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    Word Nerd
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    Word Nerd
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    Word Nerd
    Ebook196 pages2 hours

    Word Nerd

    By Susin Nielsen

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Twelve-year-old Ambrose is a glass-half-full kind of guy. A self-described “friendless nerd,” he moves from place to place every couple of years with his overprotective mother, Irene. When some bullies at his new school almost kill him by slipping a peanut into his sandwich — even though they know he has a deathly allergy — Ambrose is philosophical. Irene, however, is not and decides that Ambrose will be home-schooled.

    Alone in the evenings when Irene goes to work, Ambrose pesters Cosmo, the twenty-five-year-old son of the Greek landlords who live upstairs. Cosmo has just been released from jail for breaking and entering to support a drug habit. Quite by accident, Ambrose discovers that they share a love of Scrabble and coerces Cosmo into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club, where Cosmo falls for Amanda, the club director. Posing as Ambrose’s Big Brother to impress her, Cosmo is motivated to take Ambrose to the weekly meetings and to give him lessons in self-defense. Cosmo, Amanda, and Ambrose soon form an unlikely alliance and, for the first time in his life, Ambrose blossoms. The characters at the Scrabble Club come to embrace Ambrose for who he is and for their shared love of words. There’s only one problem: Irene has no idea what Ambrose is up to.

    In this brilliantly observed novel, author Susin Nielsen transports the reader to the world of competitive Scrabble as seen from the honest yet funny viewpoint of a boy who’s searching for acceptance and for a place to call home.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateJan 8, 2010
    ISBN9781770490758
    Unavailable
    Word Nerd
    Author

    Susin Nielsen

    Susin Nielsen got her start writing for popular television series, Degrassi Junior High. Since then, she’s written for many Canadian TV shows and her young adult novels have received considerable critical acclaim. Word Nerd and My Messed-Up Life won multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen won the UKLA Award, the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year and many Young Readers’ Choice Awards, while We Are All Made of Molecules was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Susin lives in Vancouver with her family and two extremely destructive cats.

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    Reviews for Word Nerd

    4/5

    92 ratings9 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This book could have been perfect for all readers if certain things had been left out. Such a shame. The author really captured the essence and idiosyncrasies of the main character Ambrose. He's 11 and doesn't fit in at school. Not any of the schools he's been at.
      Interestingly enough, his life improves when the three bullies almost kill him with a peanut and the son of his landlords is released from jail.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      I picked this book up, thinking it was about linguistics -- a mistake -- but I'm glad I made it, because what I found was a delightful, compactly written coming of age story that was delightful but real at the same time -- Bravo!
    • 5/5
      Ambrose captured my heart! I love him so much, like a mother and as a vision of myself when I was 12/13. Ambrose is a nerd, gets picked on at school, has an overprotective single mother, wears strange clothes, speaks without thinking, has no social graces but can play a mean game of Scrabble. Ambrose probably has Asperger's but why he is this way isn't addressed; it's simply the story of a boy learning to be who he is, get along with others, and actually be happy. I fell in love with Ambrose right away as he reminded me of myself. I'm an aspie and saw myself in Ambrose in so many ways. He is a dear, tender child who often says the most awkward things as he has no filter before speaking. This isn't the story of his problem though, it is a story of a mother and son who, after thirteen years, finally learn to get on with there lives since the death of the father/husband. Ambrose uses Scrabble to get out into the world and meet people similar to himself thus giving him self-confidence and the strength to be firm with his mother as the two of them both ultimately struggle for a place to call home. Beautifully written, a page turner, and a book where I just wish I didn't have to say goodbye to the main character. Farewell, Ambrose.
    • 3/5
      For twelve year-old Ambrose, self-proclaimed nerd, he has always had a hard time making friends and his latest school proves to be no different when the three bullies at school almost kill him by putting a peanut in his sandwich, of which he has a severe allergy to, causing his mother to make the decision for Ambrose to take correspondence classes from home. Despite not having a way with words in social situations, Ambrose is a brilliant Scrabble player and his love for the game sparks an unlikely connection with his landlords’ son, who happens to be fresh out of jail. While touching on heavy topics surrounding drugs, breaking and entering, and alienation, Nielsen makes this an appropriate read for tweens and middle schoolers who have at one time or another felt different. Readers will see the world through Ambrose’s eyes, who honestly and amusingly narrates his search for acceptance. Word lovers will enjoy the clever chapter titles each beginning with a jumble of letters followed by a list of words that can be made from the selection, and finally by the title of the chapter itself which uses all the letters above.
    • 4/5
      At 12 years old, Ambrose almost died when three guys put a peanut in his sandwich. This single act sends Ambrose's overprotective mom into a tailspin. Suddenly he's doing school by correspondence, ends up hanging out with their landlord's son, Cosmo, who was just released from jail, and joins the West Vancouver Scrabble Club where he begins to grow up and really learn what friends are.This book is perfect for tweens. Ambrose is a delightful narrator with his quirkiness and unique approach to life. And he doesn't skirt around issues at all. He's funny and his views on the people that surround him are entertaining. His obsession with words and Scrabble is also particularly endearing. However, what I enjoyed most about this book is just how Canadian it is. Ambrose talks about living in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, and Kelowna before moving to Vancouver. He makes reference to Canadian music and television. I laughed out loud reading his fantasy about Peter Mansbridge being his father. A fun, quick read that ultimately emphasizes that being different should always be embraced.
    • 5/5
      A funny, yet serious story about a young boy struggling with identity, independence, and bullies. Set in Vancouver, this Ambrose's story tugs at the reader's heart strings and leaves the reader rooting for this naive underdog.
    • 4/5
      Identifiable characters that are realistic and flawed in their portrayal, both in how they live their lives and interact with each other. Clever use of one word titles, scrambled and unscrambled, that convey the essence of each new the chapter - as a bonus for Scrabble devotees, the author generates a wordlist, using only the letters of each chapter title.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. It's a novel written by Susin Nielsen. The book is about a boy named Ambrose who is allergic to peanuts. He was being bullied and almost died because these kids put a peanut in his sandwich. Finally, he meets an ex-convict who seems to like to play Scrabble just like him. Ambrose and Cosmo turned out to become good friends. They went to a Scrabble club and did not tell Ambrose's mother because she was very overprotective. However, she found out when Cosmo's friend wanted some money from him. It turned out to become a fight and the police were involved but it was all good because Ambrose's mother became friends with Cosmo even though she doubted him. The book overall was great, except for the disgusting parts. I really liked the story. I would recommend this book for kids aged 10+ because some parts of the book may be too much for children younger. I have never met somebody who is severely allergic to peanuts but I'm actually allergic to ragweed and dust mite. However, its just mild. This book is fantastic!