Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd by Various Authors

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Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd
by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (and others)

I wanted to read this book for two reasons:
1- I am currently in love with everything John Green has written and his story here was (at the time) the only published work of his I hadn't read
2- I'm a geek!

As with any short story collection, there are stories I liked more than others. I read John Green's story first (and liked it a lot) and then started from the beginning and read through the book. Slowly. Other books and projects kept getting in the way. It took me months to get through this book, but it's short stories so it's easy to finish one story, put it down, and pick it up again. I finished it on Do Nothing But Read Day.

Between each story is a geek-themed comic. On a whole, I really enjoyed it (and bought a copy as a present for a friend for Christmas). And it definitely filled me with geek pride. The variety of types of geeks was also really great to see. However, it wasn't as geeky throughout as I would have liked.

My favorite stories are:
Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi All the Way by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci- a Klingon and a Jedi get drunk and hook up at a con. Their fandom-loyal groups of friends are not pleased. Hilarious and geektastic!

One of Us by Tracy Lynn- a cheerleader enlists the help of a group of geeks so she'll be able to speak geek to her new boyfriend. Of course, it's not as easy as that :-) I love the variety of content covered here and her reaction to the Treks and the convention and Lord of the Rings, etc.

I Never by Cassandra Clare- In a fictional character roleplaying meetup, will Catherine Earnshaw really fall in love with her Heathcliff? I liked this one because of the variety of characters in the Game here (everything from Buffy fanfic writers to Xena to Jack & Ennis from Brokeback Mountain) and because I'm a romantic.

How to Look Cool and Not Drool in Front of Your Favorite Author cartoon- just... so useful!

The Wrath of Dawn by Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith- Dawn's stepsister tags along to a Buffy: the musical viewing. I wish I could have gone to the musical sing-along when it was near me (but a family reunion and Harry Potter book release won out) so I loved the setting/plot here!

Quiz Bowl Antichrist by David Levithan- The real drama behind the quiz bowl team. I instantly fell in love with this story, only to find out at the end that I'd just read a novel by this author and he had teamed up to write Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green, the #1 reason I was reading this book in the first place. But, really, I just loved this story so much!

The Quiet Knight by Garth Nix- A boy who likes medieval roleplaying proves he really is a galliant knight. This one was so sweet; irresistible.

Freak the Geek by John Green- Shows in detail the status geeks have a school... and how awesome they are.

The Truth About Dino Girl by Barry Lyga- Guys (especially the one the main character is after) are like dinosaurs. I really enjoyed this story.

The Stars at the Finish Line by Wendy Mass- Two future astronauts are locked in an epic competition and the Messier Marathon approaches. Honestly, made me want to steal my sister's telescope and get into astronomy!

There are a bunch of other good things to say about the other stories, don't get me wrong. The convention story was weird but good. And I never say no to Rocky Horror Picture Show goodness. I could even find things to admire greatly about the comic geek seeking an author and the drama geek and the baton-twirling geek. I wasn't so hot about the online hookup story but it was well-written. It was a typical collection, where I liked some more than others, but a great collection and one that is much-needed in this world!