Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd by Holly Black
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside) and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr.

With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

My Review:

Some stories were amazing, some were not so much, and some were pointless.

ONCE YOU'RE A JEDI, YOU'RE A JEDI ALL THE WAY by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci: I loved this story and thought it would set the tone for the rest of the book. I was wrong. They should have stuck this story in the middle to encourage readers it wasn't all so bad or at the end to wrap up nicely.

ONE OF US by Tracy Lynn: I loved this story, and it should have started the book with this. Given us readers a short lesson on nerdism.

DEFINITIONAL CHAOS by Scott Westerfield: This was interesting and made me think. I liked it.

I NEVER by Cassandra Clare: This was nice, and showed how nerds come from all walks of life. It also shows people aren't always who they seem online.

THE KING OF PELINESSE by M.T. Anderson: Way off the wall, not great, but more great than bad.

THE WRATH OF DAWN by Cynthia Leitich Smith and Greg Leitich Smith: This one fell flat. There was so much potential, but just kinda of veered off a cliff towards the end. However, there were some airbags and somewhat redeemed itself.

QUIZ BOWL ANTICHRIST by David Levithan: Interesting to see the competitiveness of Quiz Bowl, and I enjoyed the almost understanding/confusion on the MC - it wasn't negative but relatable.

THE QUIET KNIGHT by Garth Nix: Cute story. I'm not sure what else to add without giving anything away.

EVERYONE BUT YOU by Lisa Yee: This was a nice story about growing up and growing apart. Finding yourself and making the best of your situations. Nicely done.

SECRET IDENTITY by Kelly Link: Too long which was unnecessary. I was confused most of the time. I would have skipped this entirely if I'd known.

FREAK THE GEEK by John Green: Random, silly, unnecessary. Did not entertain me the way it could have, there was a lot of potential.

THE TRUTH ABOUT DINO GIRL by Barry Lyga: I was thoroughly enjoying this story until the end. Really girls? Really?!

THIS IS MY AUDITION MONOLOGUE by Sara Zarr: This was ballsy, and I'd probably have cheered the loudest at the completion.

THE STARTS AT THE FINISH LINE by Wendy Mass: I really liked this story, and it has piqued my interested in astronomy.

IT'S JUST A JUMP TO THE LEFT by Libba Bray: No, just no. This was not the way to end the book, by any means.

Comics by Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley: They were drawn well and some were entertaining. Some were just so random, I didn't get them. Not sure if that's my fault or theirs.

Read from July 29 to August 13, 2015

Top 5 Genres*: Young Adult, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Humor
*According to Goodreads
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My ratings system
5 stars - I absolutely loved it
4 stars - Good book and would recommend
3 stars - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
2 stars - Not good, but was able to finish it
1 stars - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

View all my reviews