For 15-year-old Harriet, fun means correcting people's grammar and watching nature documentaries. When she panics ich is often e hides under furniture and hangs around in Laundromats. In her mismatched cartoon T-shirts and lounge pants, Harriet is as awkward as her best friend Nat is stunning. Nat has always had one dream: to be a model. But it's Harriet who gets discovered at the open call Nat drags her to. And Harriet is the one who tests the limits of their friendship when she reluctantly agrees to a tour of star-studded runway shows abroad in hopes of proving to her classmates and family (and, yes, herself) that there's more to her than awkwardness. Smale was herself an unlikely teen model, which helps brings her effervescent characters to life: Harriet is flanked by a bookish, nonthreatening stalker; a flamboyant agent; despicable mean girls; and a hopelessly dashing male model. A smash hit in the UK and finally released in the U.S., this is a cheeky, fabulous, fun read for anyone who has dreamed of a fresh start.

Gr 7-10 Harriet Manners, star of this British import, is a geek through and through. She has no idea how to dress, is awkward and clumsy, spouts off facts at every opportunity, is bullied mercilessly at school, and has one friend, Nat, and one stalker, Toby. Nat dreams of becoming a fashion model and drags a completely uninterested Harriet along to Clothes Week, hoping to get discovered. As soon as they arrive, Nat runs off to find an agent leaving Harriet to her own devices. While looking at hats, Harriet manages to knock over several stalls, which creates quite a commotion and leads to her unwanted discovery by a modeling agent. Insert hilarity, deception, misunderstanding, fashion, makeup, and hairstyles. Harriet loses and regains her best friend and finds a new friend in Toby while she attempts to navigate modeling for one of the top fashion designers. Quirky, likable, and geeky, Harriet is an outsider to the modeling world but possesses a natural charm that is everything the fashion world needs. Pure fun. Heather Acerro, Rochester Public Library, MN

Start with a little bit of Ugly Duckling, add a generous portion of mean girls, and pour on the unfortunate truth of real-life bullying to get the delightful, surprisingly satisfying confection that is Geek Girl. Fifteen-year-old Harriet Manners is a geek by definition, the Old English Dictionary definition to be exact, and she does not mind being a geek at all. The unending ridicule for her geekiness, however, is extremely hard to take. Just as Harriet sinks to an unequaled level of misery when she suffers public humiliation at the hands of a longtime tormenter, she gets an unbelievable opportunity to completely transform her life. Harriet Manners, girl geek, has been noticed by a high fashion modeling agency and begins a metamorphosis from ordinary British schoolgirl to international supermodel. The adventures of Harriet in her new, double life of student/supermodel become hilariously outlandish, but just as these adventures veer to the completely unbelievable, a foreshadowed plot twist brings it all back to reality with a sweet, believable ending.Harriet is irresistible. Readers will experience love at first chapter for this geek girl who always manages to hold on to her sense of humor as she navigates the treacherous worlds of school friendships and high-fashion modeling. This is not a fluffy bookit is a thoughtful exploration of school bullying. The main character faces real-life issues and relies on her sense of humor to rise above despair.Debbie Kirchhoff.