Book Review: Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett

"Think I could turn that boy bad?"

My two best friends--my only two friends, really--follow my gaze and laugh.

"Trevor Hoffman?" Beth scoffs. "No way, Jen."

"I bet I could," I say, shrugging.

"Why him?" Beth asks. "Why not any of the other nerds sitting there with him?"

"Because," I say slowly, "he isn't your typical run-of-the-mill geek. Trevor Hoffman is different. He would be a little more difficult to take down--more of a challenge, you know?"
Jen's teenage life of rebelling and sneaking out is growing stale. In an effort to combat her boredom, Jen makes a bet to turn Trevor, a nice geek, into a "bad boy." Unexpectedly, she is pulled into Trevor's world of sci-fi movies, charity work, and even--ugh!--bowling. Jen discovers that hanging out with Trevor isn't so bad after all.

But when Trevor finds out about the wager, all bets are off.

I loved this book! As you can read from the synopsis this book starts off with a bet. You basically know where it is going to go with the typical beginning bet then a realization followed with the blow up ending. However, this book is a different journey. You know where it begins, but the heart of this book takes you into the Jen's past with her parents and "the Fosters", a childhood of abuse and tragedy. We go into her psyche and see just how she has chosen to deal with all that she has had to endure. It gives such a good explanation for why she is the way she is, tough, hard to reach and difficult at times. Throughout this journey you meet Trevor and you see his interaction with Jen and it is, ah, great. Cindy has a way of writing in some great guy lead character, I tell you (see Henry in Heart on a Chain). Halfway through, honestly, I almost forgot about the bet. The story grows so much bigger than turning geeky Trevor into a bad boy. You can see the shell on Jen breaking away slowly and her growing as a person. Trevor has a transformation as well but not like you would think. You no longer see Geek Boy and Rebel Girl, they become like Romeo and Juliet or something. One thing I liked about Trevor was that he stuck to his guns, he knew who he was and how he was raised. He was so self-confident not the "typical geek." Every once in a while, though, I would cringe while reading because I knew he would have to find out about the bet and I was dreading it. I loved the relationship that developed between the two and I didn't want anything to mess it up. Although Trevor is Mr. Manners, you just know when he finds out its not going to be good. I won't go any further into what happens because you should read the book!

Cindy is a great writer. The story just flows, her writing isn't complicated. Reading this book was enjoyable and although it had it moments of sadness, you appreciate the characters more by the way they deal with the struggles in this book. Conclusion, this is a great, enjoyable read. The characters are great, the writing style is great, the book is great. Go read it!

Thanks again to Cindy for letting me participate in the Virtual Book Tour and I look forward to reading more from her!!