Revenge of the Geek by Piper Banks

Miranda Bloom is pretty excited for the start of her junior year of high school. After all, she’s landed a coveted staff spot on The Ampersand, Geek High’s newspaper. But with her boyfriend away at a boarding school in Maine and her two best friends Charlie and Finn dealing with their own problems, things aren’t really quite looking up. So Miranda decides to befriend Nora Lee, a shy new student at Geek High. At first, things are great and it seems like Miranda and Nora have a lot in common. But then Miranda introduces Nora to Charlie and Finn, and Nora seems to have a lot in common with them too. Now, the more that Miranda hangs out with her new friend, the more Nora seems to want to show her up. With her friends and reputation at stake, Miranda is going to have to expose Nora as the fraud she is, somehow.

Revenge of the Geek is a quick and fun read dealing with the many pressures that all high school students—even geniuses—face. Miranda is forced to deal with academic competition, friendship disputes, and familial tension as she begins a new year at Geek High. Most of this would seem rather dull and repetitive if not for the strength of Miranda’s character. Miranda is very easy to relate to and understand as she tries to sort out her life. The one thing that continued to puzzle me for the majority of the story was Nora’s character; something about her always seemed a little off to me, both because of her odd behavior and because I felt that behavior was never truly justified. Despite that, Revenge of the Geek remains a sweet and enjoyable read.

Although Revenge of the Geek can stand on its own, fans of its prequels, Geek High, Geek Abroad, and Summer of the Geek will enjoy this novel, as will readers who also liked The Queen Geek Social Club by Laura Preble and Paisley Hanover Kisses and Tells by Cameron Tuttle.

Rating: 3.75

Review copy from publisher Penguin