Week 9: Geektastic

• Week:  9
• Book Title:  Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci
• Book Cover Image:

Copyright (2009) Little, Brown and Company

• Book Summary:  This is a funny series of short stories about all kinds of geeky people.  There are Klingons getting together with Jedis, cheerleaders wanting to know what the geek world is all about, gamers meeting up to party, convention geeks, trekkers (not trekkies!) and more.  All of the stories are by well known authors.
• APA Reference:  Black, H. & Castellucci, C. (Eds.).  (2009).  Geektastic: stories from the nerd herd.  New York, NY:  Little, Brown and Company.
• My Impressions:  This is a zany look into the world of all things geeky.  Where in the world would a Jedi Knight and a Klingon get together?  How could Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff actually meet in real life?  What do you do if your mom has an affair with a graphic novel writer?  These are all questions answered in the short stories found in Geektastic. My favorite is the story of an in-girl cheerleader wanting to know about all things geeky so she can communicate with her boyfriend better.  This short story is called One of Us by Tracy Lynn.  the cheerleader goes to the high school media room to meet with Springfield High's Genre and Nonsense club (the SPRIGGAN).  She pays $100 for classes on all things nerdy.  She learns everything she wants to know. Plus she learns that geeks are people with whom she has things in common and can be friends with.   My next favorite story is the very first one where a girl dresses as a Klingon for a convention.  She and her Klingon family growl and glare at all the other beings; Stormtroopers, Jedis, Star Trek cadets, aliens, etc. Yet somehow she, Klingon, ends up with a hangover and missing her pants in the bed of a Jedi.  She kind-of shrugs and says, "I'm a Klingon, of course I'm attracted to my enemy" (p. 4).  That pretty much sums up the theme of the whole book.
• Professional Review:

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—From Trekkers to science geeks, Buffy fanatics to Dungeon Masters, nerds of all persuasions are sure to find themselves in the pages of this anthology. It contains fun reads such as Black and Castellucci's "Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi All the Way" in which a Klingon wakes with a Jedi in her hotel room while at a sci-fi convention, and Tracy Lynn's "One of Us," in which a cheerleader enlists the school nerds to teach her the basics of geekdom so she can impress her Trekker boyfriend. The collection also includes more profound fare such as Kelly Link's moving and masterful "Secret Identity" about a 15-year-old girl who has pretended to be her 32-year-old sister on an online RPG. She must face the consequences of her lies when she arranges to meet the man with whom she has developed a relationship. Also included are stories by YA lit greats such as John Green, Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, and M. T. Anderson. Each story is followed by a comic-book-style illustration offering information or advice such as "What Your Instrument Says About You" and "How to Look Cool and Not Drool in Front of Your Favorite Author." Simultaneously addressing the isolation and loneliness that geeks can feel as well as the sense of camaraderie and community that can be found when one embraces a world or ideology in which he or she can completely invest, Geektastic is a completely dorky and utterly worthwhile read.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

Campbell, H.  (n.d.)  [Review of the book Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by H. Black and C. Castellucci].  School Library Journal.  Retrieved from amazon.com.

• Library Uses:  This would be a fantastic book to use as a reference for anyone wanting to know more about any of the genres included like sci-fi and fantasy.  If a student wanted to know what gaming is all about, here are some great stories.  In small towns, the descriptions of conventions might come in handy because they are hard to imagine. It would be fun to have your own convention in the library.  Students could man "booths" for their favorite genres:  sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, graphic novels, etc.