It's all 'Geek' to me
Here's some boring history: this is one of those books I've seen just about every time I went to Borders or Barnes & Noble on a shopping spree. I've really never been tempted to buy it; something about the title just strikes me as bland and unoriginal. And that all-pink cover is an odd juxtaposition. Like, because it's about a girl, everything has to be pink? Whatever. I'm not a huge fan. Plus, she's not even a blonde in the book. Great job, Image Source/Jupiterimages.
Miranda Bloom can do amazingly complex calculations in her head without breaking a sweat and write introspective short stories. But she can't get a boyfriend, make her step-family like her, make her friends stop sniping at each other, or stop from looking like a complete spaz in front of her crush, Emmett, the cutest guy at the Notting Hill Independent School for Gifted Children. When her mother leaves for England, Miranda is sent against her will to live with her estranged father, unfeeling step-mother Peyton, and bratty step-sister Hannah. If that wasn't enough, she also is tortured by an opera-singing Mean Girl, Emmett starts to fall for Hannah, and she is blackmailed into putting on the Snowflake Gala - the annual dance that nobody likes to go to. Amazingly, though, things start looking up when she meets the lacrosse-playing Dex, Hannah starts to warm up to her, and her father shows signs of desiring to reconnect. And although she is forced to join the Mathletes by a conniving principal (who did the blackmailing mentioned previously), Miranda still gets an opportunity - plenty, actually - to prove that she's more than a walking, talking Human Calculator.
Like the previous books I've reviewed, this book's main problem is that it suffers from an abundance of subplots. Not only that, but many of these subplots are the result of characters who either hate Miranda (Peyton, who isn't doing any favors for step-mothers' reputation) or manipulate her (the principal, whose abuse of power is disturbing here). These characters are broadly drawn and therefore uninteresting.
However, the good news is that there are many other characters who are more well-rounded and winning of our sympathy. Miranda is one of them, if only because she is put through all these trails (I mean, when you're not wanted by the Mathletes ... kidding!). She can be annoying when she brushes off her crazy math skills, but it comes across as something that's a part of the character - of course a genius wouldn't stop to marvel at her I.Q. if she's trying to impress a boy or planning a school dance. Her friends and classmates are entertaining in their own ways; Mean Girl Felicity ends up saving the day at a later point, at Miranda's urging - an endearing resolution that enhances both characters' likability. A more prominent change occurs in the character of Hannah, who has her own Mean Girl issues and is given some vulnerability. Miranda's relationship with Dex evolves at the usual pace, pausing at the usual places - in short, pleasant but unimpressive.
All in all, it's a cute story that reads quickly and will leave you satisfied. There's plenty of stuff here that readers have seen before, but some joy can still be derived from the book. There are a couple of sequels which I have little interest in looking into, but if I run into one at the library, I won't turn up my nose at it. Rating: 3.5 precalc assignments (don't ask Miranda to do them for you) out of 5.
Like the previous books I've reviewed, this book's main problem is that it suffers from an abundance of subplots. Not only that, but many of these subplots are the result of characters who either hate Miranda (Peyton, who isn't doing any favors for step-mothers' reputation) or manipulate her (the principal, whose abuse of power is disturbing here). These characters are broadly drawn and therefore uninteresting.
However, the good news is that there are many other characters who are more well-rounded and winning of our sympathy. Miranda is one of them, if only because she is put through all these trails (I mean, when you're not wanted by the Mathletes ... kidding!). She can be annoying when she brushes off her crazy math skills, but it comes across as something that's a part of the character - of course a genius wouldn't stop to marvel at her I.Q. if she's trying to impress a boy or planning a school dance. Her friends and classmates are entertaining in their own ways; Mean Girl Felicity ends up saving the day at a later point, at Miranda's urging - an endearing resolution that enhances both characters' likability. A more prominent change occurs in the character of Hannah, who has her own Mean Girl issues and is given some vulnerability. Miranda's relationship with Dex evolves at the usual pace, pausing at the usual places - in short, pleasant but unimpressive.
All in all, it's a cute story that reads quickly and will leave you satisfied. There's plenty of stuff here that readers have seen before, but some joy can still be derived from the book. There are a couple of sequels which I have little interest in looking into, but if I run into one at the library, I won't turn up my nose at it. Rating: 3.5 precalc assignments (don't ask Miranda to do them for you) out of 5.
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