The Rise of the Dorkasaurus

The Nerd Girls #1

by Alan Sitomer

Maureen, a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed dork-a-saurus, is totally addicted to cupcakes and hot dogs and thinks that her body looks like a baked potato. Allergy-plagued Alice can’t touch a mango without breaking out in a rash, and if she eats wheat, her vision goes blurry. Klutzy to the extreme, Barbara is a beanpole who often embarrasses herself in front of the whole school. These outcasts don't have much in common--other than the fact that they are often targets of the the Pretty, Popular, Perfect girls who rule the school. But one day Maureen discovers that the ThreePees are planning to sit next to Allergy Alice in the cafeteria and eat peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches on whole wheat toast with mango marmalade for lunch. And Maureen decides that it's time to topple the eight-grade social regime. She joins forces with Alice and Barbara and the Nerd Girls enter the school talent show, determined to take the crown from the ThreePees. Will their routine be enough to de-throne the popular crowd? Or will their plan backfire and shake their hold on the bottom rung of the social ladder?

Genres: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Teen, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Friendship, Juvenile

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2011

About the author

Alan Lawrence Sitomer is a California Teacher of the Year award winner and the founder of The Writer’s Success Academy. In addition to having been an inner-city high school English teacher and former professor in the Graduate School Of Education at Loyola Marymount University, Mr. Sitomer is a nationally renowned keynote speaker who specializes in engaging underperforming students. To date, Mr. Sitomer has authored 16 books with works ranging from hard-hitting YA novels like CAGED WARRIOR, HOMEBOYZ, THE HOOPSTER and HIP-HOP HIGH SCHOOL to humorous and warm children’s picture books such as DADDIES DO IT DIFFERENT and DADDY’S ZIGZAGGING BEDTIME STORY. Alan lives in Los Angeles where he just finished writing the movie script adaptation for his novel CAGED WARRIOR.

Reviews

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable YA book. Three young outcast girls group together to compete in a talent contest instead of the mean girls who usually win. Its an excellent story of friendship and self discovery. 😊

[Kaethe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maureen is shaped like a baked potato, and eats cookies when stressed. There are three popular girls who are pretty: one is stupid and one is vapid and one is evil.

I couldn't stick with it past the stereotyped characters to find out what the plot might be, although I could guess. It read like the novelization of a Disney Channel movie.

Library copy.

[Lisa Calvert]

in a sentence or so: three nerdish eight grade girls form an alliance in an attempt to take the highly coveted talent show victory from the popular girls. along the way, they make many discoveries about one another and become true friends.

Maureen, Alice, and Barbara each have their own unique brand of nerd. Maureen's body type is best described as a baked potato and she becomes a youtube sensation when the popular girls record her acting like a complete loon in defense of previously unknown Alice. Alice, who is at the root of Maureen's total humiliation, is allergic to anything and everything. constantly sucking on an inhaler is not exactly breaking down any social barriers for Alice. with Barbara, she's skinny as a rail and clutzy to the extreme. consistently tripping over her own feet, she spends more time saying "no, no, i'm okay!" than breathing.

quite without knowing it...or even wanting it... Maureen finds herself paired up with Allergy Alice and Beanpole Barbara at lunch. apparently, they are friends now, which Maureen finds humiliating. i mean, sure, she's the fat one...but she's not as bad as they are, right? regardless, they stick to her like glue and she's starting to get used to it. maybe, though she would never admit this to either of them, even likes having them around.

the girls bond over putting together a talent show routine to end all talent show routines in hopes of taking the coveted victory away from the Three-Pees. they are so named because they are Pretty, Popular, and Perfect. they are also awful. they constantly find ways to put down the Nerd Girls and generally make everyone else's life a living hell. what better way for the Nerd Girls to get revenge than to take away the one thing the Three-Pees want the most - the eighth grade talent show trophy?

the girls discover more about each other, and themselves, as they put together their routine. they learn about each other's families and that everyone has a reason for who they are, for good or for bad. they find out that they really do need each other and come to rely on each other though all the crap the Three-Pees through at them. they don't think they can change the world for nerd girls everywhere...but they can find the confidence to live their lives the way they want to and be happy while doing so.

Maureen, the narrator, is a snarky little thing and i loved her. her own inner torment kept her authentic and vulnerable to the reader, which helped connect me to the story and the other characters. while i realize that an eight grade talent show is small potatoes, to them it was important. that's something for all of us to remember - especially those of us who spend time with young people. just because it isn't important to you, doesn't mean it isn't important to them.

for a surprisingly deep, funny, and heartwarming middle-grade read about three dorky girls trying to make it the only way they know how, give this one a shot.

fave quote: "I'm not just un-cool; I'm anti-cool. I mean, I even know how to properly use a semicolon in a sentence. What could be more pathetic than that?" (9 | 230 Nook)

fix er up: some of the phrases were already dated, or will be soon. but, perhaps that adds to the allure of the nerdishness.

[Alanna (The Flashlight Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am I allowed to say how much I LOVED this book? It was hysterical. Seriously. I snorted many a time while reading.I have to admit that I am a big fan of Alan Sitomer's books. I've read them all. Although he doesn't typically write books that I can relate to personally, my students adore his writing. They really hit home for teens in urban environments. Homeboyz, Hoopster, Hip Hop High School, and The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez are geared towards older teen readers (high school); but, Nerd Girls is perfect for middle school students! I have found the perfect read aloud book for my class next year. It's funny enough to keep their attention, and a perfect segue into some "harder" more traditional readings. You know you have to suck the kids in!

Don't read this book if you're looking for deep, complex characters. It's not here. I'll admit that Maureen, aka "Mo," does under go a transformation throughout the novel. She's highly cynical and out right sarcastic (and I love it) for the majority of the book. By spending time with the other "nerd girls" and social outcasts of the 8th grade, she starts to develop real friendships. During this time her self image changes and she realizes that she has something to offer the world, even if she is the subject of an embarrassing top video on YouTube. Another great character is Allergy Alice. She undergoes a transformation throughout the book as well. Now, mind you that Allergy Alice is an absolute hot mess. She's practically allergic to air and everything else she comes in contact with. Her friendship with Beanpole Barbara and Maureen give her confidence and help her to cope with her fears. It's a really nice story of friendship perfect for middle school students.

If you're like me and you tend to be over the top sarcastic, this book is perfect for you. You'll enjoy the witty narrator and the other characters. It is so tongue-in-cheek (but in a middle school friendly way) that I can't wait to read it again. My students are going to die laughing, I just know it! I even bought two hardback (full price mind you) copies today! One for myself and one for my BFF that is teaching 7th grade with me next year. I'm making her read this to her students as well. As a matter of fact, I'm going to call her around 7 a.m. tomorrow morning to tell her that.

[Emily McCord · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mom, this situation calls for chocolate...It's what I like to call a Double Fudger." I am a huge Dorkasaurus fan, firmly in Maureen's corner as she does battle with the ThreePees - Pretty, Popular, and Perfect.

I wish I were a Language Arts teacher, because this character is the best demonstration of voice I have ever seen in teen literature. Maureen is hilarious, in a darkly sarcastic way that should be uncomfortable coming from an eighth grader but isn't. She describes herself and the Nerd Girls as "the leftover grapes at the bottom of the bowl." Her acceptance of her own unacceptability is challenged as she stands up for her Nerd Girl friends over and over again.

I love the ongoing battles between the Nerd Girls and the ThreePees - what villains! Middle school girls are cruel, and the ThreePees are over the top. The reader is dying to see the Nerd Girls crush them, but (spoiler alert)the author turns away from revenge at the last minute and focuses on the personal growth Maureen and her crew experience through their friendship. Unfortunately, their sense of justice is a little twisted - Maureen chooses not to tell on the ThreePees, even though they are clearly in the wrong. As a teacher of children who come from the "snitches get stitches" culture, this is not a message I like. However, it could serve as a starting point for a great discussion about justice - a favorite topic of the teacher, Mr. Piddles. (The nicknames are beyond funny throughout the book.)

In the age of Twilight and Bieber, it is about time for a protagonist like Maureen, who uses "dorkasaurus" and "freakazoid" as terms of endearment. This is a girl who has a voice and knows her mind, even as her image of herself begins to change.

[L_manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first started reading this, I thought I was going to hate it. The beginning really turned me off. I'm glad I stuck with it however, as there were a lot of really good things about it. I'll start with what I didn't like first. The main character, Maureen, was not that sympathetic. I understand self-deprecation, but Maureen was a little too harsh on herself and everyone else she saw. Also, she didn't really read like a female character. It really did come across as a guy trying his best to get into the head of a tween girl, and it just didn't quite succeed for me.

I loved the general story though. Trying to get back at the mean girls is probably not the best motivation in the world, but it worked well in how it gave the Nerd Girls a chance to form true bonds of friendship. I liked that the ending wasn't completely resolved, but it still made me feel good about what happened. I think the idea of acceptance of people no matter their quirks is very important, and I think it was handled really well in this book.

Overall, I ended up enjoying the book a lot. That surprised me when I considered how I felt in the beginning. I think that girls will really enjoy the "girl power" in this book, and hopefully it can help them feel better about loving themselves as they are. So over all, I give this book the thumbs up.

Galley provided by publisher for review.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get ready to relive middle school while enjoying a riotous romp with the self-proclaimed Nerd Girls, three teens who don't fit into the middle school social sphere. They're what "The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth" calls cafeteria fringe. Q suffers from allergies that glue her to her inhaler as though it's an extra appendage; Maureen is "shaped like a potato," the result of her convenience store diet of stale cupcakes; and Beanpole is a complete klutz who trips over air (I can relate). Once they join forces, nothing can stop them, and in their quest to win the schools talent show, they they learn some valuable lessons about their families, their teachers, their crushes, and themselves and the power of friendship.
Alan does play into stereotypes, but his use of hyperbole, paradoxically, gives the characters a cartoonish feel while also investing them with humanity. The three nerds aren't flat, and I love Maureen's dry wit and sarcastic middle school tone.
More importantly, "Nerd Girls" takes on an important school issue with humor: How do students and teachers handle bullying? Sometimes we need some levity in the midst of a crisis, and teens will find themselves draw to "Nerd Girls" for it's humor and compassion.

[Mary Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maureen doesn't have friends, and after an embarrassing video is unleashed on Youtube, she doesn't even have hope, but when she becomes loosely associated with two other losers, things begin to change.

The best thing about this book is the well-developed characters. The author doesn't rely on stereotypes, she creates real, three dimensional girls who aren't perfect, but are a lot of fun.

Maureen has a great sense of humor and talks with a sarcastic and dry wit that is a refreshing change of pace from the overly simplistic dialogue in cheap pre-teen lit. This book is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and middle school girls will love it.

[Roxie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad this book was recommended to me by a close friend. The only thing I'm sorry about is that it took me so long to finally sit down and start to read it. What an awesome book. I cannot believe my reluctance to put it down. So, as I sit here at 2 am finally finishing the last pages I'm also wondering...does Walmart have book two? This is because I feel the need to continue reading right away. Who else ia open at this hour? Alan Sitomer is a genius. He's incorporated just enough sarcasm to keep you laughing and reading. I cannot wait to see what the Nerd Girls will accomplish next.

[J New · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars to be precise... I was not enamored at first as the characters were rather overdrawn and unlikable but as it went through their geeky charm grew on me like a fungus or perhaps ear wax... the bad kids were a little too cliched, but it feels like the characters were developing by the end and I could see following them in a sequel...

Cute book for middle-school girls, though guys will probably run!

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maureen equates herself to a baked potato. When she defends Allergy Alice with a crazy peanut butter and mango dance -- and becomes a youtube sensation -- Allergy Alice and Beanpole Barbara befriend her. But does she want to be friends with those losers? No way! It would kill whatever chance she had at popularity. However, slowly and surely, Beanpole and Alice (aka Q) work their way into Maureen's heart, and the threesome decide they're going to crush those popular girls (like chocolate pudding) at the middle school talent show. With the help of Maureen's brother, Marty, the girls will have an amazing act. After all, with a robotic dog named Poochy, how can they lose? However, nothing ever goes as planned, and the self-proclaimed Nerd Girls need to figure out how to make the best of a bad situation.

I don't mind when people call themselves nerds. Well, I shouldn't say that... I think 'nerd' is a negative term, and as Maureen says, we should all try to be more positive. This book was just too full of that negativity. It hurt me when Maureen made fun of her so-called friends, Beanpole and Q. I mean, it's nice to laugh at yourself, but Maureen just took it way too far. Her joking just bordered on cruel, and that totally turned me off. And how can you like a book with a main character who's just mean? She seemed to have a split personality -- defending the underdog but then laughing at them and somehow thinking she's better. It was just way too much, including constantly mocking not only the girls, but their parents -- Department Store Mom and Dad. The only likable character was Marty, who was always coming up with some prank. And the sister Ashley whose group of gymnastic friends come out to the talent show to defend the girls.

The three Ps were also way too much. Totally overboard. And the fact that Maureen would defend those losers was totally unrealistic. This was NOT the feel good book I was looking for. Instead, I just felt worse once the book was over between Maureen (who should have just been called Mean Maureen), Alice's terrible past, and Beanpole's constant injuries.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a 3.73 grade point average and my body looks like a baked potato. My eyes are brown, my hair is brown, and sometimes when I snack on too many fig bars and run real fast in P.E., I end up with brown streaks in my underpants too.

This is how the first chapter of Nerd Girls: Rise of the Dorkasaurus begins. The voice is that of thirteen-year-old Maureen, who describes herself as "not just uncool", but "anti-cool." Maureen usually observes the world from a position of solitude, alone in the cafeteria, trying to avoid catching the attention of the ThreePees, three nasty girls in her grade who are pretty, popular, and perfect. One day, though, she hears a rumor that the ThreePees are out to get Allergy Alice, another unpopular girl who is plagued by severe food allergies. They plan to expose her to the foods that make her sick, just to see her reaction. Tired of living in a world where the pretty, popular, and perfect always win, Maureen decides to foil the ThreePees' plan of attack, and put them in their place. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned, and Maureen winds up the butt of the joke. Instead of being forced to forge on through middle school alone, however, Maureen is suddenly the object of admiration of not just Allergy Alice, but also a third nerd, Beanpole Barbara, who is a huge klutz. The three girls form an alliance of convenience at first, but become friends after promising one another that they will beat the ThreePees in the upcoming school talent show.

The real strength of this book definitely lies in the narrator's wonderfully authentic voice. The plot is nothing new, and many of the supporting characters felt cartoonish and overdrawn to me, but Maureen came across as extremely realistic. There have been a lot of books about unpopular girls suffering through middle school, but few of them have had such a snarky and flawed main character. Often I think fiction presents unpopular girls as nice kids who never do anything wrong but somehow fall victim to the popular kids anyway. Maureen is different. Her intentions are mostly good, which is what keeps the reader's sympathy on her side, but she also has her own issues to deal with, including her weight and the fact that her father has abandoned the family. And she has an attitude that spices up the prose quite a bit, and makes her feel like a three-dimensional thirteen-year-old girl. I saw a lot of my thirteen-year-old self in Maureen, and I suspect a lot of girls will as well.

Overall, for me, this book was just okay. It reminded me a lot of the movies and TV shows shown on the Disney Channel, especially in its portrayal of popular girls and the wars that develop between cliques. There is certainly a big audience for that type of material these days, and I'm sure girls in 4th to 8th grades will relate to it, and eat it right up. But there are better written books on this topic, and I'm not sure I'd recommend this one for anything beyond beach reading. For stronger writing on the same subject, try Revenge of the Snob Squad by Julie Anne Peters (which I will review next week), or The Melting of Maggie Bean by Tricia Rayburn.

[Molly Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought so much of this book was absolutely adorable! I was seriously laughing out loud at parts when I was reading. I kept waking my dog up. Let me tell you, not much will make you feel as guilty as the sleepy eyes of a dachshund.

Maureen is floating through middle school on her own. Both her best friends have moved away and she's not the type to make friends easily. The bane of her existence are the ThreePees, the three most popular girls in school, who are also the biggest jerks on the planet. In deciding to defend Allergy Alice, Maureen ends up humiliating herself in front the the entire cafeteria, which happens to include the cutest guy in her grade. Earning the respect of Allergy Alice and Beanpole Barbara wasn't exactly what Maureen had in mind, but together they decide to take down the ThreePees reign and beat them in the talent show.

I will admit that reading Nerd Girls was slightly painful at times since middle school in general was painful for me. Revisiting those days was definitely not my favorite part of the experience. Maureen defines herself as looking like a potato, and I was always a little overweight at that age. As painful as it was, had I read this when I was 11, I would probably have been able to relate to the characters. Especially Barbara, because I'm such a klutz!

Maureen starts out as something of a jerk. I wasn't sure I was going to like her character at all when I started reading. She's downright rude to Alice and Barbara, which really kind of pissed me off. She saw in the things she was trying to ignore in herself. Maureen sees herself as being above the other girls in some ways, and it's almost like she deigns to associate with them. The girls come closer together over their common enemy and bonds form that Maureen never expected. Maureen learns not only the true meaning of friendship, but how her family comes together to support her when she least expected it.

The writing was absolutely hilarious! I would love to read more by Alan Lawrence Sitomer, especially if there are more about the Nerd Girls. I think this book would be great for any girls in middle school. It addresses the awkwardness that comes with that phase of growing up, and even touches on the fact that the cute boys aren't always the smartest, or best for you. Even though Maureen starts out as something of a jerkface, her transformation is quality. I didn't feel like anything was far-fetched, either. It was pretty much the same hell that my middle school experience was, only the popular girls were a little nicer to me. I think they thought my reading was cute.

[Beth G. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a 3.73 grade point average and my body looks like a baked potato. My eyes are brown, my hair is brown, and sometimes when I snack on too many fig bars and run real fast in PE, I end up with brown streaks in my underpants, too. I'm not just un-cool; I'm anti-cool. I mean, I even know hot to properly use a semicolon in a sentence. What could be more pathetic than that?

With that opening paragraph, Sitomer immediately pulled me in to Maureen's story, and then just as quickly pushed me back out. I hate to grammar nit-pick, but splitting an infinitive in a self-congratulatory comment about the proper use of punctuation is just unfortunate.

Unfortunate is a good word for Maureen. Her two best friends both moved away over the summer, so she is left alone facing the trio of eighth-grade bullies known as "the ThreePees" (for Pretty, Popular, and Perfect). She tries to stop them from tormenting Alice, a new student who happens to be allergic to every substance known to man, but they retaliate by uploading a humiliating video of her to YouTube. Her own older brother and younger sister think they whole thing is hilarious, and her mother is the sort of unrelentingly positive thinker who simply refuses to deal with the problems right in front of her. Nearly against her will, she bands together with Alice and another class outcast known as Beanpole Barbara to get back at the ThreePees by beating them in the school talent show. Now, if only they actually had a talent....

Nerd Girls is reminiscent of Benton's Dear Dumb Diary series, minus the illustrations. The characters and situations in this book feel about as realistic as an episode of Glee. Both teachers and students are caricatures, and convenient twists occur that simply could not happen in real life. The dialogue rushes headlong past "witty banter", with characters uttering lines that sound like they should be accompanied by a laugh track. Barbara and Sophia, especially, get stuck with the comic relief roles. Plot points come pell-mell, with little to no foreshadowing or subtlety. The big secret that Alice is hiding is revealed in an info-dump late in the book, and, oddly, still does not explain something that seemed like it should have been a big clue. Perhaps it will be explained in a later installment in the series, if readers still care enough about the flat characters to read them.

[Alanna (The Flashlight Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am I allowed to say how much I LOVED this book? It was hysterical. Seriously. I snorted many a time while reading.I have to admit that I am a big fan of Alan Sitomer's books. I've read them all. Although he doesn't typically write books that I can relate to personally, my students adore his writing. They really hit home for teens in urban environments. Homeboyz, Hoopster, Hip Hop High School, and The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez are geared towards older teen readers (high school); but, Nerd Girls is perfect for middle school students! I have found the perfect read aloud book for my class next year. It's funny enough to keep their attention, and a perfect segue into some "harder" more traditional readings. You know you have to suck the kids in!




Don't read this book if you're looking for deep, complex characters. It's not here. I'll admit that Maureen, aka "Mo," does under go a transformation throughout the novel. She's highly cynical and out right sarcastic (and I love it) for the majority of the book. By spending time with the other "nerd girls" and social outcasts of the 8th grade, she starts to develop real friendships. During this time her self image changes and she realizes that she has something to offer the world, even if she is the subject of an embarrassing top video on YouTube. Another great character is Allergy Alice. She undergoes a transformation throughout the book as well. Now, mind you that Allergy Alice is an absolute hot mess. She's practically allergic to air and everything else she comes in contact with. Her friendship with Beanpole Barbara and Maureen give her confidence and help her to cope with her fears. It's a really nice story of friendship perfect for middle school students.

If you're like me and you tend to be over the top sarcastic, this book is perfect for you. You'll enjoy the witty narrator and the other characters. It is so tongue-in-cheek (but in a middle school friendly way) that I can't wait to read it again. My students are going to die laughing, I just know it! I even bought two hardback (full price mind you) copies today! One for myself and one for my BFF that is teaching 7th grade with me next year. I'm making her read this to her students as well. As a matter of fact, I'm going to call her around 7 a.m. tomorrow morning to tell her that.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEW: NERD GIRLS by Alan Lawrence Sitomer ***



I loved 8th grade: there is your first sign I was a nerd. So I was prepared to like NERD GIRLS by Alan Lawrence Sitomer. I was surprised by why I liked it, though. Maureen is a poster girl for nerds in this delightful quest for 8th grade acceptance: baked potato-shaped (her words), socially awkward and way too smart to have fun in middle school. She is even hard to like sometimes, especially when she tries to push away the only two girls, Alice and Beanpole, who do not laugh at her after 1000,000 people have viewed her humiliating mango banana peanut butter sandwich stuffing extravaganza on YouTube, posted by the ThreePees-pretty, popular, perfect. These three nerd girls plan to survive the ThreePee girls who make their lives miserable. Like most YA fiction, plot drives this smoothly written novel, but the author goes one step further. Sitomer’s characters are exaggerated, suffering every single indignity that middle school has to offer. But they are also authentic, and that makes all the difference. Somehow Maureen’s prickly nature is overcome by the determination of her two new friends to make her cop to what is cool about her life—and isn’t that what you need friends for? Older brothers stink, and so does Maureen’s, until he decides that he can torture her, but no one else better try it. And all three girls have families who care about them, but are sometimes clueless. And the conclusion? Well, it may not end the way your mom thinks it should, but any 8th grader will tell you, this is as good as it gets. And a teacher could do wonders with a whole class reading of this great read, using themes, character development, or setting for starters. Kudos to Alan Sitomer for writing another fun, purposeful novel AND for giving every kid hope for surviving middle school.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

From June 2011 SLJ:
Gr 5–8—Self-proclaimed dork-a-saurus Maureen tries to stay below the radar of the ThreePees (Pretty, Popular, Perfect) —Kiki, Brittany, and Sophia. But when they have fun with Allergy Alice by sitting next to her at lunch and eating foods Alice is allergic to, Maureen shocks herself by grabbing the peanut butter-laden sandwiches and stuffing them into her own mouth to protect Alice. Of course, Brittany gets the whole thing on video, and Maureen's heroic act becomes fat-girl YouTube fodder. As if that weren't bad enough, Alice is so grateful that she and Beanpole Barbara start joining Maureen at lunch and decide that the trio should take on the ThreePees in the school's annual talent show. Though she's initially resistant to their overtures of friendship, Maureen finally agrees that the ThreePees need to be brought down a couple of notches when their harassment shows no sign of stopping. As the newly christened Nerd Girls prepare for their act, Kiki, Brittany, and Sophia ramp up the pranks, and in the final hours before the talent show, things look bleak. While the narrative includes flashes of humor and unexpected twists, slapstick events and caricatured characters prove distracting. Sitomer's middle-school characters' voices never click: phrases such as "meanie snobs" and a tendency to give every character a nickname are too juvenile for 14-year-olds. Maureen's often-caustic narration will keep readers at arm's length. What could have been a touching, clever friendship story is an additional purchase at best.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

[Seanean · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://librarytalker.blogspot.com/201...

When Maureen, 8th grader and self-proclaimed dork, risks her own reputation to protect an allergy prone girl from becoming an involuntary YouTube sensation, she unwittingly makes a couple of friends and begins a plot to take down the ThreePees (Pretty, Popular, and Perfect).

The ThreePees dominate the talent show every year and are determined to win one more time before heading off to high school. Maureen and her new pals are determined to take them down.

With the help of her prankster brother, a "department store mom", and a robotic dog, they might even be able to win.

Final thoughts: Full of stereotypes and constant name-calling, this book just isn't fun. Maureen spends the whole book talking about justice and wanting vengeance and then never really steps up. She constantly gives up, actually. If other circumstances didn't arise to push her, she'd have just given up after the first incident. She has no redeeming qualities, really, and spends most of the time criticizing her friends and calling them names (though the author tries to make it read like the friends are ok with that). It's a quick read, but Maureen is a horrible protagonist. I felt sorry for the other girls who thought that she could "lead" them against the popular group. And as for that group, there's one character who is supposed to be some kind of comic relief, but she just comes off and truly idiotic and annoying.
Avoid.

[Reading Vacation · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a nerd. I spend my nights reading, sing in the shower, get straight A’s at school, and have horrible eyesight. That fact made me like the idea of Nerd Girls, the story of nerdy girls taking down the popular crowd. How cool. Or so I thought.

Maureen is a girl with self-esteem issues. She feels bad about her weight, comparing herself to a baked potato. Even though Maureen is ashamed about her weight, she does practically nothing to get in shape. I didn’t care for her overly negative attitude. To be honest, I think I only heard two compliments come from Maureen the entire book. This is not my idea of Nerd Girl power. I am proud to be a nerd and I embrace it.

At first, I liked the idea of the Nerd Girls trying to beat the ThreePees in the talent show. Instead, the plot went like this. Nerd Girls annoy ThreePees then ThreePees retaliate and it starts all over again. It just wasn’t what I was expecting.

I did enjoy Alice and Barbara. Alice is so innocent and nice even when Maureen is being mean. She reminds me of my brother Travis, since both have food allergies. Barbara is so klutzy that she can barely walk across a flat surface. She is constantly falling down, but with a smile on her face all the way. They brought niceness and humor to the story where Maureen failed.

RATING

3 So-So

COVER COMMENTS

Such a cute cover. Those are some awfully nerdy feet behind a talent show curtain.

[Book Twirps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old Maureen is a self-proclaimed dork. Her hair is brown, her eyes are brown and her body oddly shaped: in her words, she looks like a baked potato. One day Maureen learns that the ThreePees (the pretty, popular and perfect girls) plan to sit next to Allergy Alice at lunch and eat everything Alice is allergic to, hoping for a YouTube worthy explosion. It’s then that Maureen decides enough is enough. She forms her own group called the Nerd Girls, and together Maureen, Alice and Beanpole Barbara take it upon themselves to take the ThreePee’s down a notch or two. The problem is, the ThreePee’s are vicious. The Nerd Girls have their work cut out for them if they think they are going to overthrow this regime.

In Nerd Girls, Mr. Sitomer gives us a younger version of Mean Girls. There are a lot of situational similarities between this book and that movie, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying it. Maureen is a funny, self-deprecating narrator, and despite a few minor annoyances, I couldn’t help but like her. The “ThreePee’s” are vicious, caustic and annoying which is exactly the way I like my “mean girls”. Overall, I liked the book for the most part, but it felt recycled, like I’d read it before. It wasn’t as fresh as I think it could have been. Still, I think young girls will enjoy it, though it may appeal more to the younger end of the middle-grade spectrum.

(Review based on an Advance Reader's Copy courtesy of NetGalley)

[Cemeread · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maureen, better known as Mo, is not a popular girl in her school. When she finds out the threePees (You know them, the pretty, popular and perfect girls.) are planning a possibly fatal joke on the new girl she decides to intervene. The threePees plan to sit next to Alice, who seems to be allergic to everything, and eat peanut - butter and banana, sandwiches with mango marmalade on wheat. Then they'll film her reaction on a phone. Mo doesn't know what Alice's allergic reaction will be, but she puts a stop to it in a way that lands her on Youtube with more hits by the minute.

While her Youtube debut doesn't make her more popular she does find herself eating lunch with a grateful Alice and Beanpole Barbara, the school klutz. Alice, nicknamed Q by the group, decides they need to hit the threePees where it hurts, the school talent show. Figuring out their talent is a problem. Follow the girls as they put together their talent, face fears, and form their own group of friends.

Bottom Line: This is a humorous book every girl can relate to. After all who hasn't been teased about something in middle school, felt like a dork or faced the challenge of making friends. Find out the way these girls take on the popular girls and come out winners. Nerd Girls will have you smiling and turning pages.

[Breanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maureen, a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed dork-a-saurus, thinks that her body looks like a baked potato. Allergy-plagued Alice can’t touch a mango without breaking out in a rash, and if she eats wheat, her vision goes blurry. Klutzy to the extreme, Barbara is a beanpole who often embarrasses herself in front of the whole school. These outcasts don't have much in common - other than the fact that they are often targets of the ThreePees: the Pretty, Popular, Perfect girls who rule the school. After an embarrassing video of Maureen winds up on YouTube, she joins forces with Alice and Barbara to take away the one thing the ThreePees can't live without: a victory in the junior high talent show. Will their routine be enough to de-throne the popular crowd? Or will their plan backfire and shake their hold on the bottom rung of the social ladder?

I was a bit skeptical of the premise - a battle for first place in a talent show? - but I was pleasantly surprised. The real story is what the girls learn about themselves and their friendships with each other. I initially had a hard time with Maureen's character, she is a bit caustic at first, but she makes some progress by the end. All in all, this was a fun, quick read.

[Lisa Nocita · Rating 2 out of 5]

With all the feel of a Disney sitcom or movie, Nerd Girls chronicles the friendship of three unlikely girls who feel they are at the very bottom of the middle school pecking order. Maureen is snarky and overweight, acutely conscious of her social status. And she feels powerless to change anything about it until a cafeteria incident suddenly sets into motion a chain of events that give her a new perspective.


Underdogs coming from behind to win your heart with determination and spunk to put the mean girls in their place, what's not to like? For one thing, although pithy and snarky, Maureen is every bit as judgey as the kids she complains about. She has a mean nickname for almost kid in the school. Or at least she ascribes to referring to them by the given nickname. And, she's not very nice. I don't know why you'd want to be friends with her. Clearly she's developed a prickly exterior to deal with the bullies, but she's just not nice until the end when she's had her aha! moment. And, honestly, if this was about sixth graders I'd find the humor and dialogue a bit more realistic, but not so much as eighth graders, at least not most of whom I've known the past twelve years. Mediocre. Will appeal to 5th/6th grade girls.

[Monkeyface · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to The Rise of the Dorkasaurus (The Nerd Girls #1) by Alan Sitomer
Maureen, a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed dork-a-saurus, is totally addicted to cupcakes and hot dogs and thinks that her body looks like a baked potato. Allergy-plagued Alice can't touch a mango without breaking out in a rash, and if she eats wheat, her vision goes blurry. Klutzy to the extreme, Barbara is a beanpole who often embarrasses herself in front of the whole school. These outcasts don't have much in common--other than the fact that they are often targets of the ThreePees: the Pretty, Popular, Perfect girls who rule the school. But one day Maureen discovers that the ThreePees are planning to sit next to Allergy Alice in the cafeteria and eat peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches on whole wheat toast with mango marmalade for lunch. And Maureen decides that it's time to topple the eight-grade social regime. She joins forces with Alice and Barbara and the Nerd Girls enter the school talent show, determined to take the crown from the ThreePees. Will their routine be enough to de-throne the popular crowd? Or will their plan backfire and shake their hold on the bottom rung of the social ladder? I give this book 5 stars and a 10. A funny read.

[Katherine Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maureen is a jerk and I really, really disliked her. But at the same time, she had her redeeming qualities that made me start to like her... until she made another mean remark. I found myself liking Allergy Alice (Q) and Barbara (Beanpole) a lot more and questioned why on earth they felt as though they needed Maureen as a friend.

But, while I disliked Maureen, I did like the novel. It was super cute and great for younger readers – especially girls. It has this ‘nerd-girl power’ thing going on that made me want to stand up and cheer; and made me wish that there were girls like this when I was in elementary school. It was great to see the under-dogs band together and really make a change; even if it was mostly just on the inside.

I think that this is a fantastic novel for young girls, especially those who feel different and are self-conscious for some reason or another. This is the type of novel that would really have an impact, I think, on them and allow them to see just how amazing they are even if they don’t think so. However, it just wasn’t completely for me. I’m giving it a 5/10.




Thank you to netGalley and Hyperion for allowing me to read this eARC.

[Adrienne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maureen is a baked-potato shaped loser, who, in an act of insanity, stands up for Allergy Alice Applebee, and winds up (reluctantly) with both Alice and the completely klutzy Barbara Beanpole as friends. The three of them decide to join together to take down the ThreePeas (the Pretty, Popular, Perfect girls) in their middle school talent show. As they work together, they come to realize that friendship is more important than popularity.

While I'm all for a book with the nerd girls as protagonists, and I like a good upstaging on the nasty mean girls as anyone, I found it hard to actually like the Nerd Girls in this book, or more specifically, Maureen, who is the first-person narrator. While she isn't quite as mean the ThreePeas, she's pretty nasty herself, to the point that I didn't find her to be a likeable or even sympathetic character. While I could relate to her insecurities, she was so critical of everyone around her that I didn't find myself rooting for her at all. So, all in all, I didn't like the book, and I won't be continuing the series.

[Doret · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author is known for his YA noves. I believe this is his first MG novel, as well as his first female protagonist in the lead roll. I decided to give this a try because it sounded like something I would like and I've enjoyed the authors writing in the past.

When Maureen discovers the three It girls of middle school have a youtube planned prank set up against the new girl who's is allergic to everything she decides to step in. Soon the three girls who are always picked on, with Maureen as their reluctant leader enter the talent show to beat the It girls or the ThreePeas- (Pretty, Popluar and Perfect) as they are known.

This is a great premise but the follow through simply wasn't there for me. The characters were flat and not flushed out. Many of the weird things the Nerd Girls did were a bit over the top and not in a funny way. I also didn't find them very likeable. If you really want to read this I highly recommend waiting until your library got a copy.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Self-professed nerd and baked potato look-a-like, Maureen, is an unhappy person and I liked that. In so many YA books the protagonists flaws are minor and shallow. Maureen has downright unlikeable moments just like the 13 year old she is. She reluctantly (very reluctantly) befriends Allergy Alice and Beanpole Barbara who are bigger freaks than she is. The three girls are up against the most popular and mean girls in the school for the title of the annual talent show. Maureen continues to act like a genuine 13 year old thought out the book and this makes less endearing than protagonists of other YA/Middle Grade titles. But this is one of the best things about this book. Usually the biggest problem in a 13 year old's like is his/her self. Maureen learns this the hard way - just like all of us did.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three middle school misfits (Maureen, Alice and Barbara) get together to participate in the school talent show in hopes of for once upstaging the "Three Peas"-the self-proclaimed princesses of the school. While Maureen is often mean to the other "nerd girls" they are united in their efforts to overcome the Three Peas. Occasionaly touching and often funny, many middle school girls will find a glimpse of themselves in one of the nerd girls and hopefully decide they don't want to become one of the princesses.

All of the characters are overblown, but it seems to work in this novel. I can see more books about Maureen and her now friends, not just fellow misfits. Some of the situations were unbelievable, but that didn't stop me from laughing at them! I think this will work for middle school girls.

Book read courtesy of Netgalley.

[JohnP · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I think of Alan Sitomer, I think of his incredible Hip-Hop High School trilogy, with its inner-city feel and urban toughness. I was intrigued to see if he could pull off something that went in a totally different direction. I wondered if he could capture the essence of what it’s like to be one of the nerd clique, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Meet ‘big-boned’ Maureen, Allergy Alice and Beanpole Barbara - social outcasts who wind up going head to head with the perfect girls of their high school class. How they decide to do it and what comes of it will keep you entertained. The dialogue is genuine, the hurt and embarrassment is right on the mark.

If anything, the ending is something that I think could have used more work. I didn’t like the ultimate outcome, but the story itself was a good one.