A book that actually makes me think it was written by a 10 year old. One with a lot of energy and trouble focusing her thoughts. It was a little frustrating to read at first. She seemed to bounce all over the place. But once I got into it, that didn't bother me anymore.The format is the odd thing about this book. It's sort of like a journal, in that there's different fonts at different points. Big cursive, etc. And then there's cartoons and drawings. And sometimes it even delves into screenplay format.The story is Zoey wanting to become cool before sixth grade. Given that she likes catching frogs, and knows a ton of things about the US presidents, her chances seem slim.This is a really good book for tweens or younger.You can find more of my thoughts on this book at Triple Take. http://www.flaminggeeks.com/tripletake ( )

Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

Eleven-year-old (Okay, more like ten and seven-eighths) Zoey Zinevich has figured out exactly what she needs before sixth grade starts in 198 days: a fairy godmother!

A good FG could fix up her hair, help her accessorize and make her "chic" (which can be used as both a noun and an adjective). Maybe with that kind of outside help, she and her friend, Venus, could eat lunch at The Table Bashley (ruled by Brittany and Ashley) instead of being banished to Table Ten, where Alex Shemtob inhales his food and exhales it again. Woe to those not wearing an art smock.

A surprise photo shoot at Harry S. Truman School by U GrL magazine brings Zoey's interests in presidents and molto retro clothing (molto means "very" in Italian, and retro means Zoey's grandpop's bowling shirt and fedora) to the spotlight. The creative director, a chic Lady in Black named Jazz, seems especially taken with Zoey's hat.

Could Jazz be the FG Zoey's been waiting for, or will she be stuck at Table Ten with bad hair forever?

Told in an almost multi-media format, using TV scripts and stills from "ZTube" videos produced by Zoey herself, this story will appeal to younger female fans of books like DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and MIDDLE SCHOOL IS WORSE THAN MEATLOAF.

The ending may be a bit unrealistic, but I'm anxious to see if this might lead to more Zoey stories in the future. ( )

Eleven year-old Zoey wishes for a fairy godmother to help her accessorize correctly, tame her hair, and help her earlobes stop growing. In this funny and endearing look at elementary kids today, readers discover new terms like "coolability" and "snoozerama". At the center of the story is the age old desire to be popular in school. Told through a combination of graphic style novels and traditional chapter writing, this fun and often goofy book is a read best for young girls. ( )

This cute variation on The Ugly Duckling doesn’t have the duck turn into a swan, but even better: it has all the swans admiring the duck. Zoey Zinevich is almost eleven and thinks she needs a Fairy Godmother to help her transition to sixth grade, which is only six months away. She wants to be “cool” instead of a “geek” and to be accepted by the cool crowd. In the end, she is “discovered” by a magazine for girls as the embodiment of “geek chic” and it is Zoey who is now the object of awe around the school.

Stylistically, the book is tailor-made for the media generation. Variations in format and font characterize the text, and there are amusing illustrations throughout. Zoey’s concerns seem right on for a girl of her age. The vocabulary is full of “girl-speak” but offers some intellectual challenges intermixed with words like “primo” and “coolability.”

My snobby side wanted not to like Geek Chic, but I couldn’t help myself; Zoey and her indomitable spirit won me over. ( )

GeekChic: The Zoey Zone by Margie Palatini is a delightful book! There are many ten-year-old, almost eleven, girls who have the same thoughts and fears that Zoey must deal with. Moving from the fifth grade to the sixth grade is tough even in the best of circumstances. Imagine making that move when you are stuck in the geek zone. Zoey must find a way to transform herself so that she can move out of her geek zone and into the chic arena. Can she make the necessary changes in time? Follow Zoey and her best friend Venus as they embark on this hilarious and touching journey. This book is for everyone who has ever been in or known anyone in the geek zone. Prepare to be entertained! ( )