NERDS Change the World

NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jackson Jones is the most popular student at Nathan Hale Elementary School. He is the star of the football team, good looking and was loved by his teachers. His biggest hobby was bullying the nerds of Nathan Hale, and there were a lot of them. All of Jackson's popularity changed, however, when he found himself wearing braces and headgear. He had become a nerd.

None of Jackson's friends would talk to him, but he began noticing something about the nerds. They always sneezed all at the same time. And then they would leave class. Jackson followed them one day, and watched the nerds all shove themselves into lockers. He did the same and after falling through the locker floor heard "Welcome to the Playground." There he found out about the nerds: they were superheroes and part of the NERDS, the National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society. The leader of the NERDS was Mr. Brand, who was also the school janitor. He decides to let Jackson be a part of the team, despite the kids not wanting the biggest bully in school to join them. Jackson gets his braces specialized and finds himself trying to save the world, even after getting kicked off of the team.

This is a great book that has a positive message for those "nerds" who might not always fit in with their peers. Jackson is a classic school bully, and he learns that being a bully doesn't always pay off.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to 4th-6th grade kids at school this fall, especially boys! During the 2010-2011 school year, this book was the 13th most checked out book at my school, and I expect it to move up the list this year.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

If everyone was an oddball, why had he been singled out as a nerd? --NERDS

The herd might have been a collection of misshapen goobers, but at least they had each other. --NERDS

The dorks, dweebs, goobers and spazzes that you picked on are the ones who will grow up to discover the vaccines, write the great novels, push the boundaries of science and technology and invent things that make people healthier and happier. Nerds change the world. --NERDS


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