Geek Charming

by Robin Palmer

I just love the cover of this book! And actually, I loved the story inside as well.

Geek Charming is the second book by Robin Palmer, author of a book I previously read, Cindy Ella. While I liked Cindy Ella, I did find it to be pretty predictable and I didn't feel that attached to the characters.

I felt differently about Geek Charming though. This book is written from two perspectives: that of Dylan - fashion queen and high school popularity princess, and Josh - self-proclaimed film geek. At the very beginning of the book Dylan accidentally drops her precious designer bag into the fountain at the mall. When she can't (or won't) go into the fountain herself, she begs anyone near to go in and get it for her. Josh agrees, with the condition that she let him film her and her friends for a documentary about popularity that he wants to submit with his application to film school. Dylan "agrees", but quickly backs out. However, Dylan's dad gets wind of the agreement, decides that it's a good idea, and forces Dylan to hold up her end of the bargain.

Naturally, Dylan and Josh don't get along AT ALL. Dylan continues to make more and more demands of Josh as the project goes on. At one point Josh loses his patience and quits. But by halfway through the book the two have reached a fragile sort of agreement and surprisingly (to them, not to us) they begin to form a friendship.

Through the rest of the book we see Dylan transform into a more thoughtful, more caring person, and Josh transforms from a shy hypochondriac to a more confidant and well-rounded person. Josh helps Dylan see the joys in simple things, while Dylan helps Josh get over his fears and take chances.

Sure, it's been done and it is a little predictable, but I found this to be a really sweet story. And while the general idea was obviously not a surprise, the ending was actually different from what I expected. It was a fun, sweet book with interesting character development and a good message.