The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love
By Mary Cosola,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Sweet story of geek boy desperately trying to get the girl.
Add rating
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the Story?
Graham has fallen in love with his best friend and comic book-writing collaborator, Roxy. He decides he needs to bare his soul to her. New York Comic Con is approaching, providing the perfect place to declare his love, as the two share many interests revolving around comics, graphic novels, and superheroes. Unfortunately for Graham, one well-laid plan after another goes awry. As he scrambles to figure out other romantic gestures, he and his friends meet other kids, who further thwart his plans. Graham is left alternately fuming and despondent, and his opportunities to confess his love to Roxy dwindle. Through the course of the Comic Con weekend, he figures out a lot about himself, his family, his friendships, and what it means to truly love someone.
Is It Any Good?
This tale of a comic book geek's plan to profess his love to his best friend is sweet and funny. It nails teen relationships and Comic Con culture without stooping to stereotypes. Those into comics, graphic novels, superheroes, and video games likely will love this book. Author Sarvanaz Tash gets the details of this culture right. The characters are smart, funny, creative, and inquisitive, not pedantic, annoying nose-pickers as these kids are so often portrayed. The environment of Comic Con is well detailed and paints the buzzing excitement in the halls. Graham is a wonderful main character. He's a tortured, lovesick teen but not annoyingly so. He tries too hard to control the weekend in which he's to profess his love to Roxy but quickly learns that he needs to go with the flow and let things happen naturally. He also learns that facing up to adversity makes him a better writer. His character growth in the book is fun to follow. The other characters are all interesting and add a lot of flavor to the story, and the interactions among the kids adds most of the humor. Tash writes authentic teen dialogue. The story is straightforward and mostly dialogue, so it's a quick read. In fact, it almost reads like a movie script.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about superheroes and other story series. What do superhero stories and lore offer to those who are into them? Do they look like cartoons or simple bad-vs.-good tales, or do you find deeper meaning in many of the stories?
What do you think is the downfall of idolizing famous actors, writers, and directors? Have you ever been really into a story series only to be disappointed by the direction it took?
Would you ever be allowed to skip school for something you were really into, such as Comic Con? What kind of deal would you offer to make it happen?
Book Details
- Author: Sarvenaz Tash
- Genre: Romance
- Topics: Friendship , Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models , High School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: June 14, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 12 - 18
- Number of pages: 256
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: October 30, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Our Editors Recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate