Confessions of a Middle School Nerd

Ok, so I found this one on the local authors shelf as well, and I picked it up for my 10 yr old son who is now part of the middle school in our small town school system. But he has a long to read list of his own, so I decided to go ahead and read it by myself. A very interesting choice.

Confessions of a Middle School Nerd is a very short read, only 81 pages with the text taking up only a small block of each page. But it was a fun and quick read for that reason. Written in the first person by a narrator who is quirky and funny, this book is almost like a journal for the writer. The narrator starts off by saying that she wrote most of this down to work through a few things, mostly days in her life that she feels should be highlighted to help her come to a conclusion she can only catch glimpses of. So we get little tidbits of this middle schooler's days. The stories are all focused around one main point, the narrator is awkward. But in the end she comes to the realization that not only is she ok with this fact about herself, she can revel in it, because she likes who she is.

Like I said, the book was short and sweet. I enjoyed taking a little time to read it, especially since I could so relate to some of these moments in the narrator's time in middle school. So I encourage anyone to pick it up. Have a laugh or a knowing nod of the head, and pass it on to a middle schooler that might need a little reinforcement that they are not the only ones out there being awkward, and it's perfectly fine to be so. Let me know if you have read this one!

Guilty By Association

Feb. - Books published in the last 5 years.
BONUS - This one is to be published on April 1st, 2016

The best thing about this month's theme is that it forces us to explore new writers since there is a good chance the authors we love may not have published a book in the last five years, or if they did we already read them. I picked out my two books, got excited, and then was given an opportunity. Someone in a writing group I am part of on Facebook wanted some bloggers to read and review her work to help get it out there. Best. Decision. Ever!

Guys, meet E. A. Copen, author of this new series about Judah Black, an agent working for the BSI, the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation. Judah has just been reassigned to a supernatural reservation in Texas where all kinds of people humans would consider monsters have been herded and given too many rules on how to live. Judah has been dropped into the deep end of a pool of people who don't trust her, don't want her in their business, and have more issues than Copen can encompass in one book. Before Judah can even clock in on her first day she finds a murder victim. The investigation that follows follows is a series of ups and down with plenty of road blocks giving Judah ten more questions for every answer she manages to wrangle. But Judah is damn good at her job, keep that one in mind.

I think one reason I enjoyed this book so much was because I am a huge fan of Kim Harrison's Hollow's series. While there is enough similarity between the two to drew a new fan into Copen's world, there is plenty of differences that never did I actually find myself comparing the two. Judah is a single mom that works for the government organization that hovers on threatening her entire life. In stark contrast to Harrison's series where supernatural's outnumber humans due to a tomato virus, Copen's world finds supernaturals treated like second class citizens forced to walk a very fine line so they don't rock the boat. Because that could lead to be being dragged from your home and killed while your pregnant wife watches. While Judah works for the system that controls not only where supernaturals can live but when they can have children, she isn't blind to the injustice and finds herself far more sympathetic to the plight of her new neighbors.

Literally my only complaint about the book is the occasional typo that jerked the writer in me to the side itching to correct a few words before I could continue reading. But you have to keep in mind this author threw herself out there, self published (as far as I am aware) and wrote an amazing book. Trust me, you can over look the mistakes for the awesome story.

Oh, and of course I am going to whine about the fact that now I have to wait for the next book! But you can be sure I am going to be keeping my eye very closely on this writer. I will be eagerly awaiting any news for future books. So as soon as April 1st hits, get your copy of the book (I will also be buying a paperback copy to show of on my shelf) and join me in loving this new series. I see great things in this author's future.