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    Into the Wild Nerd Yonder
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    Into the Wild Nerd Yonder
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    Into the Wild Nerd Yonder
    Ebook220 pages3 hours

    Into the Wild Nerd Yonder

    By Julie Halpern

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    It's Jessie's sophomore year of high school. A self-professed "mathelete," she isn't sure where she belongs. Her two best friends have transformed themselves into punks and one of them is going after her longtime crush. Her beloved older brother will soon leave for college (and in the meantime has shaved his mohawk and started dating . . . the prom princess!) . . .

    Things are changing fast. Jessie needs new friends. And her quest is a hilarious tour through high-school clique-dom, with a surprising stop along the way—the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, who out-nerd everyone. Will hanging out with them make her a nerd, too? And could she really be crushing on a guy with too-short pants and too-white gym shoes?

    If you go into the wild nerd yonder, can you ever come back?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateSep 29, 2009
    ISBN9781429955065
    Unavailable
    Into the Wild Nerd Yonder
    Author

    Julie Halpern

    Julie Halpern is the author of several books for young adults, including Meant to Be, Get Well Soon, and The F-It List; the adult novel Maternity Leave; and the picture book Toby and the Snowflakes. Prior to her life as a full-time mom and author, Julie was a school librarian. In her imaginary spare time, she enjoys traveling, watching television for grown-ups, and eating baked goods. Julie lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Caldecott-winning author and illustrator Matthew Cordell, and their two children.

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    Reviews for Into the Wild Nerd Yonder

    4/5

    135 ratings28 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Not my usual genre, but I liked it.
    • 4/5
      Jessie has had it with her best friend Bizza. Now she needs to find some new friends. Can she deal with being part of the nerd herd?
    • 3/5
      It happens to everyone: a longtime friend changes on you and things aren't the same anymore, and it's just time to move on. Jessie's two best friends Bizza and Char are obsessed with being part of a cool crowd, horning in on Jessie's brother's band practice like groupies. After Bizza selfishly hooks up with Jessie's crush (and contracts an STD), Jessie looks elsewhere for friendship and finds the niche where she belongs, even if her cool cred might take a hit. Jessie's first-person narrative is chatty, smart and funny; she's a thoughtful, nerdy teen who comes across as a girl you'd like to befriend. This book shows that it's OK and necessary to outgrow friends, and that finding true pals who genuinely share your interests is better than trying to meet expectations of cool. The portrayal of Jessie's close relationship with brother Barrett is particularly nice.
    • 4/5
      The title intrigued me. The synopsis had me worried. The actual book... was great.

      Jessie is a clever, interesting teenage girl who has the added bonus of actually sounding like a real teenage girl. Young adult novels often apparently share the impression that the only thing teenage girls ever care about is social status and boys and shopping, but Jessie is a math whiz, a caring sister who will miss bantering with her older brother when he leaves for college, and though she has a crush on one of her brother's friends, she doesn't write her name with little hearts around it either.

      When her two best friends abandon her to hang out with said brother's friend, she balances the pain of seeing people you loved and thought were forever drifting away with the anger of being tossed aside. So she makes new friends. And that's when it gets interesting.

      So many young adult novels have people think they're nerds because they're good at math or don't smoke or whatever. It hasn't been *that* long since high school, and none of those things really mattered. But Julie Halpern picked the one last taboo in a culture where Lord of the Rings is cool again, Star Wars is awesome, and it's considered cool to be a nerdy gamer: tabletop role-playing. Specifically, D&D.

      I was half-cringing in expectation when it came to Jessie's first game night: was the author a true D&D player? Was she faking it based on 80s propagandist movies?

      My fears were almost immediately alleviated at the first time the DM said, "Roll for initiative", and I knew that she was a true RP'er when she pointed out that most tabletop gamers look down on LARPers. Here was a woman who knows of what she speaks.

      Jessie isn't the only interesting character, though - the group she games with are a little bit on the misfit side, but mostly normal. They're not portrayed as stereotyped nerds, just a little off the beaten path. And that's pretty much true. Of the guys I used to game with, one is a therapist, another is a lawyer, and another is a police officer. It's refreshing to see any media with D&D showing normal people, rather than one-step-away-from-psychopath or socially crippled nerds.

      All in all, that's the word that best describes this book. Refreshing. It's a new take on an old story (girl grows apart from friends in high school due to boy troubles) and Jessie and her friends are smart, funny, and engaging.

      Definitely worth a read, especially if you're one of the tribe who carries their D20s ever at the ready, just in case.
    • 4/5
      I read this book quite a while ago and recently re-discovered it and I am glad to say it stood the test of time!This book is a bit hard to get into, but once you do it's like a black hole that keeps pulling you back in (and I mean that in the best way possible). The characters are perfectly formed and their interactions are at times laugh out loud hilarious. I can relate to the main character's occasional feelings of being lost and left behind in her friend group and finding a better group of people to hang out with, which made the book more enjoyable for me.I'm so glad to have rediscovered this book, and even though the beginning is a bit hard to get through I promise it's worth it! Every time I read this book I want to find a group of people to play dungeons and dragons with
    • 4/5
      Jess has been friends with Bizza and Char for as long as she can remember. But then suddenly she feels like she has nothing in common with them anymore – plus Bizza goes after Jess’s long time crush. Total betrayal. So Jess decides she needs a new set of friends. In this case, it’s the Dungeons and Dragons crowd. Jess is a hilarious and believable character a lot of us can relate to. It’s a story about how friendships come and go and all the changes we go through in the process.
    • 4/5
      A great growing up story with an awesome discussion of labels and how everyone fits together. Definitely a good one for those teen girls who feel like they just don't fit the mold.
    • 5/5
      Jessica (Jessie) Sloan is heading into sophomore year of high school. Her best friends (Bizza) Elizabeth and (Char) Charlotte have decided to "remake" themselves into punk rockers and follow Jessie's brother's band. Jessie is not the type to make this change so she is forced to sit and watch her friends transform and deal with the impact on her relationship with her friends, her brother, and her brother's friends. To complicate matters, Jessie has had a crush on the band's drummer, Van. But Van is starting to notice Bizza and vice-versa. The usual pressures of school, fitting in, relationships, etc. are explored as the story unfolds. Bizza (thinks the world revolves around her) and Char (pretty and a follower) continue to morph int punk rockers while Jessie drifts apart questioning their friendship. Jessie also worries about her brother heading off to college next year. Jessie starts to notice other people and groups and over time starts to question her "place" in social groups. Her eyes are opened to new possibilities and she makes some changes of her own. A great story of how things and people are not always how they seem. Fun/easy read that looks at growing up and looking at life from different perspectives.
    • 5/5
      This book was pretty good. I borrowed it from the library.
    • 4/5
      Can a book be cute and crass at the same time? Jessie is awesome. Pretty much her whole family is - she has a great big brother and parents. Her "best friends" that is another story. The trio she has grown up with is growing apart as her girls embrace the punk scene and her bestie betrays her. Jessie finally makes a break, but finds herself friendless as she decides if she wants to make new friends, she questions what it means to become a nerd and if it matters what others might think. Jessie is quirky and strong. The book has some strong language and some skanky behavior from some in Jessie's old circle of friends... A thoroughly enjoyable, quick read.
    • 3/5
      I'm feeling lazy tonight, so this will be in the form of pros and cons.

      Pros:

      • It's quite amusing

      • I like Jessie's relationship with her family, especially Barrett

      • It's about a girl embracing her inner nerd


      Cons:

      • There were points when I felt that Jessie was being blind and/or hypocritical and I couldn't tell whether we were meant to trust her or see her as a slightly unreliable narrator

      • For a book which shows the journey of a girl accepting her inner nerd, it's awfully hard on said group


      This is somewhere between a con and an eh for me, but there's some fairly frank mentions and discussion of sex. I didn't particularly mind it, but I was a little taken aback by it, or something.



      Book source: public library

      Book information: Feiwel and Friends, 2009; YA
    • 5/5
      Jessie is the odd girl out at the start of sophomore year. She comes back to school in a new skirt but her two best friends show up as new people: buzz-cuts, neon hair, and punk rock attitudes. Uninterested in joining their punk rebellion, Jessie spends her time sewing, listening to audiobooks (she has GREAT taste), and dips her toes into tabletop gaming. Can she find happiness over 20-sided dice?Super cute, charming and fun, I fully enjoyed this one. Also delightful - all the books jessie reads and listens to over the course of the book. And, I was happy to discover, I've read every single one of them! A round of applause for the teen librarian! :)Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. I thought the romance was adorable. I also really enjoyed the way Jessie changed over the course of the book. I thought it was believable. It also reminded me of college and SSFFS. :)
    • 4/5
      As somewhat of a nerd myself, I have to say that I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The writing was fun and more of a laid back, conversational style that I felt conveyed Jessie's thoughts and experiences nicely, in a way that I could relate to. I loved the uniqueness of many of the characters (like Jessie making her own skirts - that's pretty cool) and the relationships between them that developed as the book went on. I especially loved the relationship that Jessie had with her brother, Barrett. He was very supportive of her throughout the whole book and it was great to see such a loving relationship. It was pretty neat to look back after I finished the book and see how much Jessie had changed in terms of relationships, acceptance of herself, and who she associated with.I found myself smiling and laughing at so many things in this book, but particularly in the last three or so chapters. This book had such a great balance of nerdy, funny, and more serious moments, and I really enjoyed seeing how Jessie dealt with the various situations that came up. I also loved the references to other YA books like Elsewhere, which happens to be one of my favorites.My only complaint with this book is that the ending seemed a bit rushed and wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be. I think that could have easily been fixed by adding another chapter rather than ending things in a way that kind of leaves the reader hanging, but oh well. Overall, it was a fun yet realistic read that I would definitely recommend to anyone who's ever experienced trying to find their place among the various high school groups, and especially to those who can appreciate a little bit of nerdiness.
    • 5/5
      At 5:30 this Saturday, I walked upstairs and asked my husband "How do you know when a book was great?" He smirked at me and answered "I'm guessing it's when you just read the whole thing in two hours." He was right. I sat down Saturday afternoon with Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, not knowing what to expect, and was immediately drawn in. The book chronicles' Jessie's sophomore year of high school, when the two best friends she has had since she was a toddler decide they want to become punks and Jessie isn't sure where she fits in any more. Based on that sentence, I'm sure you can tell that this could be just another teen coming of age story, but Julie's character is so clever, funny, and real that it loses any concerns about being cheesy. It is made stronger by the great supporting cast, including her older brother Barrett and her quirky parents. Jessie is smart and enjoys school, but worries about being nerdy, something I could definitely relate to. Is it better to be lonely and unlabeled or throw yourself in with a fun group that others call nerdy? I absolutely adored this book as it is just plain fun.
    • 2/5
      This book probably deserves more than two stars, but I was disappointed enough that I'm only giving it two. Lots of potential, and a good message (although a little heavy handed on the 'if you have unsafe sex, you will be sorry!' bits) and flashes of realism, but heavily, heavily reliant on stereotypes and cultural touchstones that won't last. As a nerd, I wanted more. There is so much more to nerds than marching band and D&D and LARPing - not that there's anything wrong those, but on their own, they are a lazy way of telegraphing "neeerrrrrddd".
    • 4/5
      At the start of their sophomore year of high school, Jessie's two best friends, Bizza and Char, transform themselves into punks to gain the attention of Jessie's brother's band. Jessie is frustrated with her friends' artificial punk personae and how they use her to get access to the band, but the worst offense occurs when Bizza chases after Jessie's longtime crush, Van. When Jessie decides it is time for new friends, she unexpectedly finds herself falling in with the Dungeons and Dragons crowd. Jessie is an entertaining and sarcastic narrator with a unique personality-- her passion is for sewing skirts from unusual material and a goal of having a different skirt for every day of the school year. The book's primary theme is that people have depth beyond the stereotypes that identify them, and appropriately all the characters are multi-faceted and complex. Even Bizza, the main antagonist, has enough depth that the reader understands why the girls were friends to begin with. Later scenes between Bizza and Jessie realistically portray the complicated situation of two long-time friends who have grown apart. Jessie's personal struggles are well developed, and readers will sympathize with her conflicting feelings about Van, as well as her insecurities about being accepted by a new group and concerns that hanging out with the 'geeks' will destroy her reputation. This is an entertaining read about navigating the cliquey world of high school, though it could have benefited from more scenes between Jessie and her new D&D friends. Some sexual content and language makes this book most appropriate for high school age readers.
    • 5/5
      For as long as she can remember, it has been the three of them: Jess, Bizza, and Char. But during the summer after their freshman year, things change and Jess finds herself in need of a change. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder is the story of Jess, an average high school sophomore who enjoys math and sewing her own skirts. She has always been close with her two best friends, but a betrayal over the summer has left her abruptly at odds with one of them. Bizza and Char's decision to reinvent themselves as "punk-rock queens" solidifies Jess's fears that the three have grown apart. So when Jess begins chatting with the uber-nerd in her homeroom class and is invited to play dungeons and dragons, she eventually says yes. This decision is made easier by the fact that one of the D&D nerds happens to be really cute (in a nerdy sort of way). When she finds herself enjoying their company, Jess must decide what really matters in life, and just who she wants to be. Halpern's story is funny, original, and feels realistic. She easily captures the dialogue of a young girl struggling with who she is and what she wants to be, along with the mundane but seemingly significant aspects of high school life. The "nerds," as well, manage to live up to their social stigma without being flat or stereotypical characters. The story manages to be simple and realistic but still infinitely entertaining, without an abundance of teen angst, fantastical situations, or dramatic declarations of love. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder is a fun, funny, and ultimately sweet story. Because it deals with some somewhat "mature" material, such as oral sex and sexually transmitted diseases, it is recommended without hesitation for grades 9-12.
    • 3/5
      When Jessie's best friends start acting like bitches (and I'm talking serious betrayal here), she feels alone. Jessie's never felt like she fit into any of the cliques at her high school. So when a band geek and a fantasy nerd are nice to her, is Jessie ready to take the plunge into nerd-dom? For me, the book started off a little slowly. Then I really started to like it. And then Jessie got a little too whiney. I did like the multi-layered characters. And I loved Jessie's strong bond with her older brother. And I love the adorkable love interest (though Jessie needs to stop nagging him about his clothes!).
    • 5/5
      it was hilarous. i fully and truelly loved it. i read it over and over again!!!
    • 3/5
      Jessie’s sophomore year of high school is not going so well. Her two best friends have turned into wannabe punks, and her beloved older brother is leaving for college soon. Lost and in need of new friends, Jessie stumbles across the Dungeons & Dragons-playing crowd—truly the nerdiest of the nerdy, even by her standards. But as she gets to know the people in the group—and maybe even finds a cute guy to crush on—Jessie realizes that nerds can make really good friends…INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER is a cute and heartfelt look into the treacherous waters that is high school friendships. While it didn’t make me fall in love with it as it did with many others, INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER was still a charming read with excellent characters.Jessie is a likable protagonist, with her sewing tendencies, warm-hearted worries, and self-proclaimed nerdiness. She’s nerdy, but not in a way that will put off readers/potential friends. She has such a healthy relationship with her family—her relationship with her brother is particularly touching—that the focus of the book can be off the stereotypical teen family angst and more about worries regarding friendships.While the characters (and, indeed, the whole storyline) are not exceptionally deep or memorable, everything has the pleasant feel-good entertainment value of, say, a Disney Channel original movie: the “villains” are not irredeemably bad, the problems inconvenient but not devastating. The plot moved along at a leisurely pace so that the second half of the book, in which Jessie finds new friends, feels a bit rushed.However, these are not failings but simply characteristics of the genre that INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER falls into: an easy and light read with characters who make us smile and a moral that makes us nod in recognition. If this is the type of read you’re reading for, look no further than this one.
    • 4/5
      Into the Wild Nerd Yonder is an excellent story that demonstrates how childhood friends grow up and grow apart. Jessie has always been the nerdiest girl in her group of three — making her own skirts out of silly fabrics so as to wear a new one each day of the week — so when Bizza and Char start to take a particular interest in her older brother’s punked out friends she finds herself increasingly distant from the crowd.More than your average alienated teen story, Into the Wild Nerd Yonder showcases how Jessie is relatively comfortable with who she is and learns to embrace it. She has made the conscious decision to be different but not without fear — she doesn’t want to be completely excommunicated from her longtime girlfriends but she definitely wants to be part of a group that accepts her just the way she is. This story focuses on the journey Jessie takes between the two.Halpern’s choice to write the main character as a girl who favors her differences over succumbing to peer pressure makes the story all the more appealing and endearing. That Jessie struggles with how it all fits together makes the story all that more real for the reader. She doesn’t just automatically dump her old friends in favor of others (as it is being done to her) it takes a good deal for her to break from that crowd. Also, she isn’t entirely sure that moving into the alternative social circle is the best choice either. She’s very thoughtful and deliberate with the decisions she makes.Jessie’s bold choice to befriend the Dungeons and Dragons crowd shows Halpern’s ability to write a character of great strength and integrity. The fact that she finds her first love as part of the crowd adds to her depth — she’s not going for looks or status but rather a true emotional connection. This is an outstanding lesson to teach young girls navigating through this same time in their lives.I don’t want to sound like this is a book for just the girls because I honestly believe that young boys should embrace it as well. Jessie’s older brother Barrett finds himself in a similar situation as well. Only his journey is one moving in the opposite direction. He’s standing up to his punk bandmates and not only changing his appearance but also supports his sister and chooses a girl that wouldn’t typically be embraced by his former friends. He falls in love with a homecoming queen not for her beauty but for her intelligence.So you get my point here right? You understand what I’m getting at? Lessons on individuality and non-coformist behavior aside Into the Wild Nerd Yonder is just a fun book to read. The characters are interesting and quirky, the situations they find themselves in are different and filled with some good comedy and emotion, and ultimately it’s an endearing read that anyone can enjoy.
    • 4/5
      Jessie has had it with her best friend Bizza. Now she needs to find some new friends. Can she deal with being part of the nerd herd?
    • 4/5
      Jess is perfectly content staying home on Friday nights sewing her signature skirts, but her longtime friends would rather hang out with her brother’s punk rock buddies. So Jess looks for a new crowd to hang out with and finds herself playing D&D with a group of lovable nerds. For anyone who has felt like they don’t fit in, Halpern has crafted a fun novel about letting your true self shine.
    • 5/5
      I wasn't sure I was going to like Halpern's book, especially because I worried this would be like one of those cliche high school movies. In fact, it was nothing of the sort. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder is far more than just a book about high school. It's about feeling left out, about being different, about figuring out what friends are. And, most of all, it's one of the few books that gives geeks/nerds, especially gaming kind, an extremely good name. The book was exceptionally fun, hilarious and with a few moments of sadness. There's no need to be a geek or a nerd to enjoy this book.
    • 4/5
      It's hard to say if it was the cover of this book that caught my eye, or the title. The cover is bright pink, speckled with 20 sided dice and features a ren-faire style dress. The title (and the subtitle) were also intriguing : Into the Wild Nerd Yonder : My Life on the Dork Side. The plot here is not that surprising. Jessie is gearing up for her sophomore year of high school, and her friends decide to become punk groupies, shaving their heads and hanging out with Jessie's brother's band. Suddenly, Jessie feels like she doesn't have a place in the world. She's interested in making skirts out of zany fabric, listening to audiobooks and math. She starts to connect with two girls she has class with. One is a band geek. The other is a Dungeons and Dragons player. They are both far more interesting than her old friends. But can she really give up her slightly cool status for nerdom? It was a little predictable, but the characters made this a good read. I particularly liked Jessies older brother, who got out of his punk band to date the prom queen. Jessie also had excellent taste in her books, in the course of "Into the Wild Nerd Yonder," she listens to :
    • 4/5
      Halpern has written a great story with a very real heroine named Jessie. From the sewing hobby to her reservations about Dungeons and Dragons and choice of audio books, Jessie is gal worth reading about.
    • 4/5
      Merideth says: I really liked Jessie. She seems like the kind of girl I'd like to hang out with, and she has excellent taste in books. She seems very comfortable in her life, and has great relationships with her brother and parents. While I was annoyed with her preoccupation with looking like a nerd, I know that being "cool" is something that takes up a lot of teenager's mental energy, so Halpern probably got that right. What I really liked was how excited Jessie was about D&D, how much she enjoyed the game. Role playing isn't an area of the geek forest that I ever really explored much, but anyone who's watched as much Doctor Who as I have has no right to judge anybody. One thing I do wish is that this book has a better cover. For some reason, this one reminds me of paper dolls.