Word Nerd

Author: Susin Nielsen
Recommended Age: 10 +
Publisher: Tundra Books
ISBN: 978-0-88776-875-0
Year Published: 2008 
No. Pages: 246
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Niall



Fourteen-year-old Ambrose has been allergic to peanuts ever since he could remember, but after a prank at school, involving peanuts, sends him to the hospital, Ambrose gets pulled out of school by his over-protective single mother. Having been bullied most of his life at school, his mother decides he must be home schooled. Lonely, he befriends Cosmos, the twenty-five-year old son of his Greek landlords. They play Scrabble together and one day, Ambrose sees a notice on a billboard for a local Scrabble club. Ambrose is excited but doesn't dare tell his mother. Soon, he discovers that being accepted in the Scrabble world has nothing to do with bullies, wearing the right clothes or pretending to be someone he's not.

This book has many different themes worth exploring. Lying is one of them. Ambrose lies at school and pretends to be someone he's not. He lied to his mom about his whereabouts in the evening so as not to upset her. He also lied at the Scrabble club, telling them that it was okay with his mom for him to be there so that they would allow him to stay. Ambrose feels bad about lying but he has told so many lies that he can't stop, and it's getting him in trouble. Susin Nielsen shows that instead of lying you should be honest, because it gets you in less trouble, and allows you to be true to yourself.

Another theme is learning from your mistakes. Ambrose learned that lying can bring on more difficulties than it solves. Cosmos is another example of a character who has learned from his mistakes. He turned his life around from being involved in gangs and breaking the law, to being a good citizen. He also helped out Ambrose gain his confidence.

In the book, Ambrose found the confidence to face his fears. He was getting bullied whenever he went to hand in his work at school. The bullying was partly due to the fact that Ambrose would not stick up for himself. Also, being the type of kid that enjoyed going to a Scrabble club in his spare time made him an atypical kid, which from my experience attracts bullies. Ambrose was able to overcome his fear of the bullies by finding a friend in Cosmos, which increased his confidence.

This book was written in first person narrative. It was a female author writing from a male's point of view. I think Nielsen did a good job as I believed the voice to be male. I felt like I would be Ambose's friend if I knew him. His character spoke like an average teenager would, and he faced a lot of the same issues that my friends and I might face, such as school bullies, trying to fit in, noticing girls and trying to get your way with an overprotective mother.

I enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it for kids who have been bullied, because it shows that you could still make friends in the place you least expect it and gain the confidence to stick up for yourself. Another reason why I enjoyed this book was because I liked all the characters and the story was realistic. This book was a quick and funny read, but it had an emotional pull because I find difficult to hear about bullying and about kids who uncomfortable with who they are. As a reader, it reminded me to accept people for who they are rather than judge them. I rated this book 9 out of 10.