Review: Into The Wild Nerd Yonder

Into The Wild Nerd Yonder

By Julie Halpern

Publication date: September 29, 2009

My review:

When Jessie's best friends Bizza and Char decide to go punk at the beginning of the school year and one of them steals her longtime crush, Jessie realizes that it is time to find some new friends. She has always had her identity as a member of Bizza and Char's clique and as the younger sister of Barrett, a punk rocker. With Barrett getting ready to go off to college and the loss of her friends, Jessie doesn't know where she belongs. Is it worth it to sacrifice popularity to be true to yourself?

Jessie was a doormat with two "friends" who were just using her to get close to her brother and his friends. Bizza and Char may have genuinely been her friends when they were little but now they clearly have their own agenda. Bizza was very hard to like and I felt frustrated when Jessie let Bizza walk all over her. She did recognize that when Bizza and Char were around, she was invisible but she felt safe in that. I really liked how Jessie grew in this book. Once she was removed from the toxic friendships she really started to shine. Just like Bizza, Char, and Barrett, Jessie let stereotypes get in her way. Even though she had fun hanging out with Dottie and her other new friends, Jessie kept questioning herself because they are considered "geeks" or "nerds". She was afraid that spending time with them would be social suicide. Her relationship with Henry, a "nerd", was really sweet. He is a much more decent guy than Van, the sleazy member of Barrett's band that Jessie had a crush on. Barrett is my favorite male character in this book however. He is such a fantastic older brother. He is very supportive and protective of Jessie which I loved.

Into The Wild Nerd Yonder is a very funny book but it deals with some pretty heavy and important themes. There is some mature content and language but I thought the characters were very authentic. I really liked the positive message about being true to yourself and looking past stereotypes. 

Readalikes: Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald,  A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker, Tangled by Carolyn Mackler