Cecil Castellucci

I admit that when I first started reading this one, it seemed an awful lot like Salvage, but the two plotlines soon radically diverged, and I enjoyed where this one went. I think my favorite bit is the excellent depiction of alien races -- not so much in detailed description, as in completely foreign emotional reactions. It highlighted Tula's own emotional distance, and her coping mechanisms in a way that I found particularly poignant.

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 show more 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. show less

This is a graphic novel for kids that will appeal to readers of all ages.

Theodora is an odd duck, somewhat obsessive-compulsive and most comfortable with routine and lack of change.

But then the very eccentric (in a different way) duck Chad moves in next door. Chad is colorful, noisy, wild, and messy, and Theodora can’t wait till he flies south for the winter. But to her dismay, he has a broken wing and doesn’t leave.

One night, while Theodora is outside admiring the stars, Chad sees her show more and invites her over to look at them through his telescope. Before they know it, they are talking about everything, and find out they felt the same way about most things in spite of their differences.

Then one day, walking back together through town, they overhear some ducks making fun of “that odd duck.” Each one tries to console the other, thinking it was the other that was the subject of derision. They get into a huge fight about who is actually the odd duck, and stop speaking.

Upon reflection, Theodora, who misses Chad’s friendship, thinks that maybe she could be a bit odd, and goes over to apologize to Chad. Each vows to be “more normal,” although both insist they like the other just the way they are:

"‘It’s not so bad to be odd,’ Theodora thought… not when you have an odd friend.”

The art by Sara Varon is adorable and adds a great deal to the text. Kids will love looking for all the clever and funny details, like the snow angel in the shape of a duck outside the window in winter.

Evaluation: Castellucci, the author of the Tin Star duology, is unrivaled in her embrace of the potential for friendship and love across the boundary lines imposed by convention, countries, races, or even planets. The message conveyed is excellent. show less

Recommended reading for the teen who aspires to more in life than what her peer group tells her she should.

Jane and her parents flee for the suburbs after Jane survives a street bomb attack in Metro City. The event has forever colored her perspective and she no longer identifies with the run-of-the-mill high school atmosphere. She ignores invitations from the popular girls to sit with them and instead discovers her “tribe,” a trio of girls all also named Jane and rejects in their own show more ways: one is brainy, another is a bench-warming athlete, and the other a heavy-set drama diva. The tribe sets out to make their mark in a world they feel sorely needs it: they create “People Loving Art in Neighborhoods,” or PLAIN. Their mission is to create public art by stealth. The art attacks take the town and school by storm, leading to a curfew and a suspension of school activities. The story culminates in PLAIN’s big New Year’s Eve art project. show less