Embracing my Inner Geek/Geek Girl by Holly Smale Review

April 27, 2013

Rules:
  • Link back to Queen of Contemporary- this is a feature that I've created on my own and so I'd like to be given credit.
  • Add the official EMIG header to your post. Designed by the lovely Emma, this is a graphic that will look brilliant alongside your own EMIG posts.
  • Geek out! This is supposed to be a really fun post and so seriousness is NOT ALLOWED!
  • Add your link to the linky below so that other people can find your EMIG posts.
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
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?
Book Depository -  - Goodreads -  - HarperCollins -

Hi, 116 + 47 Bloglovin followers (thanks so much, you guys truly rock)!
Today I have a special post because Lucy from Queen of Contemporary is currently celebrating her one year blogaversary and requested that fellow book bloggers take part in her meme "Embracing my Inner Geek". I just finished reading Geek Girl by Holly Smale and reading it I had my own geeky metamorphose, so I thought I could combine a review as well as Embracing my Inner Geek.
Geek Girl was a book that I had very high expectations of and would do anything to receive a copy. It was my first ever book depository order so I did more then just a little happy dance when it arrived yesterday. Geek Girl made me so happy, and I really can't flaw it. Harriet was a awesome character as were most of the characters in Geek Girl. Harriet was relatable and spoke for all of us Geeks out there and made us proud to be one. She was real, smart, strong, kind, incredibly funny and a great narrator. The only fitting word for her was AWESOME.

But the other characters were great too and I loved that Harriet's father and step-mother were involved in this story. Her parents were loveable because they were both supportive and funny and I love that Annabel (Harriet's stepmom) was not evil and how the two got on really well. There were also other characters that featured in this book like Toby (her stalker) and Nat (her best friend) who were likeable but real. There was even a bit of a romance that certainly didn't take away from the plot and didn't actually feature that much. But was still fun to read.

As I mentioned above, I really went on a little geeky metamorphose. I've always been a Geek but this book really fuelled that geek activism and pride. Being a Geek is not a bad thing at all.

Geek definition in "Geek Girl" by Holly Smale


“Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.”
- Simon Pegg (Actor)


One of the important things I learned whilst reading 'Geek Girl' is how being a Geek is not something to be ashamed of. I know that's hard to believe if you are continuously thrown names because you like reading, getting good grades or if you wear glasses. Names like loser, weird, odd or strange, and I'm sure we've all be called by at least one of those names. But these names are a better judgement of the person that is mean enough to throw labels on people who are different. Being a "Geek" is a form of self-expression, not something to be looked down upon. Geeks are stereotyped as the weak, unsocial lower class in which many movies are bullied by the stereotypical popular kid. 

However that is wrong, I personally don't get why liking something like reading suddenly categorises us as having those qualities. Well to be honest I don't get why people don't read, but still people should accept other people's interests wether they share them or not. It's stupid right? Holly Smale taught me that I should be proud of my hobbies and my interest in crazy facts and "Geek Girl" was a really inspiring novel. So hence the meme name, you should "Embrace your Inner Geek". If I had one of those Geek badges I would wear it would pride and I think you should too.
Geek Girl was a really funny book that I couldn't put down. It was inspirational and a wonderful debut for author Holly Smale (really talented). From the cool geeky cover to the great characters, this was a book I could not fault. It's one of my favourite novels and it was one that made my geeky-self really happy, so go out and read it the first chance you get.


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16 comments

  1. This is such a fantastic review Sunny! I love how your blog has grown and the labels, for example, "My thoughts" are gorgeous! How did you make them?

    Geek Girl is amazing right? And you read it so fast. I'm glad you're joining in with the Geek Out and just like you, I found this book so inspirational!

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  2. Aaah I NEED to read this book! Great review, and I love those quotes about geeks. I'm just about as geekish as one can get. :D

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  3. Ah, great! I love how you combined it- it's a brilliant review for a book I really must read. Stupid TBR is so big...
    I consider myself sort of small (not just height wise, I just can be really cross-clique shall I say?) but still proud geek. I think that it's interesting how I can feel normal among geeks (introverts?) or among extroverts & hope that you all can? That way geeks can shine! Suppose they are at least in literature & blogging- HOORAY FOR GEEK GIRL(S) :D

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  4. I liked this one too! It was so much fun :) Glad you liked it too :)

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  5. I really want to read this book!! My friend said that I'm a book geek because sometimes I read even on break times. But she said with joking tone and she never insulted/look down on me because I read. Most of my friends don't mind people who like to read. :)

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  6. Great post! I loved that book. :) Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    Amber
    The Mile Long Bookshelf

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  7. I LOVE Geek Girl! The fun facts are awesome and I love how she is proud to be a geek at the end.

    Great post! I love this feature! Here's mine: http://bookhi.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/embracing-my-inner-geek.html

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  8. It's so nice to see that you've posted this, Sunny, because Geek Girl was my main inspiration behind Embracing My Inner Geek. I'm so glad that you enjoyed the book and I also agree that being a geek isn't a bad thing.

    Thank you so much for participating! :)

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  9. Love your blog! It's absolutely adorable! After reading your review of Geek Girl, I want to go out and get it myself, even though it's not my normal reading material. xD Great review! :)

    Thanks for stopping by! Followed back. :)
    Daphne @ Reading Until Dawn

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  10. Aww, I really need to read this book now! Fabulous review! Any book that promotes embracing our inner geek seems like my kind of read ! =D

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  11. Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to do a guest post for my blog??
    www.ramblingsofayoutubeaddict.blogspot.com
    Email me at mooshka99@btinternet.com

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  12. Hi Sunny - What a fab write up! It really touches me when people connect with my book and my characters; they are so very dear to me. I honestly believe everybody has an inner Geek: no matter how "cool" they pretend they are on the surface. And it's the little bit of all of us we should hang on to. It's what makes us all unique.

    Lots of love and hope to see more from you in future.

    Holly Smale xxx

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  13. Oh my goodness, absolutely love the Simon Peggy quote and Geek Girl is amazing! The way it deals with the characters insecurities and how she grows to accept who she is pretty much blew me away :D
    Great post, Sunny!

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  14. This sounds amazing! I haven't heard too much about it before, but I'll definitely have to check it out now. The premise sounds hilarious and I'm so glad that the characters are great. Awesome review :)

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  15. Aww, yay! It's so true, being a geek or a nerd is nothing to be ashamed of! I haven't heard a whole lot about Geek Girl, but Harriet definitely sounds cool!!

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  16. Hi Sunny! First of thanks for stopping by and following I follow back ;)

    I've heard of this book but honestly I avoid these that remind me of chick-lit. I should get to read this as it sounds really funny! Great review! :) Happy reading :)

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