Nerd Love

Well, this book was adorable.

Unabashed comic book geek Graham has been in love with his across the alley neighbor Roxana since she moved in when she was eight and asked him which Hogwart’s house he belonged to. They’ve grown up together, they write comics together, and spend almost every waking moment together. But Roxy has no idea how Graham truly feels about her, so Graham cooks up a plan to reveal his feelings at New York Comic Con, and not just at Comic Con, but at the hottest event, a rare appearance by the creator of Roxy’s favorite comic creator.

But as anyone who has ever attended an event like this knows, tickets to see someone along the lines of Stan Lee are hard to come by. And so, of course, Graham can’t get the tickets, and he worries that his plan will fall apart. What follows is a John Hughes-esque series of events, and this would make the cutest movie, starring, I don’t know, John Cusack and maybe a geeky Molly Ringwald, except now all those actors are sadly too old. (Like me.) There’s a loyal and nervous best friend (hi, Cameron from Ferris Bueller), a chance meeting with an interesting girl who clearly has eyes for Graham and who is just this side of Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and a tall, dark, and handsome – and way too suave – new guy who catches Roxy’s interest and threatens to derail the whole thing.

I’m not a comic book person – in fact, I’ve only ever seen one Batman movie and one Ironman movie, although I have seen Deadpool – and so I don’t know who is DC and who is Marvel or even that the two worlds, apparently, can’t mix together. (Boy, did I get an education about that. Not really. I kind of tuned out.) But I got the sense that Tash knows comics and knows that world, and the reviews I’ve read say that she nailed it.

I do know what it’s like to be sixteen and want to be in love, though, and I can tell you she also perfectly captures that age, and what it’s like to be so in love with your best friend that you can’t see straight. All the angst, all the uncertainty, all the feelings that seem so overwhelming at that age – she gets it just right. Graham’s discovering what it’s like to be in love, and all the exquisite pain and happiness that goes along with it.

It’s about the cutest – and most honest – thing I’ve read all year.

More reviews found here.