Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci. (Grades 7+)Little, Brown, August 2009. Review copy provided by publisher.
Attention quiz bowl contestants, MMORPG'ers, Scoobies, and Trekkers: this book is for you! Which is not to say that you have to speak Klingon to enjoy Geektastic. There are as many kinds of geeks as there are books in the library, so Geektastic has a little something for everyone.
I didn't enjoy every single story, but there were many that I really enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed David Leviathan's story "Quiz Bowl Antichrist" about a high school boy who only joined the quiz bowl team because he has an unarticulated crush on one of the guys on the team. When the team goes to a huge competition, Alec doesn't take it as seriously as some on the team, but he'll find out that things aren't always what they seem.
I also really liked "The Stars at the Finish Line" by Wendy Mass about Tabitha and Peter, academic competitors since they were nine years old and both said they wanted to be astronauts. When Peter tells Tabitha about a stargazing event, she immediately wants to put the Messier Marathon on her CV, but Peter has ulterior motives for getting Tabitha out under the stars.
I mean, with such hit authors as M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, John Green, Lisa Yee and more, this is a must-have for any teen collection. And since there's something for everyone, this is a collection you shouldn't miss.
Read more reviews at Boing Boing, Pink Me, and A Chair, A Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy. And you won't want to miss Alvina Ling's Beyond the Book: Geektastic post if you want to get the scoop on how she acquired Geektastic and what went into its editing and packaging. Also check out the PW Cover of the Week article.
And good news! Little, Brown is providing two copies for me to give away! You know you want to win one, so leave a comment on this post to enter. Become a follower (and post a separate comment telling me you did so) to get an extra entry (or if you're already a follower [thank you!], post a separate comment letting me know and you'll get an extra entry). Link to this post (and post a separate comment telling me you did so) to get an extra entry for every link. You have until September 1 to enter.
Best of luck!