The Opposite of Geek

by Ria Voros

Gretchen Meyers doesn't know exactly what went wrong, but life in the tenth grade is beginning to suck. As if having a semi-nudist, food-obsessed family wasn't awkward enough, she has lost her best friend to the fanatical school swim team, and her math grade is so close to negative digits that only emergency tutoring can save it. So far, so high school. Then James/Dean rolls into her life — also known as her zit-faced chemistry tutor James and his slightly less zit-faced cousin Dean. Kind-hearted rebels without a cause, they draw Gretchen out of classroom hell, and briefly the world seems full of possibility.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Friendship, Book Club, Romance

223 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2013

Reviews

[Pinky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cliché.... This book is so cliché. I thought this book was okay, but I didn't love it. There was no surprise in this book. I felt that the plot was week and I wasn't attached to the characters. There wasn't a proper conclusion to the story and I was really upset. This is another White Pine book for the book club that I am in. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. It's a quick read and you can finish it in about an hour.

It is about a 16 year old girl named Gretchen Meyers, who is having a hard time in school. Her parents want her to be a doctor when she wants to become an author. She loves writing poetry and there are so many beautiful poems throughout this book. So, Gretchen finds herself a chemistry tutor named James. Her friend Nemiah seemed to ditch her for her swim team friends. Everything seemed out of place and she was feeling upset. James introduced Gretchen to his 18 year old cousin, Dean.

I am not a huge fan of cliché books because I want something different. I want something unique, so this book wasn't for me. Me and my friend were talking about this book and how it was cliché. She didn't enjoy it either, so I was happy I wasn't the only one who felt this way. The only thing I enjoyed in the books was the poetry, the poems were beautifully written.

I recommend this to anyone who likes cliché books that are contemporary. One of my friends love cliché books so she would definitely like this book. I don't hate it,but I don't love it either... Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me, but some of you might enjoy it.

[The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Review on The Candid Cover

3.5 Stars

The Opposite of Geek is a fun and unique book that has a remarkable format. This book is laid out with journal entries and poetry, making for an interesting read. It also includes a major plot twist to boot!

The writing style in The Opposite of Geek is very fascinating. It is written as a journal with various journal entries on each page. It never specifically says “Dear Diary”, or the date of the entry, but the way the character’s voice is written makes it seem very personal. I love when books are written like The Opposite of Geek because it gives the reader a deeper look into the character’s mind. This helps the story make more sense.

I found the beginning of The Opposite of Geek to be a bit slow. Nothing interesting really happens and the main character, Gretchen, seems whiny, which I, personally, don’t like to see in a book. However, near the middle, things pick up when tragedy strikes and the whole plot is turned around and Gretchen gets a new voice. The book goes from plain to all right just when the reader will want to put the book down.

The Opposite of Geek has a really nice use of poetry. Scattered throughout the book are Haikus from other poets and Gretchen herself. The poetry is very fitting in this book because Gretchen is a poetry geek and doesn’t want to “embrace her inner geek”. The poems describe her feelings perfectly in a way that is interesting to read.

The Opposite of Geek is perfect for poetry fans and those who enjoy a different style of book. It is also a White Pine nominee for the 2015 Forest of Reading program. It is a perfect read for poetry lovers.

[India · Rating 2 out of 5]

+1 star for the poem 'Slide'

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gretchen Meyers doesn't know exactly what went wrong, but life in the eleventh grade is beginning to suck. As if having a semi-nudist, food-obsessed family wasn't awkward enough, she has lost her best friend to the fanatical school swim team, and her chemistry grade is so close to negative digits that only emergency tutoring can save it. So far, so high school. Then James/Dean rolls into her life, also known as her zit-faced chemistry tutor James and his slightly less zit-faced cousin Dean. Kind-hearted rebels without a cause, they draw Gretchen out of classroom hell, and briefly the world seems full of possibility. But everything changes over the course of one awful night. Bewildered by harsh new emotions of grief and love, Gretchen realizes she must now decide who she wants to be and what it means to be loyal.

The Opposite of Geek is emotional, rough, and complicated, all about what it means to be a friend to someone and what it means to be you. To be brave enough to stand up and be the person you want to be and not who others want you to be. To be brave enough to be different.

When the book starts, Gretchen feels her life is spiraling into a big pit of nothing, brought down by her strange family, her growing distant best friend, and her failing chemistry grade. In turn she becomes angry, maybe a little depressed, and she doesn't understand why this is happening to her. She's hit that spot, the one where you start figuring out what you want to do after high school, after college, and what you want doesn't necessarily match up with that plans you had before. Or your parents' plans for you. Or what your teachers are pushing you towards.

It doesn't help Gretchen's tumble into frustration with her parents over her future that her best friend suddenly (to Gretchen) has other interests. Has new friends. Would rather hang out with them. Friends come and go, it's one of those painful parts of life that we just can't avoid. But then James and Dean enter her life, two guys rather different from anyone she knows, two weird guys who give her the chance to escape. And she needs to escape. She needs fresh air, away from the pressure. In a way, they save her.

I found the writing style of the book, the mixture of poetry and prose, to be rather lyrical and expressive. Gretchen's voice is clear, honest, filled with her disappointment, sadness, and happiness. Everything she feels is there on the page for the reader to see. Maybe there were times when Gretchen headed towards whiny and annoying, when her teen angst felt over-done and exaggerated, but then isn't everything over-done and exaggerated when you're a teenager? Doesn't it always feel like the world will end when something doesn't work out? I would recommend this to contemporary YA readers looking for a little poetry with their prose and a lot of reality.

[Patsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Date Read: January 2015
This is my 1st time reading it.
Rating: 0 stars.
Review:

223 pages of pure misogyny featuring slut-shaming, the friend-zone, and the special snowflake mentality. My favourite.

[Lavendel KnowsBest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gretchen Meyers und ihre beste Freundin Nemiah kann nichts trennen, dachte Gretchen zumindest immer. Als Nemiah mit ihrer neuen Schwimmteam-Clique abhängt und Gretchens Chemienoten immer weiter in den Keller sinken, war klar: Nachhilfe musste her. Zum Glück gibt es Nerd James mit seinen freakigen T-Shirts und dem attraktiveren älteren Cousin...


Ich lese gerne noch realistische Jugendbücher, wenn sie mit Witz und Charme geschrieben sind. Dies versprach ich mir auch von diesem Titel. Die Kapitel erinnern an Tagebucheinträge, da die Erzählung aus Gretchens Ich-Perspektive entsteht. Die Kapitel sind dann noch in kurze Abschnitte geteilt, die mit großen Teilüberschriften versehen sind, was ich zu beginn etwas irritierend fand. Die Form des Buches ist anders. Gretchen liebt Poesie, besonders Haikus und so findet man einige der Kurzzeiler in diesem Buch. Ab und an versucht sich Gretchen selbst am Dichten und die Situation wird in Versform beschrieben, was flott zu lesen ist, allerdings an Atmosphäre vermissen lässt.


Ria Voros schafft es ganz gut den Alltag einer 17-Jährigen in der Highschool wiederzugeben. Rowdys, Nerds, Sportler, Diven und eben Gretchen, die zwischen den Stühlen steht. So muss sich Gretchen gleichzeitig mit mehreren Problemen befassen. Sie fällt in Chemie durch, hat Streit mit ihrer besten Freundin und ihren ersten Schwarm. Später kommt nach einem tragischen Ereignis auch noch Trauer hinzu. Ria Voros will, dass wir ihre Protagonistin durch diese Phasen zum Erwachsenwerden begleiten, leider hat sie dies nicht überzeugend genug umsetzen können.


Zum einen gehen durch Form und Kürze des Romans viel verloren. Ich konnte nicht mit Gretchen mitlachen oder leiden, da der Platz für Emotionalität fehlte. Diese ganzen Probleme werden angerissen, aber nicht zufriedenstellend zuende erzählt. Kurz nach dem großen Knall ist das Buch tatsächlich auch beendet und ließ mich verwundert zurück. Die Autorin hat einige Baustellen eröffnet, ohne sie fertigzustellen. Beispielsweise hätte es auch den Plot mit Dean, James Cousin, gar nicht gebraucht. Das fand ich schade, weil eine witzige und geistreiche Protagonistin irgendwann im Geschehen verloren ging.


Ich glaube nicht, dass mir die Geschichte lange im Gedächnis bleiben wird. Das Brownierezept auf den letzten Seiten werde ich allerdings mal ausprobieren. Kalorienbombe, ich komme!

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gretchen is like any other high-school student struggling to find her way in the world. She feels pressure from her parents to succeed, fights with her friends and endures tutoring. Her character grows phenomenally in the novel as unexpected tragedy occurs. She finds a way to make someone's life matter, even in their absence.

[Khulood · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 18% .. I was so bored! I don't think I'll go back and finish it.

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gretchen told her parents she wanted to be a doctor when she was four. She's now sixteen and a very different person, but Mom and Dad still have that mindset-she'll be a doctor. Gretchen isn't sure what she wants, but writing, especially poetry, is something that makes her come alive. When she verbally strong arms geeky James into being her chemistry tutor, it's the beginning of change, something that includes his older cousin Dean, a boy she can talk to so easily, the loss of her longtime best friend, a new somewhat bumpy friendship with food-obsessed Ashlyn and friction at home. It turns into a very painful experience that eventually sends her back into the sunlight of life, wiser, still sad, but with a more realistic understanding of herself. I read this in about two hours, deciding to buy it after reading her new book The Center Of The Universe. It was a very smart decision.

[Abi M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I'm pretty sure I nearly cried. I do recommend this book.

[Gunjan (NerdyBirdie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Gretchen Meyers who isn’t so happy with her life right now. Her parents are pressuring her to become a doctor and she’s failing chemistry. She doesn’t have a good relationship with her family members, and her only friend Nemiah seems to completely forget about her after joining the swim team. Gretchen becomes friends with Dean (her chemistry tutor) and James who is his cousin. Together, these three go out for small adventures, but overall, they enjoy their friendship. Until a tragic incident that changes Gretchen’s life and her emotions.

I have to admit, when I first started this book, I didn’t like beginning. I thought it was too slow, but after a while, things seemed to be getting faster and I really liked where the story was going. I found that Gretchen was much easier to connect with after, especially with her losing her friend. And when she and Dean began getting closer, I loved how much Gretchen’s perspective changes of him.

Also, after the incident, I loved the way Gretchen handled herself, compared to other people. She mourned for a while, and thankfully she didn’t lash out. And after, the decisions she made to express her opinion was creative. I agreed with a lot of the things she did, and I was so relieved when I noticed how she got stronger in the end instead of letting her sadness take over her.

I wish the author would’ve shown a little more about James’ conflict with the lacrosse team before he died. I was really sad when he died, but I kind of saw it coming when James said that he could go by himself. But I hated the way Dean acted with Gretchen back at his apartment; the way he yelled and then shoved her away from him telling her to shut up was unacceptable. And then after, when he completely cancelled himself from everything was offending to me. Gretchen was working so hard to keep James alive as a memory, and because she acted so wonderfully, I lost all respect for Dean as a person towards the end in comparison to her.

This book is definitely recommended to all young adult readers, because this is a story about self-strength. For anyone interested in these types of books, most definitely try to read this one. Definitely one of my favorite’s for White Pine.

[Alicia Cote · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give it 4 stars until I flipped the page, waiting for the conclusion to the story, and it was over.

[Sana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite average, and pretty cliche, but I did enjoy it.

Basically, the main character, a 16-year-old named Gretchen, has hit a low point. Her grades (for chemistry) suck, her parents don't understand that she wants to be a writer and not a doctor, and her best friend ditched her for some other friends. Okay, pretty relatable, which was one of the strong points of the books. Then, she gets a chemistry tutor named James, and she meets his cousin Dean through him. They're kind of like the three musketeers.

I did like the good portrayal of emotions in the story. You felt loss and heartbreak with Gretchen, and you could relate to her feelings. I also thought the poems that were inserted in the chapters were beautiful.

However, the book was very, very cliche. It was hard to get past. On top of that, there wasn't really much of a conclusion to the book, and it kind of felt like someone ripped out the last three chapters of it. Also, although I did form a connection with James and Gretchen, I didn't feel that much for Dean. He seemed really one-dimensional and overall not really well written.

It's a quick read, and if you need to kill time, it does the job. It had both strong and weak points, so it's really up to personal taste. I enjoyed it.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had a rough start, like the author was trying to figure out the teenage voice.

At the very beginning I wasn't very impressed, I didn't like the voice or the narration. But those were simply for the 'intro' of the book. Once the author figured out who the character was, it got better.

Once that stride was hit, the character was pretty fantastic. I could see the characterization and all that, and it fit together wonderfully.

I also just cried from the posters (perhaps two thirds?) until the end. I always find this subject very interesting, and I just lost it.

The end was absolutely fantastic, but the beginning had a rough start.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opposite of geek is a compelling novel about a girl who is slightly in denial about being a geek! She becomes great friend with a guy named James and his Cousin Dean. Thing are amazing which of course means something terrible and lets just say it ended up with me in tears for a few minuets after. Although this book is amazing and I would recommend it to friends I felt as though I didn't get enough closer at the end like something was missing. This was a nice casual book about friends who deal with something big, but what I liked about the book is that it didn't base the whole book of this terrible event that happens.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for our school's Battle of the Books. It was very "teenager" or rather pre-teen...full of drama and angst but it does "grow up" as the character does with climax of the story. Really well written and an original lead character whose enjoyment of non-typical teenage things, making her a perfect underdog. Speaks well to the issue of cliques in high school BUT this character only gains acceptance through a tragedy that strikes at the hearts of the cliques. Not sure if that's a message that I'm happy with. I guess I wanted them all to just accept her AS SHE IS on her own terms period...and then I guess they should all hold hands and sing Kumbaya!

[Gil Segev · Rating 3 out of 5]

(This was one of my White Pine 2014/15 reads).

The Opposite of Geek has a strange format that reads like a poetry book. Once you discover the pacing and structure it is easier to focus on the narrative. This novel focuses on the constant shifts of high-schools, including the ever-changing pool of friends, enemies, and crushes. The ending (post-accident) seemed rushed, like there wasn't enough grieving, and the poetry Gretchen reads at the end is weak. I liked that other author's poems were included in the text, and there was a sense of solid characters in Gretchen's food-loving, chemistry-hating world.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so great in so many levels. It's emotionally hard hitting, intelligent, and at the same time light-hearted, humorous and up-beat. Gretchen goes through so many ups and downs it's a roller coaster for the reader. I love how this book tackles the realities of social life in high school, friendship and tragedy. and offers a glimmer of hope at the same time. I love the use of poetry and verse and how Gretchen's voice grows through the pages.

[Ayume Hyuchikaze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked where this book was going. But my question is: did it have to go to the lengths it did to achieve its ending? I mean was the main character such a lost cause, that without that drastic twist, she would never have done what she did in the end?

The romance was a bit shallow, in my opinion, but whatever right? It was more like a distraction in my opinion.

And her best friend... really? REALLY? Wow . . . just, wow . . .

[Alison]

This is a great book for mid-teens. The book is about a girl who feels rejected because her friend left her for another group of friends, but finds new hope with two new friends. I just have oNe protest about the book. The sorrow in it is written so well many will be reduced to nothing but tears while reading this. It is a book of both great happiness and great sorrow.

[Mona · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that did not seem to have any new ideas and is carrying on the legacy of weird teenage talents and their bizarre views of life. The only thing appreciable was introducing a change in views about geeks to the general public.
It was okay.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

wasn't sure I liked it or not until I was almost at the end.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I laughed, I cried. And then I turned to the beginning to start it all over again

[Vanessa Sider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story filled with Romance, Heartbreak and Wonder. Life struggles and challenges! I loved this book.What is the opposite of geek? Find out by reading the book!

[Zanib · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit depressing, but overall, It yanked me in and spit me out pretty fast; a nice, quick read.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was meh. Full review here

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Done as journal entries, some in poem (haiku) form. At first typical high school stuff, then gets pretty deep in issues.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was sad, but it was a good quick read!

[Enid Wray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bullying and changing landscape of teen friendships. Difficult themes and situations. This was a fast easy read which I basically liked... but it left me wanting more. Good for the reluctant reader.

[Pooja · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character was pretty relatable, but that was the only thing I really liked about the book. Most of it was very predictable. Good thing it was a quick read!