A Dream Within A Dream: Going Geek Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Going Geek
Author: Charlotte Huang
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: September 13, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Synopsis:

A girl forced out of her comfort zone finds that being true to herself is the best way to live her life, in this second novel from the author of For the Record.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Skylar Hoffman’s senior year at her preppy East Coast boarding school should have been perfect:

amazing boyfriend
the coolest friends
the most desirable dorm

But it’s far from it. To her dismay, Skylar’s not going to rule senior year because she’s stuck in Abbot House, a tiny dorm known for, well, nothing. Living with a group of strangers everyone thinks is lame is bad enough. Worse is that Skylar wasn’t exactly truthful about how she spent summer break in Los Angeles—and her little white lie is causing her once rock-solid romance to crumble fast. And when it turns out that Skylar’s best friend is the one responsible for having her booted from Lincoln? It’s an all-out war.

Stepping out of her comfort zone never felt so scary—or necessary. But everything is different now. Including, maybe, Skylar herself . . .

Going Geek is a heartfelt young adult contemporary novel that readers of all ages can identify with. If you read my reviews, you'll know that this genre isn't my usual cup of tea. I'll occasionally read and review them, if they sound promising. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book, but I ended up enjoying it more than I thought. I really liked Skylar as the main character - especially as she faces all these new challenges at her school. She's down to earth and determined to do things how she wants. I loved watching her go out of her comfort zone and adjusting to the new situations throughout the book. Especially when it comes to the heart of the story - figuring out who you are in the world. It's something everyone has experienced (or will!) and it makes the book very easy to relate to.

The story may not be completely original, but it the rounded characters and the fantastic details and descriptions really made it stand out for me. I easily connected with Skylar and fell into her world as if I was there alongside her for everything that happens. I'm a huge fan of the first person point of view, and this book fits the ticket. Skylar is the narrator and the story is told from her perspective, so we get to know her character on a very personal level. No other writing style can get this deep of a connection with the narrator (in my opinion), and it really makes or breaks a book. If this had been done in any other writing style, I don't think I would've enjoyed it as much. Overall, this was a light & fun novel that fans of the genre should definitely get their hands on.

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Charlotte Huang is a graduate of Smith College and received an MBA from Columbia Business School, which is clearly something every aspiring writer should do. When not glued to her computer, she cheers her two sons on at sporting events and sometimes manages to stay up late enough to check out bands with her music agent husband. Charlotte lives in Los Angeles and is the author of For the Record (Delacorte, 2015) and Going Geek (Delacorte, September, 2016).

Represented by Adriann Ranta of Foundry Literary.