Twelve-year-old Ambrose lives with his mom - his dad died of an aneurysm before Ambrose was born - and they've moved around a lot. When three bullies nearly kill Ambrose by hiding a peanut in his lunch, he begins correspondence school instead, which is less dangerous but more lonely. So when Ambrose sees a flyer for a Scrabble club, he convinces his upstairs neighbors' son, Cosmo, to take him - even though his overprotective mom would never allow it, since Cosmo is recently home from jail for breaking and entering to support a drug habit. But Ambrose sees the good in Cosmo, and Cosmo sees the good in Amanda, who runs the club, so Ambrose's secret stays secret, for a while. But when an ex-friend of Cosmo's comes after them, and Ambrose's mom discovers the lies, she might make them move again - until Ambrose takes desperate action, running away in order to stay.

See also: You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly

Quotes

"I don't mean to expect the worst. But in my experience, the worst is what often happens." (Mom, 117)

It was the strangest yet best feeling in the world to realize that I was a part of this. (after the Scrabble tournament, 194)

"...has it ever crossed your mind that I'm a misfit? ...And that every time we go somewhere else and I have to try to start over, I fit in even less?" (219) ( )

I have read a number of Susan Nielson's middle grade fiction books and I think this has to be my favourite so far. It will only take you a couple of hours to get through it but it is a heartwarming book about a bunch of misfits and about Scrabble. ( )

This book was o.k, but it was a little bit two-dimensional. The characters had semi-complicated personalities, but with the exception of the main character, Ambrose, I never really felt like they were completely real people. Everybody was just a little too well-defined and nobody's actions or thoughts ever really surprised me. It kind of reminded me of a Gordon Korman book - the idea was cool, and it was entertaining at times with some funny parts, but the story was a little too tidy to be believable. ( )

I'm largely enthusiastic about Susin Nielsen's YA literature: quirky, addresses the dysfunction in society based on the experience of living in metro Vancouver (BC). Her characters are idiosyncratic and often socially marginalized. She writes with sympathy and the endings are realistic, without everything being resolved. Word Nerd was characterised by all these attributes and made for an engaging story, albeit that it took a few chapters to really become engrossed in the story.

There were several plot flaws that lowered my rating: the extreme bullying that went unobserved at school and were poorly addressed; the dichotomy of a single mother leaving her 12-year-old at home alone at night (while she's teaching night classes) yet is portrayed as an over-the-top helicopter parent; the rapid dénouement where the closing scenes have the impoverished mother driving a rental car to Calgary (from Vancouver), yet couldn't afford to buy anything but thrift clothes for her son.

However. There was plenty of merit in this story and I recommend it based on the developing relationships in a world of ordinary people struggling with real-life situations, the engaging character development in Nielsen's writing, and her ability to evoke reader sympathy. If you liked No Fixed Address or The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, for example, I think you'll be glad to read Word Nerd. ( )

A fun entertaining read. ( )