Geek Magnet [Paperback]

I love these kind of cute romance novels. However, most of them are extremely corny, and make me cringe. I'm just thankful that this one didnt! I am very excited about reading more books that Kieran Scott wrote, she is honestly a great author. I just can't believe how much i ended up liking the book! Looking at the title/cover/introduction, you probably don't expect much sophistication from this novel. However, a lot of true life stories are incorporated into this novel. It really suprised me how effortlessly Kieran Scott described complicated situations that some people go through in life. And you know how some teen books (especially teen romance books) are just SO corny? this one wasn't!

All in all, i give it 5 stars. trust me, you WILL end up liking it. I felt that i struck gold when i discovered this author, and cannot wait to read more books by her!

WARNING: My review has minor spoilers

This book is, as the title and cover suggest, a fun read, and it involves teen issues like dating without being your stereotypical YA novel. But, though I enjoyed it, I was left uninspired and was a little disappointed along the way.

First off, there wasn't a great sense of place in the novel--setting was not detailed and left too much to the imagination, if you ask me. I know dropping a state or city name in the book somewhere isn't necessary, but the actual look and feel of places weren't well-developed. Maybe this critique seems minor because we aren't consciously aware of the setting, but that's how setting should be. So, when descriptors are sparse or absent altogether, it's nearly glaring. Without a good sense of place, I'm not as engaged.

Secondly, characterization seemed a little off. KJ isn't your average teen, and she takes school seriously. Because of this, I expected her to be a little wiser when it came to her long-time crush, the popular Cameron Richardson. Considering what she felt for him was just a crush after all--it was infatuation, not love, and was, ironically, based on looks--I don't see how KJ could have been reasonably blind from Cameron's obvious flaws. She comes off as a law-abiding citizen, and her father is an alcoholic, yet she isn't turned-off by Cameron's underage drinking? And she was offended when Robbie called Cameron shallow, yet KJ repeatedly mentions how good-looking Cameron is and his looks are the only reason she likes him in the first place? And, even though she isn't your average teen, throughout the book she thinks Robbie will never want to socialize with her again, or is laughing at her behind her back, because she has an alcoholic father. She asks him if he thinks she's a "freak" because of it. Funnily enough, though, she doesn't hold these views with Stephanie, her best friend. Stephanie knows about her father and she hasn't run off. So why would KJ think Robbie would? This makes no sense to me. All these things just don't add up, and when they arose, I was either close to yelling at KJ to wake up and see Cameron for who he was--since it was so obvious she would sooner or later, as the book's predictable--or I was rolling my eyes at her silly belief that Robbie would turn his back on her because of her family problems.

And while I was left confused by all this, I found other characters as fleshed out as cardboard cutouts. While this kept things comical as far as the geeky characters were concerned, it left more to be desired from characters like KJ's best friend Stephanie, and KJ's mom. Oh, yeah, and KJ's brother, too--he was so minimally developed I forgot about him! And yes, these are all minor characters compared to KJ, but they're significant people in her life. Couldn't we have had more characterization other than Stephanie loves science and KJ's mom won't stand up for herself, and every now and then, gets a sliver of hope from her Al-Anon meetings and gets on her high horse? This is all we have to work with as readers. To me, Robbie's character is the only one that's fleshed out AND makes sense, though his liking Tama Gold was a little confusing, considering he was opposed to the popular crowd.

Finally, while other reviews have praised the fact this isn't a corny teen book, I have to argue it has a degree of corniness. You know how things are going to turn out, and though it involves serious issues like alcoholism, they're only subplots. The focus is on themes like popularity and dating and finding out who your real friends are, etc.--all very common themes.

And though I wanted KJ to learn to stand up for herself, all the ways in which she did defend herself were disrespectful and negative. She yelled at her father and mother and insanely went off on two geeks, and overreacted with another character, throwing a drink in his face. And though she apologizes in the end, she doesn't apologize to everyone she hurt--only the geeks. So even though you're rooting for her, once you see how she decides to respond, you hate her as much as everyone else.

If you're interested in a YA book that features a similar protagonist--one who isn't your average teen and places the more serious issues at the forefront--I suggest Beauty Shop for Rent: Fully Equipped, Inquire Within. The characters and settings are very well thought-out.

I suggest you read this book without high expectations. Maybe you want a romantic YA novel that takes predictable turns, because it's comfortingly familiar and you want things to be kept pretty light-hearted. If not, and you want a little more substance, I'd recommend the Beauty Shop for Rent.

I absolutely loved this book. Saw it by chance and decided the premise was interesting and fun enough to pick up. I was not disappointed. It was thoroughly enjoyable. Very fun, light reading, and quite entertaining. I would definitely recommend this one.