Review : The Summer I Became A Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : The Summer I Became A Nerd
Author : Leah Rae Miller
Publication Date : May 7th 2013
Publisher : Entangled Teen
Goodreads - The Book Depository

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.


Personal Thoughts

The Summer I Became A Nerd was fun, quirky and nerdy stand-alone novel that completely took me by surprise. It wasn't just a cutesy novel about a romance, but it had an underlying depth to it that I thought made this book also realistic.

Maddie was a huge nerd pretending to live the life of a popular girl. She was not entirely likable and could grate on my nerves at time. She was pretending this person that she obviously disliked but afraid of what others might think if they know who the real is, she continued this popular girl drama. It frustrated me that she would not let the real her emerge already. Others' opinions about her was more important to her than her own happiness. Despite that, I felt like Maddie was realistic. She was struggling to bring out to the world the nerd that she was. I understood her dilemma, after all, she was a teenager and that's exactly the kind of situation that teenagers face. Over the course of the book, Maddie does grow a lot and by the end of the book, she faces reality with a level-headed mentality. For me, the shining star of this book was most definitely, Logan. He was such a nerdy, adorable and cute guy. I loved his personality and he would light up the scene when he was in it. He was also a completely down-to-earth guy. In short, Logan was the nice boy that most YA seem to lack these days. His friend, Dan, was another beacon of light in this book. He was sarcastic, rude and completely hilarious. I love the friendship he and Logan had and I could see why Logan considered him his best friend. I hope the author decides to write a story for him one of these days!

The romance was definitely my favorite part of The Summer I Became A Nerd. It was the kind of romance that gave me butterflies in the stomach and had me smiling every time Logan and Maddie would interact. Their relationship was realistic, developed at a nice pace and gave me warm and fuzzy feelings. What made this book an even funner read was the nerdy elements to it. The comic books, the video games role-playing and the nerdy characters all made up for a highly entertaining book. I also liked how this book was about Maddie finding out who she really was and coming to terms with it because it spreads an important message.

The Summer I Became A Nerd is definitely a book that will appeal to all teenagers because it is such a sweet and touching story. If you're looking for a fun, Lola and the Boy Next Door-esque book to read, definitely check this one. You won't regret it!

Rating
Cover : 3/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Big thanks to Entangled Teen for the e-ARC of The Summer I Became A Nerd.