Talon P.S.'s Blog

~ 4 Stars ~
Review of REASONS TO LOVE A NERD LIKE ME, by Becky Jerams

YA / Contemporary Romance / M-M / Coming-of-Age

*copy provided by Author for Honest Review

Reviewed by Jaycee ~ for Books ‘N Cozy Spots Book Reviews, www.Talon-ps.com

Scotty Williams is the nerdiest 17-year-old at UK-based Havensdale College – and proud of it. However being a nerd can have its downsides, particularly when you’re constantly being targeted by the school bully Taylor Raven and his cronies. As Scotty tries to navigate his final college years with the aid of his best friend Olive, he also finds himself on the radar of the mysterious and intimidating Vincent Hunter, toughest guy in the Sixth Form. Is Vincent really as bad as he seems? Will Scotty’s darkest secret ever be revealed? Can he ever just finish his last few college years in peace? But most importantly… will any guy ever find the reasons to love a nerd like him?

It seems an old broad like me can still recall and appreciate Secondary School/College years, the utter hell it often was just to be that age, and the effort it took to navigate its course. And while like most of us, I experienced random bullying in some form or another, I never did have to face it as a routine, nor did I have to face it because I was gay. Over the years I have read and reviewed many excellent if heart-rending stories with this theme, but this is the first YA story I have read and the whole idea of a young teen in formative years dealing with this BS day-in and day-out, was both sad and anger-producing.

However, as presented, it was also hugely inspiring, for super-achiever Scotty was blessed with a good home and parents who were both in-touch and supportive, and despite personal tragedy when young, he had had some terrific if unconventional friends in whom he also found the personal sustenance that allowed him to be fully in-touch with himself. This was less a story about how one young man tried to avoid confrontation, but rather, how he dealt with it head-on, with positivity and a depth of character that belied his years.

Resolution was hard-won and not without a good serving of the angst that is inherent in these years, but it fit these years and these characters and as such, rang-true. There were some fun supporting characters, some characters who saw the light and some who are, and evermore shall be asshats, world-without-end-amen. That’s life. Its never perfect, seldom pretty, but its lessons can make-you rather than break-you, and this tale was an engagingly wonderful example of the latter.

REASONS TO LOVE A NERD LIKE ME also received the following ratings:

ROMANCE FACTOR ~ 4 HEARTS ~