'Dork in Disguise' is a dorky but cute Middle-Grade read

Dork in Disguise is for the dorks, geeks, and nerds in all of us. But really, what's the difference?

According to HelloGiggles:

Geek (n.)- Someone who spends a lot of time and energy in a certain area, not necessarily computers or technology; An outwardly normal person who has taken the time to learn technical skills. They are generally not athletic and enjoy video games, comic books, being on the internet, etc.

Nerd (n.)- A socially awkward person who has learned technical skills due to the spare time they enjoy from being generally neglected; one whose IQ exceeds his weight.

Dork (n.)- Someone who has odd interests and is often silly at times. A dork is also someone who can be themselves and not care what anyone thinks. Dorks are typically more noted for their quirky personality.

In short:
Geek- Smart but not awkward
Nerd- Smart and awkward
Dork- Smart in less useful areas, awkward but proud regardless

If I'm going to be technical about this, I can tell you that Jerry is not a dork. He's more like a nerd - smart and awkward. But these terms are used interchangeably nowadays so I'm okay either way.

Jerry is good at every subject in school, especially science (he even makes his own experiments) but he attempts to hide this for fear of embarrassment and rejection. He wants to be a cool guy with a swagger, a happy-go-lucky attitude, and rollerblading skills.

As he attempts to be cool, Jerry does things that are super stupid for me like not wearing his glasses even though he's nearsighted. As someone who has poor vision like Jerry, this felt like torture for me. I mean, eyeglasses are worn for vision, not fashion. And then he tries to act stupid by not answering teachers' questions even though he knows the answers. He plays dumb (Come on, who'd want to be dumb?!) and gets himself in danger.

The worst thing about this though is the amount of lies he'd had to tell people just so he can pull off this cool guy persona. This book reminded me a lot of The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney because of this.

This book had science, nerdy parts which I skipped but in general, I enjoyed it. It was a simple, quick read and although the plot and its lessons were not completely new, it still worked. The humor, I think, was what saved this book. Brenda, Jerry's friend, delivers most of the good lines. Like this:

Can you believe it? The guy's almost brain dead, and look at the attention he gets.

And since this is Middle Grade fiction, I didn't really expect anything that resembles romance so I was surprised with the ending.

Over all, Dork in Disguise, both despite and because of its simplicity, is worth reading. Pick it up in between your heavy, serious reads and you'll enjoy it.

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