Awkward by Marni Bates {Review}

Publisher: K-Teen

Publish Date: January 1, 2012 

Source: Library

Goodreads

Mackenzie Wellesly has spent her life avoiding the spotlight. At Smith High, she's the awkward junior people only notice when they need help with homework. Until she sends a burly football player flying with her massive backpack and makes a disasterous -- not to mention unwelcome -- attempt at CPR. Before the day is out, the whole fiasco explodes on YouTube. And then the strangest thing happens. Suddenly, Mackenzie is an internet sensation, with four million hits and counting. Sucked into a whirlwind of rock stars, paparazzi, and free designer clothes, she even catches the eye of the most popular guy at school. And that's when life gets really interesting. 

I thought I was awkward in school, but Mackenzie Wellesley showed me a whole new level of awkward!

I had pretty high hopes for Awkward before I even opened to the first page since it looked really cute and I’d heard some good reviews. At first, I was disappointed. It seemed Mackenzie was being too stubborn in the way she held onto her geek pride. Don’t get me wrong, I completely get the geek pride thing, but the Mackenzie waved the Geek Flag around just kind of started to get on my nerves.

But then something happened. I’m really not sure what it was, maybe it was just Mackenzie starting to grow and change, but whatever it was I started to really get into the story. When I turned the last page, I had that content feeling you get after reading (or even watching) a really cute romance.

I really enjoyed most of the secondary characters too. Corey was pretty much a stereotypical gay best friend, but I totally loved him. He was sweet and always looking out for Mackenzie. I totally want him as MY best friend. Tim and the rest of ReadySet were cool too. I liked that they actually had a part in the story and weren’t just a stop along the journey. I wasn’t as big a fan of Jane, though. I think that’s basically due to the fact that she was barely in the story.

Oh, and there’s Logan. He was nice and sweet and funny. I really liked him, but I do wish he’d been a little more fleshed out.

This book also happens to have the best “insult” I’ve heard since the boy in my 7^th grade class called me “Reader Girl” like it was a bad thing: “You, Mackenzie, have a thesaurus where your heart should be.” I laughed so hard at that! It’s just so completely absurd. Have you ever had someone try to insult you, but instead the insult was laughable?

The Nutshell: Awkward is cute, funny, and fun. Mackenzie is a character most of us can relate to in some way or another. Problem not the instant stardom, but the awkwardness is easy to relate to. Even if you weren’t the geeky one in school, you probably felt out of place at some point in your teenage years. Marni Bates has created a story that gives us all an outlandish and humorous look at the awkward years. If you’re a fan of cute romance and hilarity, you should definitely get your hands on this one.

Pages: 259

Series: No, but it will have a companion out next year.

Rating: 4 stars