Awkward

Awkward by Marni Bates is one of those books that you read and think, “WHY didn’t I read this sooner?” See the girl on the cover? That was me throughout all of Awkward – I was a giggly, squealing mess because I was having so much fun. I was giggling in parts of Awkward that weren’t even particularly funny.

And Marni Bates knows teens. I just wanted to hug Mackenzie and be like I KNOW YOU. Awkward is so unbelievably relatable and embarrassing and I swear I was turning red with embarrassment for Mackenzie.

Oh my gosh, and LOGAN. I loved Logan. Logan is going to be one of those male fictional characters that sticks with me for a long time. He was just so interesting and normal and nice but still guy-like and just, so swoon worthy in certain moments.

Yes, the storyline in Awkward is RIDICULOUS but awesome. I mean, oh my god, just thinking about what got Mackenzie youtube famous hurts my heart with embarrassment and I know, or I hope, rather, that this won’t ever happen to anyone but it doesn’t matter because it is such a fun ride.

Guys, if you’re in need of the perfect hilarious and sweet and cute contemporary, go pick up Awkward by Marni Bates. It made my night infinitely better and I’m sure Awkward would do the same for you!

Review originally posted on my blog http://hobbitsies.net/2012/03/awkward-by-marni-bates-review-and-giveaway/

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 7th 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.

I’ve been hearing LOADS of stuff about this book. I read this mainly because I enjoy main characters who are awkward—a social pariah, with an insanely stupid crush on a stupid boy but ends up with the right one who has seen her all along and likes her anyway, awkwardness and all. That may seem like a predictable story line, a formula that’s easy to pinpoint, and, in a way, it is, but, not only is it a fun, enjoyable one that I never get tired of, Awkward by Marni Bates does it with quirky flair, an endearing main character who manages to be oblivious even while being self-aware and not inclined to change, and a whole SLEW of adorable friends and family members and evil bishes that make us grin along with everything else that goes down.

Mackenzie Wellesley has a whole heck of a lot of humor, which becomes an immediately recognizable quality once we get into the swing of things. After a brutally heart-wrenching opening, in which we glimpse the heart-numbing event that stole her father from her childhood and onwards, a connection is drawn and we can’t help but relate to this nerdy girl who reluctantly chats with one best friend about boys and school, manages to become a Youtube sensation with a cringe-worthy act that is downright EXCRUCIATING and uncomfortable to say the least, and is strangely flustered by Logan Beckett, the boy she tutors after school for some extra cash. We are forced to squash the urge to *face-palm* several times, because between the babbling and other awkward social skills, Mackenzie is PAINFULLY clumsy, although she is a good girl with a head full of smarts, a fabulous sense of humor, and who is very serious about her independence. Watching her go from pariah to socialite, experiencing all her firsts (drinking, concerts, and kissing), and then retain the person she is, shifting only in how she’s come to view herself, is fun, entertaining, and seriously warming, as we feel almost as if we’ve taken this girl under our wings, casually protecting her and rooting for her triumph!

Sexy, sweet jock with reading problems aside for a second, the other characters in the story highlight the delightfulness of this book. From Jane, fellow nerd extraordinaire, to Corey, fashionister extreme and excellent dance partner, to Tim Goff, fast friend and neighborhood rockstar, Mackenzie makes so many new friends, who are happy to get to know her, even while staying true to her best friends, never succumbing to the hideousness that tends to overcome a person so that fame is all they define themselves by. With a family at home that comforts and defends and supports when push comes to shove, and friends who really matter, Awkward by Marni Bates only gets more enjoyable with each person we meet.

The romance strikes as very obvious, yet the tension can be spooned with a mechanical crane, that’s how spectacularly and deliciously huge and palpable it is. Mackenzie, never having dated and already admitted less-than-knowledgeable about boys, is quite oblivious to the feelings she’s forming and to the fact that the boy she is developing them for has been subtly hinting that he returns them. It’s sweet, how Logan is constantly dropping subtle hints, protecting her from his crowd at school, looking out for her when she finds herself in sticky situations. Realization may come slowly, but the reward is gushiness-worthy and brimming with swooniness in an adorable, sweet way.

Awkward by Marni Bates ends with a slow-shift, where everything is all crazy in the climax and grows to gradual by the time we get to the resolution, giving us a teaser as to Mackenzie’s future with an embrace we’ve been waiting for and totally leaves us grinning. Every moment flows and feels completely natural, the build-up fanning our anticipation, but when that delicious conclusion happens, happiness bursts from us in tsunami-like waves.

Originally posted at Paranormal Indulgence, 4/17/12

Want something similar to read? Try Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman and/or Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin.