan: 5/5
This is my second favorite story in the anthology (my favorite is coming in a bit). Not surprisingly, it's written by one of my favorite authors. I liked Nick Norah's Infinite Playlist, and I loved Love is the Higher Law. The writing was great, and while not amazing, it was a lot better than what I got in my last Levithan book, Naomi Ely's No-Kiss List. And it was HILARIOUS, in a way the rest of the anthology wasn't. I also liked the characters. We didn't get to know everyone quite the way I would've liked, but the ones we did get to know were awesome. And it had a really good plot, a great take on what quiz bowls really are and what it means to be a geek. And, as you might've suspected, it was deep. Like I said before, this is the best story in the anthology. If only the rest of the book was like this.

The Quiet Night by Garth Nix: 3/5
This story had been the deciding factor for whether or not I would read A Confusion of Princes. Well, I hate to say it, but this story means that I won't be reading it. It had its good elements, but overall it could've been a lot better. The main problem was the plot, because until the last two pages, it was BORING. I kept on reading events and wondering why I was reading these events. I was shown why in the last two pages, but I don't think it made the first 10 worth it. In contrast, I really loved that the main character had a messed-up voice. Actually, I loved the main character in general. He was very realistic and real (you'd be surprised by how often the two are different). And the writing was pretty good, for the most part, with the exception of the scene where the main character (his name was Tony, I think? There are way to many characters for me to remember all of them.) fake fights. It was completely unexplained and very confusing. It's really too bad - a lot of Nix's work sounds good, but this has shown me that I don't think I'll like it.

Everyone But You by Lisa Yee: 5/5
Ladies and gentleman, here it is, the best story in the anthology. The writing was really good, which is typical for this anthology - it was really well-edited. It also had a great plot. Normally, I wouldn't like this - it would be too much like a memoir for my liking - but the writing is so goddamned good that Yee pulled it off. Not that the writing was the only good thing about this - Yee succeeded in making her characters meaningful. I Felicity's relationship with her very mentally ill brother and her parents. (I REMEMBERED THE NARRATOR'S NAME! YAY!) This made the story very emotional and effective; I almost cried at the end. I couldn't find anything wrong with the story at all. In contrast...

Secret Identity by Kelly Link: 1/5
...this was my least favorite story here. Actually, it was one of two stories that I skipped. See, here's the thing about short stories - ideally, they're short. They may be painful, but at least the pain lasts for only 25 pages at most. That wasn't the case here. No, this story lasted for FORTY-FIVE PAGES. About 18 pages in, I decided I wasn't going to waste another half-hour of my life reading something so terrible. If it was shorter, I might've struggled through just to give it the benefit of the doubt, but this was so long it just wasn't worth it. Because it really was bad. The writing was awful - I'm having trouble remembering exactly what the premise is because Link was so vague and confusing about it. I also hated the narrator - I liked that Link tried to flesh her out, but she ended up being obnoxious. She couldn't seem to stay on topic for more than a couple of paragraphs before going off on some completely irrelevant tangent. This gave her a very annoying quality that I just couldn't ignore. This also slowed down the pace to a crawl. Here's a run-down of everything that happened in the 18 pages I read: the narrator got a room key from a hotel worker, she went to the room and took a nap in it, she got ready for dinner, and she went back downstairs. That should've taken 5 pages at most, but it took EIGHTEEN! I had no intention of wasting my time to read something so boring and frustrating.

Freak the Geek by John Green: 4/5
Green was the third reason I read this anthology; I loved The Fault in Our Stars and his piece in Let it Snow. Thankfully, this story doesn't disappoint. The only problem I had was the plot - or the lack of it thereof. Not much really happened over the course of the story - it was just character material. But the characters were so good that I almost didn't care. The relationship between the two members really worked for me, and the good writing helped it. I also liked this stories take on bullying; I was surprised by how few stories dealt with it, and how even fewer dealt with it in a realistically cruel way. But this one did, and the story is bettered from it.

The Truth About Dino Girl by Barry Lyga: 3/5
This was a pretty good story, until the ending, which ruined everything. Sure, the plot was very slow, but the writing was pretty good, and the character interaction was great. My main problem came at the end. This was another story that dealt with bullying. After the main characters are bullied, they sought revenge, and it happened successfully. My problem was that they went WAY TOO FAR. They quite literally ruined the bully's life, yet this was shown to be the logical and fair thing to do, when it was so clearly horrible. If it had ended just a little differently, it would've been amazing, but the way it was... bleah.

This is My Audition Monologue by Sara Zarr: 5/5
This was my third favorite in the story. The entire plot consisted of the main character giving an audition monologue that she wrote herself, describing her life. You'd think this wouldn't work for me (after all, it didn't really have a plot), but the narrator's voice was so believable that it pulled through. Actually, the narrator might've been the most vivid and real character in the entire book. There was also a lot of subtext - something anthologies in general don't do very well with, in my experience - but it was pulled off brilliantly here. I haven't been a fan of Zarr's work in the past (I had mixed feelings about How to Save a Life), but this just might convince me to give her another try.

The Stars at the Finish Line by Wendy Mass: 4/5
This was a somewhat bland but nevertheless very successful astronomy story. The plot was fairly standard, but the writing was good, and the characters had a realistic relationship. I also loved the subtle commentary on why the characters were geeks and what it means to be a geek. The only thing about the story that I didn't like was the stereotyped boy. He was rather perverted, and his love interest was shown to be smarter than him. As a boy myself, it just felt a little... off. And it's too bad, because other than that, the story was great.

It's Just a Jump to the Left by Libba Bray: 2/5
This was another story I didn't finish out of boredom and realization that it was way too long. It wasn't as long as Secret Identity, and it wasn't as bad, but it was still pretty awful. The only thing I liked was the writing. It had potential in that it tried to deal with serious issues, but they were dealt with in a clumsy way that didn't give them the depth that they deserved. The plot - which didn't even have much potential due to the fact that it can't be understood by anyone who's never seen Rocky Horror - was slow and aimless. And the characters? They weren't even the slightest bit real. They felt trapped between a whole bunch of different ages. They were said to be in high school, but I never felt it. Here's what they do: They see Rocky Horror (which is rated R) unaccompanied on a regular basis, and they've been doing so for quite some time. Yet, when they visit each other's houses, they still like to play pretend. Apparently, one of them has just now replaced the horse decorations on her walls with more 'adult' looking posters. When this same person wants to go out with a boy on the night that the two normally see Rocky Horror, her friend complains. This person's response? "Grow up." Did I mention Rocky Horror is rated R? It just felt that Bray was trying to capture a level of maturity in teenagers that simply didn't exist. This was so frustrating that it became a key factor in my giving up on the story.
EDIT: Looking back, I'm rather thankful I didn't finish this one. I read another one of Bray's stories (from 21 Proms), and it made me mad. Just skip this one; you won't regret it.

But overall, this is not a bad anthology. It's a lot better than 666 The Number of the Beast, which is the last anthology I read. It was very well edited - there were almost no cases of awkward writing or premises that blatantly didn't work. And I really loved the concept; it lent itself to a lot of great stories. Standouts include The Quiz Bowl Antichrist, Everyone but You, and This is My Audition Monologue. The worst included Definitional Chaos, Secret Identity, and It's Just a Jump to the Left.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most collections, this has its good stories and its bad.

It begins with the punchy "Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi All the Way," a really enjoyable piece by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci. I loved it because it was both about geekery (Klingons vs Jedi, the ideas of the purpose behind anger and gender in Star Wars vs Star Trek) and about being a young adult geek. It felt fresh and imaginative, and not only did I like the main characters, but I got a good feel for them, too.

The cartoons by Bryan Lee O'Malley, Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci are funny and cute, and are a great divider between each story.
Sadly, the next few aren't so good.

In Tracy Lynn's "One of Us," a cheerleader pays a group of geeks to teach her how to appreciate her boyfriend's geeky pursuits. Completely reliant upon stereotypes, with a very cliched "teen movie" sort of plot.

Surprisingly, Scott Westerfeld's "Definitional Chaos" is probably the weakest of the bunch. 20 pages of breaking down the very basic differences between alignments. The characters are completely unbelievable--I couldn't figure out what age they were supposed to be, let alone anything else about them.

Cassandra Clare's "I Never," about two girls who go to a meetup for their internet rping group, is pretty banal. I didn't like the characters, but the basic story is good.

"The King of Pelinesse" by M.T. Anderson is really well written, but not to my taste. A teenager in the 1940s/50s(?) finds out that his favorite author has been having an affair with his mom. An interesting insight into pulp fantasy novels and a long-gone historical period.
I liked "The Wrath of Dawn," by the Leitich Smiths. I got a real feel for the characters and their problems.

I also really liked "Quiz Bowl Antichrist" by David Levithan, about the inner works of a quiz bowl team. I found this to be the most important story of the collection, the one I wish more geeks would read and understand. The difference between snark and humor, the anger underpinning sarcasm, the relative importance of trivia, and owning up to one's own identity as a geek.

Garth Nix's "The Quiet Knight" is a short, sweet little tale about using lessons from role-playing in "real life". As someone who learned most of my social skills and confidence from LARPing, I really liked this.

"Everyone But You" by Lisa Yee is about a poor pep squad girl from Ohio who moves to Hawai'i, where she finds that everything that made her cool now makes her mockable.

"Secret Identity" by Kelly Link is terrible and inexplicable and seems to go on forever.

"Freak the Geek" by John Green, contains some really great moments that read very true to me. To whit: "No one would think of me as pretty at Hoover. Being pretty here involves so much more than just being pretty, and frankly I don't have time for it." and the fights between the geeks about whose fault it is that they're being targeted.

"The Truth About Dino Girl" by Barry Lyga is terrible terrible terrible. And here is why. Because I really liked the first thirty pages, about a girl whose love of dinosaurs is matched only by her crush on a popular boy. I liked the girl, I liked her inner monologue and her smarts and her lack of social graces. But then, she decides to get even. And she does it by pasting pictures of her nemesis everywhere, with "DO YOU LIKE SEX? SHE DOES!!! TRUST ME--SHE LOVES IT!!! I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE--COUNTLESS TIMES!!!" written underneath. And the girl's life is ruined, because everyone thinks she's a slut. hahah! Such a fabulous revenge, right? I mean, there's pretty much nothing better than slut-shaming! And now the geek girl has her revenge and social confidence! Yay! And by "yay" I mean I want to vomit with rage.

There is no reason to read "This is My Audition Monologue" by Sara Zarr.

"The Stars at the Finish Line" by Wendy Mass is a really sweet story about two kids who have been rivals for years, because they each want to be an astronaut, and to be an astronaut you have to be the best.

Libba Bray's "It's Just a Jump to the Left," is about Rocky Horror fans and that uncomfortable period between playing with dolls and understanding sex jokes.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag, with some horribly terrible stories and some that are absolute MUST READS.

The GOOD- These stories all deserve 5 stars and two thumbs WAY up!

Secret Identity- If you only read one story it should be this one! Kelly Link is brilliant. Her narration has style and the story is incredibly interesting, different, and strange. She doesn't beat the 'geek' theme to death showing once again that she is the master of subtlety. Genius!

The King of Pelinesse- This story is seemingly simple, but contains incredibly complex characters.

Quiz Bowl Antichrist- Perhaps the best LGBT fiction I have ever read. It was funny and sincere with a main character that was human rather than a one-dimensional conduit for sexual politics.

It's Just a Jump to the Left- Powerful. I think it speaks volumes that I read this story and wished it were a novel. I wanted more! The characters were interesting and, unlike most of the other stories in this book, it was set in the past. It was refreshing to have a geek story that took place pre-computer age.

The Bad-

The Quiet Knight- Just skip this one. The characters are one dimension and the story is pretty much non-existent. Seriously it is an absolute waste of time. You've been warned.

The Ugly-

One of Us- No. Just no. This story was filled to the brim with clichés. It tries to cram as many pop culture references in as possible which is no substitution for a well written story with fully developed characters. Nice try! (Well not really...did you even try?) This is like the BIG BANG THEORY without the canned laughter...

The Wrath of Dawn- if there's one thing I hate it's nerds trying to prove their nerdiness. Please stop casting the blonde beautiful girl as evil, stupid, and less evolved than the mousey girl who is really into sci-fi.

Freak the Geek- John Green you have to stop. Please. You are terrible and so is this laughably ridiculous story that is really about how everyone who isn't you is subhuman. GET OVER YOURSELF!

**BONUS ROUND**

The WTF Award goes to...The Truth About Dino Girl
This started out great and then burst into flames during the last few pages. The main character did something so incredibly despicable which in and of itself does not a bad story make. However, the way this act of revenge is handled it is clear that the reader is supposed to see Dino girl's actions as appropriate which absolutely boggled my mind. To me this said more about the author than the characters, you can bet I won't be reading Barry Lyga anytime soon.

[Kayt O'Bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I clicked on the little words here on Goodreads to update my reading status of this book, then clicked, "I'm finished," a little box popped up.

"Are you sure you want to mark this as read?" it ask me.

No. I do not want to mark this as read. I want the minutes I wasted on it back.

Is it wrong I wanted more geekery and less teen angst? Most of these stories were regular teen drama with MMORPGs thrown in. I don't care about the guy you spoke with over the internet who isn't as cool as you thought, Catherine Earnshaw-roleplayer. Or most of the other ones that go blahblahblahISECRETLYLOVEYOUtheend.

The only one that stuck out to me was One of Us, about a cheerleader who asks a geek club to tutor her in all things geek so she can relate to her boyfriend. The characters were sympathetic, the story humorous and the geekery well-rounded and not so obscure that the reader, if they weren't into [insert geek thing here] could still understand it.

Now really, I wasn't sure what I was in for when I picked this up. I know now that when it comes to reading geek-themed stuff I prefer the focus on geekery and humor, a la One of Us or Bimbos of the Death Sun, which follows a newbie at a sci-fi/fantasy convention. What I am *not* interested in is teen drama, even if the teens are geeks.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

It probably says more about me than about the book that the first, most important thing I need to say about it is that John Green, in his story 'Freak the Geek' got his facts about Aragorn and Arwen from LotR wrong. The story of their wedding is not told in the appendix, but rather in the final book. The story of their lives together is what's told in the appendix. Also, it's spelled orc, not ork. Ahem.

Now that I've qualified myself as one of the herd this book was aimed at, let me tell you how much I enjoyed it, nitpicking aside. There are some real stand-out stories here and only a few clunkers. M.T. Anderson's tale is perhaps the most nuanced, while Libba Bray's resonated with my own personal adolescence. David Leviathan's offering was poignant and sweet- just like his books. My favorite story, though, was the very first one, by Holly Black and Cecil Castelluci, which made me whoop with laughter. Highly recommended for the crowd I used to stand around awkwardly with. Running is for jocks, man.

[Lisa Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story collection highlights different ways of being a teen geek, and includes stories from some big YA authors. The stories are uneven -- there are a few that I loved, and some that (despite only being from about 10 years or so ago) feel pretty dated. It's a fun book to pick up and page through now and again, but too much to read start to finish.

[Ruthanne Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you like revenge porn presented as victory? Because that happens.

This is, according to the introduction, an anthology about the geek and the geek observed. The goal is literally to get your inner geek on.

That was successful until Barry Lyga's story.

I don't care if this is a spoiler; it made me sick. The geek protagonists, having been bullied, sneak a locker-room photo of their bully, Photoshop her nude into a hotel room, and literally ruin that girl's life.

Literally. The protagonists are happy that they did this illegal, immoral thing that will haunt their victim the rest of her life. And that's the end of the story.

NO. That is not being a geek. No, that is not okay.

Yes, people do bad things. No, this book is clearly not a "how you should act" manual. But this? This???

Listen: some of these stories are brilliant. Libba Bray in particular is so good that you are sucked in before you even know what's happening. Even the so-so stories are good. The stories aren't all happy, but they're largely true to the geek teen experience, and entertaining when they're not.

But revenge porn, presented in a positive light? NO.

Literally the only reason I'm not giving one star is because I really enjoyed some of the other stories very much (especially Libba Bray's tale), but TRUTH ABOUT DINO GIRL by Barry Lyga nearly ruined the whole book for me. I don't know why the hell it was included.

Consider yourself warned.

[Charley Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a percentage of like 40% good stories and 60% meh stories. I will go through and note my highlights and maybe do a video on them.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a Klingon and a Jedi slept in the same room together? What if the popular girl fell down the teen social ladder and become awkward and lonely (and thus, relatable to Geeks around the world)? Or if one boy discovers LARPing as a form of social expression; if another cruelly teases GEEKS only to realize he's become one himself? Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd is a collaborative effort between several Young Adult authors, born of the minds of Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (who edited the collection and co-wrote the opening short story) that includes fifteen short stories about what it means to be a Geek. While the collection offers a witty, tongue-in-cheek definition sure to make readers smile in recognition of their inner Geek, the stories all share something deeper: Geekdom is the long and often trying journey of learning it's okay to be ourselves, even if it's contrary to popular opinion ans especially if it's with our friends. That's a message sure to resonate with teens everywhere.

There were, of course, some authors I recognized (and implicitly became excited about their contributions), some I was familiar with by name and reputation only, and others I had never heard of before. Not surprisingly, I found a few new authors I want to read more from! Most of the stories involved geeky interests (comic books, role playing, established and cult franchises such as Star Wars, Star Trek, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," etc...) and idols in a marvelous mixture of similes that bring perspective to identify and help shape the young protagonists' most formative years. Very rarely were any of these overwrought, but the euphemistic flair really only served to remind me of the fact that if I can recognize the comparisons, I am a Geek too (as if there was ever any ever doubt). There were so many wonderfully beautiful and hilarious stories in the collection that I'll mention a few that really struck a chord with me. Did I like all of them? No. Did I love most of them? Yes.

The first story, "Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi All the Way"--a cooperative effort between Black and Castellucci--was naturally one of my favorites. I say naturally because if even you're only remotely familiar with popular culture, you know this story is going to be about Jedi and thus, Star Wars; I am a huge Star Wars fan (do I have to explain the term 'jawa' to you? Hopefully not!). I'm so glad the collection opened with this story. It's about a couple of fans who take their fandom so seriously, they even stay in character during the private moments of their lives, away from the convention (with so many SF/F/Comic Cons, you fill in the blank) floor. These fans are, metaphorically speaking, on opposing teams.

One is part of a Lightsaber Demonstration group and dressed as Jedi, the other is costumed as a Klingon. When they wake up in the same hotel room together--nee, the same bed--deep suspicion and horror emerges, mixed with guilt and the kind of shame that arises when one begins to wonder, "what will my friends think?"--There is of course, the inevitable Star Wars vs. Star Trek argument that turns from flirtatiously probing to a convention floor brawl, but it sets the mood for the rest of thee book: All of these characters will be Geeks. Let's not split hairs over the types of Geeks and risk dividing the more important loyalty and solidarity derived from that common ground.

While this story was one of the most entertaining, it also had two of the most glaring typos and errors one could ever make in a book that sets out to appease Geeks everywhere. The irony of such errors being acutely recognizable by it's key audience is not lost on me. I will, in fact, point them out to you. Anakin (Skywalker, not Solo--yes, there are two) is spelled "Annakin" on page 6. On another, Padawan Pete apparently has a cape (p.9) when it's rare even for Jedi Masters to have capes (Obi-wan only had his as a General--a Republic, not a Jedi, designation), but Padawans might as well forget that fashion trend. It isn't rare, however, for Sith Lords to have them, which is why that particular slip is so amusing to me. So there you have it. A spelling error and a costume error.

David Levithan's "Quiz Bowl Antichrist" was absolutely beautiful. Alternate Alec feels awkward with the other members of his Quiz Bowl team who are quite gung ho about their team spirit and nurture a love of winning. Alec has less than altruistic motives (bloating his college application, getting an 'A' in Physics, etc...), but his literary prowess also brings him closer to a boy he doesn't quite know what to make of. A boy he doesn't yet realize he has feelings for. Levithan's writing is equal parts funny, penetrating, and accessible. He has a studied understanding of the intricacies and complications of teenage relationships and interactions. He can elucidate the hidden desires that motivate them, captures the confusing mess of identity development and the unsettling murkiness of hormones. It's one of the most poignant stories and best of all: It's sandwiched in the middle of the collection like the most perfect little treat.

Honest;y, these two stories aside, there were so many I enjoyed, so many I want to gush about, that all I can do at this point is tell you to go find a copy of Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd and read it for yourself. From the bitter sweetness of M.T. Anderson's "The King of Pelinesse," to Garth Nix's uplifting tale ("The Quiet Knight") about a boy who uses LARPing to unearth the hero inside of himself, John Green's empowering story of friendship ("Freak the Geek"), Barry Lyga's evolutionary showdown of Geektastic proportions "The Truth About Dino Girl," Wendy Mass' hilarious competition of wills, tempered by attraction and rivaled only in the genuine sweetness of the romance, to Libba Bray's "It's Just a Jump to the Left"-- an amazingly polished nostalgia tale of friendship, the strange and uncomfortable reality of adolescence--most of these stories are fulfilling in their own way.

Clearly these authors enjoyed engaging their inner Geek with full and unabashed embraces. The collection is also pulled together rather nicely with each story progressively less about the minutiae of Geekery itself (what we love that makes us Geeks) and more about the feelings and repercussions resulting from an utter love of dinosaurs, or an obsession over a new movie, and the friends that help us stay true to ourselves. With that in mind, readers unfamiliar with some of the more nerdy concepts or geek lingo won;t feel too alienated. Most of the stories don't engage the unapproachable "inside info" universally believed is recognizable by Geeks everywhere very often. The protagonists are all ultimately just teenagers; Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd is a reservoir of their innermost confessions. Teens everywhere, and even adults, can relate to that. Although seen through the lens of geekdom, it's extremely entertaing and incredibly absorbing.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of stories by some amazing young-adult authors (Libba Bray! WOO!) celebrating la vie en geek. (I made that up right now PATENT PENDING PATENT PENDING)

My favorite story of the bunch: a girl dressed as a Klingon for a sci-fi convention wakes up in a hotel bed, takes stock of the various props and costumes belonging to the sleeping boy next to her, and realizes that she spent the previous night having crazy drunken sex with a Jedi. Hilarity, drama, and a massive Klingon-Jedi fight in a hotel lobby ensues.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

How did this book come into my possession? Well, that is probably something that I could turn into a short story that could have graced the pages of this anthology. It is signed by Holly Black and for the life of me I don’t remember when it entered my personal library. I think it was possibly a book sale, but which one is lost to the sands of time. I read it for the first time in 2016 and I had a vague recollection that I wasn’t super impressed, but at that time every book was precious and none could be relinquished. Now, older, wiser, and a woman who has to think about moving out of an apartment eventually, I decided to revisit this book to see if it would make the cut.


Gentle Reader, it did not.


Geektastic is a collection of short stories written by a whole host of young adult authors that were popular in 2009 and centered around the “geek” or “nerd” experience. Some of the names you will recognize, such as Cassandra Clare and John Green, others I didn’t know then and I still don’t know now. While the forward states that these are stories to celebrate nerd culture and those who spend weekends at Cons or watching Star Trek marathons, a lot of the stories really embody the Social Network quote “You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. But you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole.” Now, I admit that I don’t read a lot of short stories, but most of the people in these stories are kind of awful.


There are a few bright spots within this anthology, The Stars at the Finish Line by Wendy Mass being my favorite, for the most point it is full of inappropriate relationships and stereotypes of geeks, written by self-proclaimed geeks. Now, I recognize that in 2009, Dungeons and Dragons did not have its Renaissance and there weren’t 345 Marvel movies, so a lot of people who were into those things had a chip on their shoulder from what they suffered in their youth. Yet, as someone who has attended Dragon*Con and a couple of Comic Cons not in San Diego, there are parts of this that just feel like people who are working on their own high school bullying experience in a rather unhealthy way. The insane amount of slut shaming in all of these stories was hard to read in the year of our Lord 2024.


I can’t say that I recommend this collection and after a second read-through, it is time for it to find a new home. As it is signed, I think I will try and sell it online for a couple of bucks since I don’t get good returns at my local used bookstore. If not, well to a little free library it will go.



**Original Review**

A fun little collection of short stories from those who consider themselves geeks and nerds. While I felt as if some of the stories were way over the top, it was fun to read about people who could speak Klingon and worlds in which super heroes were real, though no different that regular celebrities. There was a fun upbeat nature to most of these stories, nerds making fun of themselves through writing, but there was also a serious undertone to a lot of them. If you are looking for something to read on the way to a Con or between load screens of your favorite game, this might be what you're looking for.

[R. C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this out for me, but my nine-year-old browsed through, then asked if she could read it. This child has never been to elementary school, let alone high school, so I'm not sure what the appeal is. I'm also not sure it's entirely appropriate for a kid this age. She "reeeeeeally" wants to read it, "please, Mama." So we're reading it together.

Edited to add, a few stories and a bunch of comics in...

So far, it's the geek culture that is obviously drawing my kiddo to the end of the book. The band geek references go over her head, but because of older siblings (okay, and me) she is well familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, computer programming, LARPers, the musical soundtrack of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, comic books and the idolation of comic book artists, and the divide between Jedis and Trekkers.

In an mommy-plays-psychologist way, I think there may be more than that. She's at the age when she's just starting to focus more on peers than family, and in doing so, she's realizing that not everybody likes an intellectual challenge. The book landed on our coffee table just as she was starting to look ahead for a way through the social chaos of adolescence as a person who learns the hard stuff for fun.

And yes, there was a lot of romance and that which teens do when they feel romantic, and all of it was definitely completely inappropriate for a nine-year-old. We would've given it up for that, but the child is quite skilled at rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue.

[Isamlq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have seen all the Lord of the Rings movies. I’ll even admit to having watched them more than once. I have read Harry Potter. But if we’re talking fantasy, I am very INTO David Eddings. Do these facts make me a geek?

Erm, reading the stories in Geektastic seem to throw support toward an affirmative answer. So OK, I think I may be a geek. But, I am not as hardcore geek-y as the characters in these stories.

For instance, I’ve never debated about the virtues of one Star Trek captain versus another! I’ve never thought about what would happen if a klingon were to fall for a jedi! I’ve never travelled cross country to meet my favorite author to ask if he had had an affair with my mom… these things happen in a couple of the stories, and I will be damned if I didn’t find myself chuckling softly or laughing out loud at odd times. (I ride public transit, so I might just have scared a couple of kids when doing these.)

So while I could not relate to some of the stories, they did make me laugh. My favorite story was the stereotype bending one where the popular girl pays a bunch of geeks to teach her “to speak geek for her to understand her boyfriend a little more.”

P.S. What the fudge is a WOOKIE?
P.P.S. I still don’t know who the best Star Trek Captain is. But I do know that Captain Kirk always gets the girl.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent stories, but the geekiness was often so specific to online gaming or star trek/wars that I felt kind of alienated (punnn). Someone else's review commented on the prevalence of drinking, but I was more troubled by the prevalence of geeky revenge and/or cruelty. Like the paleontologist-aspiring-girl...that story was so enjoyable until the verrrry end. And the quizbowl antichrist was, at first, irksome because of the protagonist's persistent teasing. David Levithan made a point of that geeky aggression, though, and that story (along with John Green's) ended up being among my favorites.

[joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So awesome! Made me want to write my own geektastic tale and get in into Vol. 2 (IS there a Vol. 2? There should be!) There's something for everyone - gamers, Trekkies, LARPers, even those geeks with vengeance in their hearts for their suffering in high school. Some of the stories are straight up nerd anecdotes woven with a little character and plot development, and in others the geek element is a little more difficult to spot. Any geek will see themselves in here somewhere. I really enjoyed reading it, even when I had no idea what the frak was going on.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Collection was a varied and fun read. Some of the stories made me chuckle, and some made me think. All of them had heart. A perfect read for any geek who wants to feel a connection. It feels like a written reminder that we geeks are many.

[a · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I start, a preamble: I find it impossible to review an anthology comprised of works written by a multitude of authors as one joint work, therefore I present to you reviews of each story in this book, okay? Okay. Firstly, allow me to say that this - I can't think of a more awesome idea for an anthology than the broad subject of geekery. No, really, as a card-carrying geek, discovering this book existed was the equivalent of some nebulous spaceship descending from the Heavens and opening its doors so that it can take me to some far-away planet where people exactly like me existed. I'm not alone! You're not alone! We're not alone!

The book begins with Once You're a Jedi, You're A Jedi All the Way, a joint effort by editors Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci. It's the story of what happens when a Trekker wakes up in a foreign bed at a hotel during a convention. Much to her chagrin, the resident of the room in which she finds herself is none other than a Jedi. This, of course, is a major no-no. Even with minimal knowledge of Star Wars and Star Trek (I've seen the movies, but I don't read the books and I've never watched the show), I found this short highly enjoyable. This story is the source of what could be my favorite line out of the whole book - "...he had a Vulcan girlfriend who was watching us both like she wanted to have some kind of pon-farr excuse to kick my ass." The rivalry between canons culminates into a Trekker on Star Warsian battle - master Jedi and their padawans versus Starfleet cadets and Klingons. What can I say? Awesome.

One of Us by Tracy Lynn was okay. It was about a 'popular' girl named Montgomery that decided to nerdify herself in order to relate to her boyfriend. I love the concept of her taking classes in geek - Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, comics, etc. I found it mildly annoying how the author kept defaulting to the epithet 'the cheerleader' whenever describing Montgomery's thoughts or actions - and she does it a lot. Still, I liked the overall cast of characters in the story; I particularly liked that Montgomery formed a friendship with the girl of the geek squad, Ellen.

Definitional Choas by Scott Westerfeld was one of my least favorites, sorry. It started off okay - a trip on a train to deliver a suitcase full of money so that a ton of people could have their hotel rooms secured for a convention. Then it delved into super-irritating territory. The narrator's ex-girlfriend is elected to go on this trip, too. She, in a word, is a bitch. At first it seems kind of stupid that the reason they broke up is because the ex is responsible for offing an RPG character of the narrator's. But then this chick essentially poisons the narrator via a bottle of vodka spiked presumably with some kind of narcotic, implying that when she wakes first - and she will, because she's had less of the spiked hooch - she's going to take the money. No, really. I want to punch her. Well-written as it was, this story just wasn't palatable for me.

Because I know a bit about her internet history, it's difficult for me to be objective in reviewing anything that Cassandra Clare has ever written, so I don't know if this a fair review or not. It's my first piece of hers and will likely be my last. I Never tells the tale of people from an online RPG meeting up and partying. It seemed really unlikely to me and the whole story was filled with moments that just plain embarrassed me - a girl hooking up with the Supernatural boys? Shut up, Cassandra Clare. Sure, there was a cutesy little love story, but it doesn't take more than a cursory look to decide that the story is just recycled Cyrano de Bergerac which has already been reincarnated a thousand times already. One of my least favorites in the book.

M. T. Anderson's The King of Pelinesse was creepy. It had weird oedipal tones - a boy reconstructs a letter his mother ripped up that was addressed to her by a favorite fantasy writer/graphic novelist. The letter is flowery porn. The kid goes to see his hero to ask him about this affair with his mother, ruminating more than once on "the gem of her womanhood". Gross.

The Wrath of Dawn by Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable, either. It's about a girl going out to see Buffy: the Musical. Her name is Dawn. People hurl insults at Dawn when she's onstage. Narrator Dawn steals a mike and takes the name back. It was like it should have been powerful, but it was really just kind of forgettable.

David Levithan's Quiz Bowl Antichrist is one of my favorites of this anthology. I don't care what Levithan writes, I love his writing style and I love his ability to make his characters three dimensional when allowed only the smallest amount of space. The story follows a ragtag team of Quiz Bowl members. As the sole expert on literature, the narrator is an outcast in his own group, but chooses to stay in the group for his crush - Damien. It's a nice little story that's pure Levithan - about a boy that's in the midst of discovering something about himself and it's funny. It's so funny. It's the only story out of the book that I've managed to read twice.

The Quiet Knight by Garth Nix is a sweet little fairytale. It follows a kid with a certain problem with his speech - a result of swallowing a household cleaner when he was younger, hence the 'quiet'. He seeks solace in LARPing as a knight. It is implied that he plays this specific character because it's the kind of person that he wants to be and, of course, so that the story had some kind of symmetry - he becomes a knight in school the day following one of his LARPING adventures by rescuing the girl that played the Bard. It's sweet. It's not the greatest story in the book, but it's one of the better ones.

One of my least favorite shorts in this book is Lisa Yee's Everyone But You. It tells the story of a baton-twirler whose life is upended when she has to move to Hawaii. The shocker - the school doesn't have much of an athletic program and the kids are unfriendly. I fail to see how twirling a baton makes you a geek. Additionally, the story was really fleshy to start, but three or four pages in, it was like Lisa Yee realized she
had a deadline and threw the rest together in a hurry. It was a story that wasn't really relevant to the anthology and it was very poorly written.

Secret Identity by Kelly Link is tied for first on my favorites list. It's the origin story of a girl, written in the format of a letter to a person she was supposed to meet up with in a hotel - Paul Zell. I don't even know how to describe it. It was written like a comic book and it was real and I loved it. Best scene of the book, hands down - a tertiary character whose name escapes me has a talent for butter sculptures of famous supervillains (and, FYI, Hellalujah is an awesome name for a villain). And at one point, there is a BUTTER FIGHT. I love it.

The story for which I bought this anthology was Freak the Geek by John Green. That said, it was the single most disappointing story in this anthology. Really. This is the second time in a row that John Green has disappointed me and I wish that I had read this and his story from Let It Snow first and then read Paper Towns. It's about two geeky girls that get 'freaked' because it's a school tradition - the popular girls pick a couple of geeks to torture every year. They choose to do it by launching a volley of paintballs at them, which makes me wonder if this is a made-up school where there is no staff, because if this happened in any other school, these kids would probably be arrested for bring a gun - any kind of gun - on campus. Also, as tired as I am of all John Green's stories being about a pseudo-geeky guy crushing on a quirky girl, he needs to stick with what he knows. It was evident in what exists of this story (and there's not much of it at all; it's like he asked what the minimum word count was and just barely made it) that he cannot write girl to save his life. There are no quirky one-liners, the writing is so boring that I feel like an eighth-grader could have come up with something more interesting. I'm ashamed of you, John Green.

You know, The Truth About Dino Girl by Barry Lyga started out awesome. What's not to love - a likable character who sprouts dinosaur facts in order to describe her feelings for a dude? I love it. I love dinosaurs. What's not to love. Here's the irritating part. The boy she loves has a girlfriend who Katie likes right up until said girlfriend discovers Katie's crush. The girlfriend is horrible to her. But not horrible to warrant the punishment that she receives - really, Katie? Taking a nude picture of an underage girl in a locker room and posting it around school with her phone number? And then the fact that she's unapologetic about it? It made me instantly hate this short.

This Is My Audition Monologue by Sara Zarr is another one that I could care less about. It's written in the perspective of a girl who gets overlooked for parts in drama and always put on the backstage crew. Maybe it's because I never got the appeal of drama, maybe it's because I don't really see what's so nerdy about being in drama. It was just kind of a pointless, boring story.

Another cute little love story is The Stars at the Finish Line by Wendy Mass. It's the story of a boy and girl in competition since they were kids. They both want to be astronauts until the boy grows up and realizes that it's not the astronaut career that he wants, it's the girl that wants the astronaut career. So they come together for an all-night Messier Marathon - a competition to see over a hundred space anomalies, etc. before the sun rises. Lots of detail about constellations and nebulae and a lot of other stuff that went totally over my head, here, but it makes me want to pick up an astronomy book. Yep. It's that good.

Lastly, It's Just a Jump to the Left by Libba Bray. Eh. It's a coming-of-age story about a girl and while I'll grant you it's a little meatier than most of the stories in the anthology, I didn't really care for it. Maybe because I've never seen Rocky Horror Picture Show (and I won't ever; it's not my thing) or maybe it's because various things irritated me - the unresolved story with the boy that Leta kisses, her teacher smoking weed in front of her, etc. I don't know. Forgettable.

After each story was a little comic, which I'm going to say were the most enjoyable parts of the book for me. I really did need to know how to ask where the bathroom is in Klingon! I wanted to know what kind of geek I am! These comics might be worth the purchase of the book alone, truthfully. But despite some of my less-than-positive reviews of certain stories in the anthology, I think the whole thing is overall awesome and definitely worth the read.

[Jai · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://janicu.livejournal.com/80600.html

I picked this one up at BEA since I'm a Holly Black fan and she was signing it.

Geektastic is an anthology of geek related stories. According to the charming Editors' note, the idea was formed after Comic Con, where, in line for a burrito, Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci discussed what would happen if "you were a Jedi and you woke up with a Klingon in your bed" (the first story in this anthology). It's a fun concept, and this book has different varieties of geeks represented. Although some stories have me thinking the idea was better than the realization, it was cool to see how many big names in the YA genre have geek cred.

Throughout the anthology are one page comics illustrated by Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley about geeks like "How to Hook Up at the Science Fair", "What your instrument says about you" and "Top Five Words or Phrases You Need to Know in Klingon" - these were amusing and nice breakpoints between stories.

Really quick reviews follow (My favorites were by David Levithan, Lisa Lee, Wendy Mass and Cassandra Clare):

1) Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi All the Way by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci: A Jedi and a Klingon wake up together in the same hotel room. Overall: OK. Funny and cute in a very geeky way. I enjoyed picturing the melee described here, but seems to focus more on Jedi vs. Klingon than their story.
2) One of Us by Tracy Lynn: A cheerleader tries to learn more about her football player boyfriend's interests in geeky things by taking "lessons" from the the high school Genre and Nonsense Club - This one was like a primer into geekdom as each member of the club highlighted a particular aspect. Chock full of geek references, maybe too many, but ends nicely.
3) Definitional Chaos by Scott Westerfeld: A gamer responsible for bringing Con money to a hotel in Florida gets saddled with his crazy ex-girlfriend on the trip. The story seemed to focus on the idea of alignment, both in games and offline, and I found that aspect hard to connect to. This one took me a while to read because I kept putting it down.
4) I Never by Cassandra Clare: A girl and her friend who role play online as their favorite characters meet some other players of The Game in real life. Of course online characters differ greatly from their real life ones. A bit of a predictable Liking the Wrong Boy story, but ends up rather sweet.
5) The King of Pelinesse by M. T. Anderson: A boy discovers his mom gets love letters from one of his favorite fantasy authors and takes a trip to meet him. Um.. rather weird and somewhat creepy and sad. I'm pondering if this is saying something about certain fantasy authors or if it's revealing the negative side of geekiness. Not sure.
6) The Wrath of Dawn by Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith: A girl named Dawn attends a Buffy screening where people interact with the movie much like people do with Rocky Horror, and objects to the way the character Dawn seems universally despised. My reaction to this was "Eh". I'm not sure why, but it didn't move me.
7) Quiz Bowl Antichrist by David Levithan: A gay teen is part of his school's quiz bowl team and butts heads constantly with the team leader while harboring a crush on another teammember. Told in the first person, this teens sarcastic observations had me chuckling. There were also some painful situations. This was probably my favorite short story.
8) The Quiet Knight by Garth Nix: Tony, a loner kid spends his time live action roleplaying as the Quiet Knight, and wondering what the Quiet Knight would do helps him come out of his shell. This was alright, sweet, but short.
9) Everyone But You by Lisa Lee: Felicity has just moved from Ohio to Hawaii, going from her High schools' MIss Pep to No one she feels out of place and invisible. This is another growing pains sort of story and another one of my favorites. I also liked the details of Hawaii that the locals know about.
10) Secret Identity by Kelly Link: Written as a letter from a teenaged girl to someone named Paul Zell. She alternates between writing in the first and third person about herself, but I figured she met him online in a game called FarAway and they were to meet in real life at a New York City Hotel but he doesn't show. This is a confusing story which was almost a DNF, but it did get better once I realized she was serious about the superheroes in the lobby and ignored the changing POV. In the end it left me wanting to know who Paul Zell really was, but I didn't like the shifts in POV at all.
11) Freak the Geek by John Green: Two best friends, outcasts in a all girls high school are the targets for a school tradition to haze two geeks for a day. A nice friendship story, with I think a lighter dusting of geekiness. Left me with a warm fuzzy. One comment: Pokemon? I thought that was only a fad in the nineties?
12) The Truth about Dino Girl by Barry Lyga: Katherine loves dinosaurs and spouts off knowledge about them to her best friend Sooz, an artist in the making, but lately her obsessive nature has a new target - an unattainable guy with a perfect girlfriend. An illustration that evolution can favor the little guys too, but I thought Katherine's "revenge" was hypocritical and crossed a line.
13) This is My Audition Monologue by Sara Zarr: A monologue by Rachel Banks arguing why she should finally get a part as cast in the latest theater production and not be shuffled off into the crew. Rambly, embarrassing, ambitious, geeky, desperate and defiant all rolled into one. I liked and disliked it for those reasons. I wonder if she got a part.
14) The Stars at the Finish Line by Wendy Mass: The narrator, Peter, has had a crush on Tabitha Bell since they were in grade school. When she declares her ambition of being an astronaut when she was nine, so does he, and the rivalry began. Eight years later, Peter still has his crush and Tabitha still thinks he's her biggest competition. Astronomy geeks, very cute. Another favorite.
15) It's Just a Jump to the Left by Libba Bray: Leta and Agnes have been friends for a long time and friday night at the Rocky Horror Picture Show is their thing. Unfortunately things don't always stay the same. Agnes gets a boyfriend and Leta feels left behind. This gave off a very nostalgic, teens-in-the-seventies vibe. I thought it had interesting things to say about geekiness and it's relationship with identity, friendship, and coping with life. Liked it.

[Cassandra Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

REVIEW ALSO ON: http://bibliomantics.com/2011/05/06/i......

In high school I was a nerd. I am still a nerd. I have an unhealthy love affair for Wolverine, I have a Fellowship cloak in my closet and a ring of power on my dresser. There’s a plush Necromicon in my living room and a vorpal blade on my bookshelf. I dressed up as Sango from “InuYasha” complete with life sized hiraikotsu (AKA giant boomerang) in high school. And no, I didn’t have to look up the spelling for hiraikotsu, I just know it off the top of my head. I even worked in a comic book store. I was and am in all senses of the word, a nerd. Albeit a high functioning one.

It was the tie to the subculture of all things nerdy that drew me to Geektastic. My first impression was that this anthology was going to be similar to Zombies Vs. Unicorns (also edited by Holly Black). I found that Geektastic was a lot more entertaining, particularly because half of it wasn’t devoted to lame ass unicorns. It also features a lot of my favourite young adult authors like M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, Kelly Link, and Scott Westerfeld.

The anthology opens with a short story from its two editors, Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci and was the spark for the entire collection. Once You’re a Jedi, You’re a Jedi All the Way tells of a romance between two unlikely figures, a Klingon and a Jedi. As popular culture has taught us and constantly uses as fodder, Star Wars fans and “Star Trek” fans are mortal enemies. As the editors mention in the introduction, no one in their right mind would publish such a story, so they were determined to edit an anthology in which this romance would be accepted. And let me tell you, it fits in perfectly and opens the anthology up just right. I’m not a fan of either series and it had me giggling the whole way through, and not just for the fact that there’s inexplicably a Stormtrooper at every convention. Seriously, why is there always at least one Stormtrooper?

The next story which definitely hit high marks for me was Scott Westerfeld’s Definitional Chaos, but I’m probably biased because I’m a huge Scott Westerfeld fan. It tells the story of gamers going on a non consequential mission and discussing the moral alignment of various characters in popular culture and their own lives as deemed necessary via Dungeons and Dragons. Whether a character is lawful or chaotic, good, evil, or neutral or any combination of those is important to the plot and comes up quite a lot. It also has the reader question the motivations of the characters, from the lawful good of Temptress Moon to the chaotic good of his crazy ex-girlfriend. I bet it’s that crazy chick who dresses as a Stormtrooper at Harry Potter/horror movie conventions for no good reason.

As a fanfiction superstar who later lucked out and gained a real writing career, Cassandra Clare is no stranger to the nerd fandom. I Never is about people who play RPG onlines having a party and meeting in real life. I particularly appreciate the references to classic literary characters like Heathcliff and books such as Watership Down, but equally appreciate her more popular references to “Buffy” and “Xena”. Props to you Miss Clare. If that is your real name. Which it’s not.

The strangest and longest story is Secret Identity by Kelly Link, which is completely removed from reality. It is written like most Kelly Link stories, with a strange disjointed narrative and a style which is off putting and intriguing all at the same time. In her world, a girl meets a man in an online game and agrees to meet him in a hotel. However, at the same time there is a superhero convention going on, and everyone there are actual superheroes. It’s not just a convention with pretend heroes, it’s a convention with real heroes. These heroes include someone who is a mass of floating goopy blood. I can’t even think of an English major related metaphor for why such a character exists.

There’s so much nerdery in this one little collection that I could not possibly fit it all into one post. Although I certainly wish I could. The Wrath of Dawn talks about a hated character in the “Buffy” fandom, Garth Nix’s The Quiet Knight talks about LARPing, The Truth About Dino Girl is about a girl with an unhealthy dinosaur obsession, This is My Audition Monologue is for theatre nerds, and It’s Just a Jump to the Left by Libba Bray is for all fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The stories that didn’t work so well were One of Us by Tracy Lynn, about a popular girl who pays nerds to teach her how to connect with her boyfriend over LotR and “Star Trek” and magically accepts them for who they are. I didn’t like this story more because it’s extremely implausible. Leopards generally don’t change their spots. The same can be said for Everyone But You which is about a baton twirler who struggles to fit in when she moves to Hawaii. M.T. Anderson’s story The King of Pelinesse was also disappointing, especially since I have read some wonderful short stories from him in the past. I highly recommend his story Watch and Wake in the anthology Gothic.

The little niggling problem I had with the anthology was the comic strips between each story. I’ll probably get a lot of flack for this, but I am not a fan of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s artwork AT ALL. All his characters look the same, both in that they’re all shaped in exactly the same way but with varying degrees of height and I can’t tell any of them apart except that some are men and some are women. It doesn’t help that I really disliked Scott Pilgrim, which I think is a tale about a bunch of horrible hipsters with no ability to hold relationships or be real human beings.

[Neha · Rating 2 out of 5]

picked it up out of morbid curiosity, but wow this is a time capsule of the early twenty-tens "nerd culture" revival. i was in it back then, felt weirdly nostalgic but cringy to reflect upon

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My question is this: How can you not want to read this book? Even if your interest in (any) fandom is casual to the point of 'I kind of remember that blond chick with a pointy stick' this book will have you in stitches, tears or ready to be a more active member of some wonderful community. Whether you are a Trekkie (or is it Trekker now?), Star Wars fan, Whedonite, Otaku or a more obscure fandom (Blake's 7? Does anyone remember that show?) you'll enjoy this book.

It's not perfect, I sometimes wondered if some of the stories rely too heavily on some prior knowledge of the geeky topic at hand or took some of the examples to extremes (though to be fair I knew a guy who literally grew up Klingon. It was the first language he learned--yes before English--started 'developing' forehead ridges around the age of five and who's parents left him out in the wilderness at the age of 13 for a month in the summer for his 'Rite of Passage' ceremony--since beating him with sticks is considered illegal of course. By the time he was twenty-one, you'd be hard-pressed to know that he was human underneath all the make-up, Klingon cursing and bloodwine guzzling), but the book made me feel less odd.

I grew up in a school where sports were #1, academics #2 and theater #3. Geeky things like Star Trek or D&D or comic books came in distant distant last place. Golf was considered cooler then Star Trek or comic book reading. The rare few who were part of the 'Nerd Herd' with me did so in severe secrecy--our school's QB for my 9th and 10th grade years would trade X-Men cards with me under the pretense of me tutoring him in english. The leading 'brain' of the school played Q-Bert down at the shore (a good hour and half away from us) twice a week--far away from anyone who would know him. I was out in the open about my interests, mostly because I had long since given up caring about my image. I got teased, taunted, ridiculed and scorned at (and these were my friends), but I couldn't help that I couldn't fake interest in how badly our school's football team sucked (it was pretty bad).

Some of the stories were simply hilarious, some were moving and some took itself as seriously as a Jedi Master takes going to the dark side. As to be expected of a Compendium of Geekness, pop culture references abound. Subtle (Mr. Pointy for example), not so subtle (pretty much elvish or Klingon word uttered throughout) and the convention oriented (Jedis vs. Klingons vs. Stormtroopers vs. Peacekeepers vs. Cylons....with some Starfleet Cadets/Officers thrown in for good measure).

For anyone who has ever been to a major (or even small) convention you'll probably appreciate the humor behind Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci's story about cosplayers who take things to the extreme, gamers will definitely fall in line with Scott Westerfield's story and Tracy Lynn's story about a cheerleader trying to learn Geek is wonderful. It hits all the fandoms, all the stereotypes and then presents them differently without being insulting.

As I won a copy of the ARC edition, some of the art pages and at least one story was missing. Regardless I think that Geektastic is a great anthology with its own pitfalls, but for the casual Geeky young adult (or hell even an adult) its the perfect gift--either to show them that they aren't that alone in the world or hey you could always be that kid who wears his Jedi robes to school and tries to use the Force to get passing grades.