Book Review: NERDS

Author: David Anderegg
Number of Pages: 304
Publisher: Penguin Group
Release Date: 2007
What is a nerd? Are nerds and geeks the same thing, or are they different? How did the nerd and geek stereotypes come to be? Why are they most common in kids in the middle school age range? How are these stereotypes impacting what American students are choosing as their careers or professions? David Anderegg attempts to answer these important questions as well as many more in this eye-opening novel that shows just how much power a label can have.

I saw this book at my local used bookstore and inside my head I screamed, "OH MY GOSH I MUST HAVE THIS BOOK!" I am a self-proclaimed nerd, and I often get frustrated when my peers give me strange looks, saying, "Hold on- you like school?" or "You actually enjoy reading?" Yes! I want to shout at them. I am a person who cares more about novels than television, who likes to learn things and enjoys going to school (for the most part). So this book really interested me.

I was not disappointed at all. I think that David Anderegg did an excellent job at trying to explain the nerd and geek stereotypes. He uses evidence from his own studies as well as those of others. Even though I didn't completely agree with all of his ideas, it was still a great book. (For example, he said that nerds are commonly interested technology, including computers, video games, science, math, etc. But what about literature nerds? HMM????) This book also brought up some really interesting points that I had not thought of before.

Example: Let's say that in seventh grade, a boy gets picked on for being a "nerd". He is seen as an outcast because he enjoys math and science classes. Since he associates math and science with being bullied, he is more likely to stay away from those classes in high school. This means that he is also less likely to choose to go into a profession such as engineering because he doesn't have the necessary background knowledge. This chain of events is occurring all across the country and it is impacting the number of science and math degrees given out each year.

Overall, this was an excellent book.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys.

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Absolutely!!!!!

Always,
NutFreeNerd