Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Yep, still love this series. I am convinced that it is the perfect read aloud for middle schoolers. Last year, I read the first book aloud and had a captive audience every day. Maybe it was due to my dynamic reading that could win a Grammy, or maybe it was the great characters. Either way, the kids loved the book. Nerd Girls: A Catastrophe of Nerdish Proportions is no different. This book should be read aloud!

Let me start by saying that the biting sarcasm of the narrator is fabulous. I love show more the self-deprecating humor and I think students can relate to it as well. Middle school is all about finding your self-esteem and your place in the food chain, which Mo does with biting sarcasm and “real” humor. I laughed out loud in so many places, I’m sure the people around me wondered whether I was really reading or not on my Kindle. I knew this would be another hit when I read Mo’s description of a “squeaker” in the first chapter! I nearly chocked on my tea I laughed so hard.

Like the author’s other novels, these fun, quirky books actually have a hard lesson hidden between the pages. As I said, middle school is a treacherous time and most kids have a hard time finding where they fit in. The characters in this book are no different. What is different, though, is the positive message that you will find. Do the three misfits transform from ducklings into swans? Hardly. They are still awkward and unpopular at the end, but that doesn’t matter because they have self-worth and a place. I really like how the group of three grew in this book. The fact that they accepted another member into the Nerd Herd was great. The side story dealing with Maureen’s (MO) absent-until-now father was also important. Many kids struggle with not knowing their fathers (or other members of their family) and it’s a hard thing to deal with. Mr. Sitomer does a nice job showing the struggles kids might have with this situation through humor. I think many kids will find themselves relating to Mo once again.

I highly recommend this book (and series). It’s fabulous! I’ve already ordered my copy of this book to read aloud again this year. I promise you will not be disappointed if you do the same. show less

This book is definitely one that would appeal to middle and secondary school students. While there is much fun and adventure, life lessons are clear and valuable. The ending is not perfect and everyone doesn't become friends, but it is happy and everything works out well. The Nerd Girls come out ahead but not in the way you might expect. The descriptions of the scholastic competition so very true to life, and I say that as a former teacher of gifted/talented classes and academic coach. show more Situations like in the book really do happen and there are frustrations in academic competitions just like in sports. The humor will catch the attention of students and the story is far from preachy. show less

Nerd Girls: The Rise of the Dorkasaurus is a very predictable (if unlikely) story about three unpopular kids bonding together to bring down the popular clique. They plan to do this by winning the school talent show, which has been dominated by the popular clique's professionally choreographed cheerleading routine for the past two years. The problem, of course, is that the Nerd Girls don't have any talents to speak of.

It's hard to figure out who the anticipated audience is for Nerd Girls. It show more seems to be trying to piggyback on the success of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, as it's the same sort of humor. However, the publisher is marketing it to an older age bracket (grades 6 and up). Most girls in middle and high school will not appreciate the potty humor and silly name-calling in the story, and boys (who might still appreciate the humor) will not touch it because it's a book about three girls. This book, if it appealed to anyone, might appeal to third-graders, so if the main characters had been sixth-graders, it would have made more sense.

Perhaps more problematic than the recommended age range is the writing style, which feels forced and superficial, like a comedian trying his hand at writing for children, without knowing any actual children on which to base his characters' actions (Sitomer is, in fact, a high-school teacher, which makes the failure of characterization and dialogue all the more puzzling). The main character is completely unsympathetic; her every interaction with other characters is marked by sarcasm, name-calling, and a generally unpleasant attitude. It's also obvious that the girl characters are being written by a man, one who does not recognize that there are emotional and developmental differences between eight-grade girls and eight-grade boys.

To add to the already numerous problems, the main character merits her "outcast" status by merit of being overweight, but only because she is constantly shoveling junk food in her mouth. When she makes up her mind to exercise and watch what she eats, she immediately starts dropping weight and feeling better. This kind of over-simplifying and stereotyping of overweight people may bother readers who struggle with their own weight, as the message the author is sending is that people are overweight because they are lazy and eat all the time, and if they would just try a little harder, they could easily lose weight. The other two nerdy characters are also stereotyped and one-dimensional: one is an allergy sufferer who totes around some sort of tank (apparently a normal inhaler wasn't funny or dorky enough) which she breathes from to combat allergic reactions. The other character is clutzier than Bella Swan, always falling over or banging her head against things hard enough to raise a lump, but her otherwise perfect parents don't seem to have the brains to take her to an inner-ear specialist and see if there's some physical issue causing this debilitating clumsiness.

This book may find a readership among young readers who enjoy scatological humor and don't mind the flaws in the writing, but there are so many better books available on the topic of popularity that it should be easy to pass this one up. show less

McCutcheon Daniel's mother left him with his father. His father is a washed up fighter that came close but never made it to the top. He is now a drunk that uses McCutcheon to fulfill his dream of being a champion. McCutcheon also has to take care of his five year old sister without much help from dad. McCutcheon is a promising young MMA fighter on the underworld circuit of Detroit. He is rising up the ranks and his father uses him to win bets and fuel his drinking and womanizing. Meanwhile, show more McCutcheon wants a better life. He is really intelligent and his science teacher sees promise and the chance for a better life. When McCutcheon wins a lottery to be accepted at a prestigious school and make a better life he faces a lot of choices. Can he walk away from his father and the illegal fighting? How does he care for his sister and keep her safe from the Priests (the gang that runs the underworld in Detroit)? Where is his mother and why did she leave? Great action with a lot of responsibility for a high school kid. Action packed with a twist at then end. Excellent read! show less