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Dads, Geeks and Blue Haired Freaks

by Ellie Phillips (Goodreads Author)

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 29 ratings · 11 reviews

Sadie Nathanson spends her life trying to survive the excruciating embarrassment of simply existing. It’s hard enough being a bit of a shrinking violet within a loud and outspoken extended family, but the unexpected card from ‘Dad’ on her 15th birthday is the last straw.

As ‘Dad’ was an Internet sperm-donor, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that this is a bad joke, prob...more

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Published September 2012 by Hardie Grant Egmont

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Jul 05, 2012 LH Johnson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

It's Sadie's 15th birthday and, as you do on every birthday, she's got cards. The small problem is that one of these cards comes from her Dad.

See, Sadie doesn't know who her Dad is. He's a sperm-donor who her mum found on the internet, back in the dawn of the online world. And now Sadie's got a card from him.

I really loved this. With a unique, and sympathetic point of view, Phillips tells the story of how Sadie discovers who her father is. It's a bit Mamma Mia if Mamma Mia were set in Hackney an...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Book Angel Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review by Madison

Although getting a birthday card from your Dad on your birthday should be completely normal, for Sadie it is anything but. You see, Sadie's Mum had artificial insemination via a sperm donor website. Therefore, you can imagine how surprised Sadie is to receive this particular birthday card.

At first Sadie thinks it is some kind of cruel joke, but then she starts wondering what it really would be like to meet her biological father. The things that go through her mind are completely...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Vivienne Serendipity Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

If I had to describe this book in one sentence this is what it would be - a realistic teen version of Mama Mia without the music and sunshine! LOL
You can't help but feel a little sorry for Sadie at the beginning of the book. Having to suffer with everyone at school knowing she was a test tube baby must have been hard to deal with. When things get out of hand and Sadie receives a birthday card from her dad on her birthday, she knows she has to find the truth. Everyone would want to know who thei...more If I had to describe this book in one sentence this is what it would be - a realistic teen version of Mama Mia without the music and sunshine! LOL
You can't help but feel a little sorry for Sadie at the beginning of the book. Having to suffer with everyone at school knowing she was a test tube baby must have been hard to deal with. When things get out of hand and Sadie receives a birthday card from her dad on her birthday, she knows she has to find the truth. Everyone would want to know who their parents are. Sadie's journey to discovering the truth is hilarious and heartfelt at the same time. You follow Sadie on her emotional journey as along the way she discovers just how close some family members are and finds a little love too.
You never consider that some people might never be able to find out who their father is, as he only exists as a number on a form from a donor clinic. I actually came away considering how these people dealt with it - never knowing what illnesses they may genetically inherit, unaware of who they may resemble. It is actually quite sad when you think about it. Giving the gift of life is our greatest achievement, yet knowing who gave it to us helps to give us a sense of belonging. In this book, I felt Sadie dealt with it very well.
There are geeks in this book, but you knew that from the title now didn't you? I am not a fan usually of geeks but they are growing on me, besides there is a secret geek in this one,an undercover as a popular kid! I kid you not! Tony is very cute and you guys will adore him.
The hairstyle of the day calendar had me in stitches - oh if only I was so creative! Sadie is a bit of a whizz with hair and if she ever qualifies she can definitely cut my hair!
I adored the humour in this book; Sadie's voice is very original and refreshing and you can't help but love and laugh at her as the story progresses. The story is told in first person, so you get a real feel for who she really is.
The book is set in Hackney, which intrigued me. I am really loving the rise in books set in the UK, who needs America settings when we have good old rain filled Blighty?(less)

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Jun 11, 2012 Clover (Fluttering Butterflies) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-reading-challenge, sent-for-review, books-read-in-2012, ya

This review was originally published at Fluttering Butterflies

I hadn't heard anything about Dads Geeks and Blue Haired Freaks by Ellie Phillips before it landed on my doorstep from the publisher. I really like it when that happens, going into a book free from expectation. And I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was sweet and fun and a great story about identity and family. I absolutely raced through this book and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Especially everything hair-related!

Sadie Nathanson...more This review was originally published at Fluttering Butterflies

I hadn't heard anything about Dads Geeks and Blue Haired Freaks by Ellie Phillips before it landed on my doorstep from the publisher. I really like it when that happens, going into a book free from expectation. And I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was sweet and fun and a great story about identity and family. I absolutely raced through this book and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Especially everything hair-related!

Sadie Nathanson gets a huge shock when on her 15th birthday, she receives a birthday card signed by her 'dad.' Feeling like it could be just bad joke from an ex-friend, Sadie decides to nip the joke in the bud anyway and track down her sperm donor father anyway, just so she'll know. She enlists the help of her geeky cousin, Billy, and his equally geeky friend and goes for it.

This was such a great story. I felt really bad for Sadie, as she's struggling with who she is and frustrated that her mother won't tell her who her father is, she sets off on this quest to figure out her identity. I really loved how great of a support network that Sadie has in place already, with her aunt and uncle so nearby and ready and willing to give her advice and be there for her. Despite the falling out with a friend, Sadie also has her cousin and his friend around and she also vents to an online mate, which was cute and just what Sadie needed.

The added hair calendar which Sadie takes as inspiration to give herself different hair styles everyday made things so much fun, and I was really laughing at some of Sadie's interactions with possible fathers. It seemed as though things were veering into somebody already in Sadie's life possibly being her father and I was screaming 'nooooooo!' in my head furiously as I really wanted Sadie and her family unit to remain just as it is. Hopefully without spoiling anything, I will say that I'm very happy with the way things turned out. I loved Sadie as a character and her sweet relationships with the people in her life and I wanted things to work out for her. (less)

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Jun 10, 2012 SJH (A Dream of Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, young-adult, contemporary-ya

The premise of this book is interesting and tackled a subject that I hadn't really read about before. On Sadie's fifteenth birthday she receives a card from her Dad. An ordinary enough event except for the fact that Sadie doesn't know who her Dad is - he was a sperm donor. So she sets out to track him down with the help of her cousin and his friend. Sperm donation isn't a topic that you usually see featured in teen fiction but I like the fact that the author Ellie Phillips wasn't afraid to write...more

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May 05, 2012 Meagan Kashty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Egmont's new imprint Electric Monkey has provided me with a lot of interesting YA reads in the past few months. While the prospect of a teen searching for her sperm donor-dad might seem off putting, don't be thrown by the premise of this book. While Sadie's search for her father serves as the framework for this story, it's ultimately about a teen trying to create her own identity and struggling to find her place in the world. Her trials and tribulations, whether it be with family, friends, or ba...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

What drew my attention straight away about this book is the cover. I love how it features Sadie and her blue streaked hair, it fits perfectly with the theme of the book and also Sadie herself.
Dads, Geeks & Blue Haired Freaksstarts out with Sadie celebrating her birthday and opening a card off her Dad, someone she has never met. Hiding the card from most of her family, her cousin Billy being one of the few people in the know about the card, Sadie sets out to find out who her Dad really is. Fr...more What drew my attention straight away about this book is the cover. I love how it features Sadie and her blue streaked hair, it fits perfectly with the theme of the book and also Sadie herself.
Dads, Geeks & Blue Haired Freaks starts out with Sadie celebrating her birthday and opening a card off her Dad, someone she has never met. Hiding the card from most of her family, her cousin Billy being one of the few people in the know about the card, Sadie sets out to find out who her Dad really is. From the moment I stared reading I didn't want to stop. I wanted to take the journey with Sadie and find out if she finds her real Dad or not.

I love how Sadie tells it how it is, and the whole ramble about haircuts and how she made her cousin popular had me laughing. She is very into hair and styling and even know how to get more customers into her own salon when she is older. A gift she got as a birthday present was a 'hairstyle a day' calender which was the perfect gift for her, and it was amusing to see her try out the different styles.
I really admire Sadie for having the courage courage to do what she does, not only to stand up to the bullies but also to try to find her real father. I doubt I would have had the courage to do either of these things if I was her age.
I really liked the close knit family she has, they may be an eclectic mix of people but all together in the same room are very entertaining. Really liked how her cousin Billy is supportive of her search for he Dad and even though he wants her to ask her mum he still helps her.

The characters and world Ellie has created were easy to imagine and relate to. The information given to us in the pages of Dads, Geeks & Blue Haired Freaks made it easy to imagine the community Sadie lives in, her sense of hair fashion, and the amount of investigative work that went into the search for her Dad. Dads, Geeks & Blue Haired Freaks is a quick, light read but it doesn't lack for anything. Each character had their own distinct personality and it was easy to distinguih them from each other, especially with the nicknames Sadie gives to some (Nodding Tony) I enjoyed every minute of reading this book and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Ellie Philips has done a great job of writing a story about real problems that others a facing, but manages to add humour and life lessons into it, and whether or not Sadie finds her real Dad, she has also learnt more about herself, her family and her friends.(less)

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Jul 04, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: geek-week, read-in-2012

I was sold on the title alone when I first heard about this book because I have blue hair and I'm a geek and therefore felt like I simply HAD to get my hands on a copy of this book to read asap! The story is simple but it's the fun getting from A to B that made really enjoy reading Dads, Geeks and Blue Haired Freaks. Sadie has just turned 15 and it's the night of her family birthday meal when things take a turn in her life. She's always known she is the result of a mystery sperm donation that he...more I was sold on the title alone when I first heard about this book because I have blue hair and I'm a geek and therefore felt like I simply HAD to get my hands on a copy of this book to read asap! The story is simple but it's the fun getting from A to B that made really enjoy reading Dads, Geeks and Blue Haired Freaks. Sadie has just turned 15 and it's the night of her family birthday meal when things take a turn in her life. She's always known she is the result of a mystery sperm donation that her mum got from an internet company but when she gets a birthday card from her Dad she doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know who or where her dad is and as far as she knows her "dad" doesn't know where she is to even send a card. Sadie loves her family (even with their crazy traits) and she doesn't know how to tell them that her dad has made contact especially because she's not 100% sure it isn't just a horrid joke by her ex BBF Shonna. She tells her cousin Billy and his mate, band mate and the school sworn fest Tony Cruz to work out what to do next. They go on a mission to find out who Sadie's real dad and it takes a fair about of searching, computer tricks and hair styles.

Starting out this book I was enjoying the story but it took a while to really kick in for me because it's not until we meet all the supporting cast and the task of finding Sadie's dad starts that it really grabbed me. Plus the school grading system was lost on me and I wasn't sure where it was set until you actually get told it's in I loved the quirky chapter starters with the hair styles of the day and how they kind of reflected Sadie's mood each day and made me want to try them out but i'm not as naturally talented as Sadie….though I do share her love of the coloured hair. Sadie was a nice and fun character and Ellie Philips really made me understand her confident side she hides within her and the bundle of nerves and teenage confusion and angst the rest of the world tends to see. She's unique in style and independent but she's also lonely because of it and finds solace online chatting to fellow lost souls that try to cheer her up and boost her confidence.

Dads, Geeks and Blue Haired Freaks is a loveable and enjoyable story about a girl who finds out who she is and what she's made of when she goes looking for her biological dad. It takes a while for to realise that maybe she doesn't need to know who her dad is but can she really stop looking now that she keeps getting closer and has her dream guy and geeky cousin helping her. The real joy I got out of this book was how it really says that being yourself is a great thing because trying to fit in or pretend won't do you any good. Being honest with yourself is one of the best qualities a person can have because it lets you be honest with those around you. Sadie has people that love her for being herself. Her family always stand by her even if they can be a bit over barring at times, i adored her school librarian who seemed a kindred spirits of sorts that gives advice when she needs it and Tony is that guy we all would have liked to have noticed us at school. Cool but effortless and a bit of a geek too.

An entertaining read that was easy to read and had a marvellous moral to boot!(less)

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Sep 25, 2012 Joanna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hilarious, quirky, light touching on a difficult subject. Believable Filippino and Jewish references and great local colour.

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Nov 10, 2012 Tabitha Munyaka rated it 3 of 5 stars

just finished i liked it even though it's not like the books i read

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May 23, 2012 Raimy rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

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About Ellie Phillips

Ellie Phillips is a children's writer. Her first novel, Dad's Geeks and Blue-Haired Freaks was published by Egmont in 2012 and its follow-up, Scissors, Sisters and Manic Panics will be available from June 2013.

Her childhood home was a flat above her parents' bookstore and she spent a lot of time sitting under the shop counter reading the stock and wishing there were more novels like Forever by Jud...more

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