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Review: Geekhood by Andy Robb


If you haven't worked it out yet, girls don't do this. They don't come to the Hovel. They don't like goblins and dragons. They don't paint miniatures. They don't play role playing games or re-enact fictional battles. And they don't talk to Geeks like me especially if they're pretty. And this girl is pretty. What do you do if you're a fourteen-year-old Geek, and a Beautiful Girl has appeared in the midst of your geeky world? And she seems to like you... For Archie, the natural reaction would be to duck and cover ... run for the hills ... buy a new model elf... Anything but risk stepping into the Real World. But even Geeks have to put their heads above the parapet at some point. With his mum barely able to contain her excitement that her son is about to join the human race, and his step-father, Tony the Tosser, offering crass advice, it's time for Archie to embark on a daring Quest to win the Beautiful Girl's heart and shake off his Geekhood for good..

***

I really enjoyed reading Geekhood. I thought it was a brilliantly funny insight into the mind of a 14 geeky wargaming teenage boy.

I used to work in a shop like the Hovel so have seen the the boys (and men) that hang out in these places first hand and the description of them and their reaction to girls is spot on. Never in my life have before and since that job have I had to deal with stuttering and bizarrely weird boys dribbling over little chunks of metal that cost a small fortune and going off on one about a chunky rule book which they know intimately and this book perfectly encapsulated those boys and their conversations perfectly.

One thing I loved about this book was the way in which you get a real insight into Archie's mind through his inner dialogue which runs throughout the book. While he is a geek and proud the boy actually makes being a geek look quite cool. I liked seeing the way in which his mind works and the different relationships he builds with the people around him.

I loved the scenes with Archie and his gaming friends and their reactions to the presence of a girl in their midst when Sarah comes along. Seeing that first encounter with a girl was again completely spot on and really insightful.

All in all a fab read which I really enjoyed. 

Comments

SisterSpooky said…
*yay for Geekhood* still one of my fav debuts this year.