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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
This is a cute book about a journey of self-discovery in high school. Written in two first person narratives, it tells the story of Dylan and Josh, who run in two very different social circles.
The author is more effective as Dylan, a shallow member of the high school elite. She thinks she has everything figured out, but the author does an excellent job of showing just how ephemeral popularity can be. Film nerd Josh is cute but less genuine, and his voice is a little too similar to Dylan's.
The journey they take together is fun to read and at times emotional, and I cared about both of these characters. The supporting characters were a bit weaker, but as the main characters opened their own eyes to the world around them, the supporting cast got some layers, too. It was a nice touch.
Having said that, I watched the Disney Channel Original Movie based on this book, and the ending where they did get together was cute. Sure, it's expected, but it was more satisfying than the, "Oh yeah, I'm seeing this awesome guy!" treatment that Dylan got in the end of the book.
The author is more effective as Dylan, a shallow member of the high school elite. She thinks she has everything figured out, but the author does an excellent job of showing just how ephemeral popularity can be. Film nerd Josh is cute but less genuine, and his voice is a little too similar to Dylan's.
The journey they take together is fun to read and at times emotional, and I cared about both of these characters. The supporting characters were a bit weaker, but as the main characters opened their own eyes to the world around them, the supporting cast got some layers, too. It was a nice touch.
Spoiler
What really bugged me was the slap-dash ending. It wasn't that Dylan and Josh didn't get together (I love them as friends), it was the author's decision to give Dylan a random boyfriend in a single sentence as if that was necessary for her happiness. I would have liked this book so much better without it! It cheapens her character growth.Having said that, I watched the Disney Channel Original Movie based on this book, and the ending where they did get together was cute. Sure, it's expected, but it was more satisfying than the, "Oh yeah, I'm seeing this awesome guy!" treatment that Dylan got in the end of the book.
It wasn't as good as Wicked Jealous but she did a good job with the two alternating voices, and I liked that parts of it weren't stereotypical. But I swear she used the word "geek" like 250 times. Overdone. She did a great job humanizing the popular girl though. Overall, it was a fun, easy read, if a little too long.
Awesome book! The plot was very lovable and the characters were so amazingly realistic!
This book was ok. When I first started it the characters were driving me crazy with how they were written and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish it or not but I powered through. It was a good story and I liked how the characters didn’t end up together in the end. Even though based on the title I thought they were going to. I figured this book was about someone that ended up finding a prince from a “toad” but that didn’t end up happening. Not the best book ever and unfortunately I won’t be keeping it but I’m glad I was able to read it.
This book has a delightfully sparkly cover, which left me hoping that it would contain a delightfully sparkly read. It starts out with some small promise: the POV of Dylan, spoiled Beverly Hills brat and Queen Bee of her high school’s popular crowd, is energetic and amusingly shallow—sort of like Clueless’ Cher, if without the wit of Amy Heckerling/[a:Jane Austen|1265|Jane Austen|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1176491679p2/1265.jpg] backing her up. Unfortunately, Dylan’s POV alternates with that of the titular geek, Josh, and I found his narration far less authentic. First of all, Josh is a film nerd, not a geek as the title promises, but I was willing to adjust my expectations. However, Josh’s nerdiness seems confined to dressing badly and referring to movie directors (none of whom produced any work before about 1970; kids these days!) by their first names—i.e., “I drove past a diner where Quentin sometimes eats.” That’s not geeky or charming; it’s just obnoxious.
Josh, while thus very far from this admitted geek-lover’s ideal man, is still a reasonably likeable character—technically much more likeable than Dylan—and the book actually does a nice job showing, through a plot stolen from the aforementioned Clueless, Can’t Buy Me Love, and about a billion John Hughes movies, how Josh and Dylan begin to trust each other and gradually become friends. So for the most part, Geek Charming maintains the level of derivative, harmless, and mildly diverting fluff.
However, there were several things about this novel that drove me INSANE. For one thing, Palmer kept getting easily researched facts wrong, which really did not help her in the places where the novel was already tilting toward inauthenticity. Like, for example, when Josh takes Dylan to one of my favorite L.A. landmarks, The Apple Pan, a cute—and for L.A. standards, old—restaurant on Pico Boulevard. I was all, “Oh, cool—The Apple Pan!”…until it’s mentioned that Dylan and Josh are squirming around in their booth, trying to ignore another couple committing major PDA in a neighboring booth. As anyone who has spent two seconds in The Apple Pan can tell you, IT DOESN’T HAVE ANY BOOTHS. Part of its charm is that there’s just one long, three-sided counter, with standing room along the wall for the endless wait for a seat (not part of its charm). Palmer supposedly lived in L.A., but even if she never actually made it to the home of the insanely yummy hickory burger and the best damn tuna sandwich around (really!), she couldn’t look it up on the internet? Also, I’m pretty sure that at least 9 out of 10 Star Wars fans would agree that Chewbacca’s nickname is spelled “Chewie”—“chewy” is what you want your granola bars to be.
(I was going to add to this list Josh’s claim that Woody Allen originally wanted Annie Hall to be called Anhedonia. I’d always been under the impression that he’d wanted the title to be Anne Hedonia, which would have been, you know, a joke. But I can’t confirm this, so I’ll just have to be satisfied that my idea is funnier.)
Palmer makes a bold choice by not going with the expected ending, but even there she really doesn’t follow through—I could understand making the point that Josh and Dylan don’t need to get together and that they’re better off if they’re just friends if part of the idea was, as it momentarily seemed to be, that Dylan doesn’t need to define herself through her boyfriend or even have one at all. So why have her hook-up with some random guy who’s introduced on the second-to-last page? Gosh, thank goodness Dylan didn’t have to suffer through being INDEPENDENT.
Josh, while thus very far from this admitted geek-lover’s ideal man, is still a reasonably likeable character—technically much more likeable than Dylan—and the book actually does a nice job showing, through a plot stolen from the aforementioned Clueless, Can’t Buy Me Love, and about a billion John Hughes movies, how Josh and Dylan begin to trust each other and gradually become friends. So for the most part, Geek Charming maintains the level of derivative, harmless, and mildly diverting fluff.
However, there were several things about this novel that drove me INSANE. For one thing, Palmer kept getting easily researched facts wrong, which really did not help her in the places where the novel was already tilting toward inauthenticity. Like, for example, when Josh takes Dylan to one of my favorite L.A. landmarks, The Apple Pan, a cute—and for L.A. standards, old—restaurant on Pico Boulevard. I was all, “Oh, cool—The Apple Pan!”…until it’s mentioned that Dylan and Josh are squirming around in their booth, trying to ignore another couple committing major PDA in a neighboring booth. As anyone who has spent two seconds in The Apple Pan can tell you, IT DOESN’T HAVE ANY BOOTHS. Part of its charm is that there’s just one long, three-sided counter, with standing room along the wall for the endless wait for a seat (not part of its charm). Palmer supposedly lived in L.A., but even if she never actually made it to the home of the insanely yummy hickory burger and the best damn tuna sandwich around (really!), she couldn’t look it up on the internet? Also, I’m pretty sure that at least 9 out of 10 Star Wars fans would agree that Chewbacca’s nickname is spelled “Chewie”—“chewy” is what you want your granola bars to be.
(I was going to add to this list Josh’s claim that Woody Allen originally wanted Annie Hall to be called Anhedonia. I’d always been under the impression that he’d wanted the title to be Anne Hedonia, which would have been, you know, a joke. But I can’t confirm this, so I’ll just have to be satisfied that my idea is funnier.)
Palmer makes a bold choice by not going with the expected ending, but even there she really doesn’t follow through—I could understand making the point that Josh and Dylan don’t need to get together and that they’re better off if they’re just friends if part of the idea was, as it momentarily seemed to be, that Dylan doesn’t need to define herself through her boyfriend or even have one at all. So why have her hook-up with some random guy who’s introduced on the second-to-last page? Gosh, thank goodness Dylan didn’t have to suffer through being INDEPENDENT.
Seems cliche and annoying already. I may or may not finish. Plus, the ending is obvious at this point.
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 rounded down on GR. Minor spoilers follow!
This would have been rounded up but i did not enjoy the ending as much as the DCOM version.
Honestly, the Disney movie was one of my favorites - and all of the changes that the movie made were perfect. It gave Dylan more well-rounded moments and I liked that in the movie, she did her own homework and was actually really smart! In the book, she copied homework and had barely a 2.5 GPA. Ugh.
Josh was very similar but also… he was more charismatic in the movie. We actually got to see him be confident and outgoing. In the book, he really never changed himself much. At the end, he was still pushed by Dylan and that kind of annoyed me. Movie Josh was so endearing in comparison.
So… honestly, I’d say just go watch the movie. I am actually going to do so myself because I felt reaaaaaaally disappointed by that lackluster ending. I liked the drama and heartfelt scenes in the movie much more!
This would have been rounded up but i did not enjoy the ending as much as the DCOM version.
Honestly, the Disney movie was one of my favorites - and all of the changes that the movie made were perfect. It gave Dylan more well-rounded moments and I liked that in the movie, she did her own homework and was actually really smart! In the book, she copied homework and had barely a 2.5 GPA. Ugh.
Josh was very similar but also… he was more charismatic in the movie. We actually got to see him be confident and outgoing. In the book, he really never changed himself much. At the end, he was still pushed by Dylan and that kind of annoyed me. Movie Josh was so endearing in comparison.
So… honestly, I’d say just go watch the movie. I am actually going to do so myself because I felt reaaaaaaally disappointed by that lackluster ending. I liked the drama and heartfelt scenes in the movie much more!