Review: Geek Girl by Holly Smale

 

Title: Geek Girl

Author: Holly Smale

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication date: 28th February 2013

Format: ebook | Netgalley

Genre: YA | Contemporary 

 

 

Harriet Manners knows a lot of things. She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves. 

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did. 

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

My thoughts:

Every one in a while, I like a nice, cute read that makes me giggle occasionally. This book certainly made me smile and made me feel all fuzzy inside with all its talk of not being afraid to be who you are or not changing for everybody else's benefit. 

From the very first page I fell in love with Harriet's personality. She's really bubbly and charismatic with the way she would come out with facts nobody would ever think they need to know and how she just happens to be the clumsiest person ever. I also loved how she would interact with all of the other characters, especially Nick. As soon as Nick left the picture I would be rushing to turn the pages, impatiently waiting for him to reappear. 

I thought Nat and Toby were really great supporting characters. Toby just made me laugh outright with his obsession with Harriet - he was the funniest stalker ever and I mean that in the best way possible. Nat, however, was really well written. I thought she did everything that a best friend is supposed to. I really hate books where best friends are just there for another character to 'hang out with'. They serve no purpose. But Harriet and Nat reminded me of myself and my own best friend. We fight when we disagree - that's the reality of it - but we make each other better people for it and we know that when we do get into an argument, we're fine the day after. 

As for the plot, I thought it was a general feel good story. A girl has her problems, insecurities and the like, she faces even more problems when she tries to resolve the initial hardships and then comes out better for it in the end. It's not one of those really complicated plots where you have no idea what's going to happen. I knew what was going to happen and how the book would end from the beginning but I enjoyed it nevertheless. 

Overall, I thought this was a great read for anybody who likes a sweet story once in a while. I would definitely recommend it - if nothing else, I can guarantee it will make you laugh at the very least. 

My rating: 8/10

Holly Smale

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