Blog Tour-Review: Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett & Giveaway

Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett
Expected Publication: December 2011
By: Sweetwater Books, an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc

Summary:
Jen's life of partying and sneaking out has grown stale. So on a whim, Jen makes a bet to turn Trevor, a goody-two-shoes geek, into a "bad boy." As she hangs out with Trevor, however, she finds it's actually kinda fun being a geek. But when Trevor finds out about the bet, Jen must fight for the things she's discovered matter most: friendship, family, and, above all, love.

My review:
Geek Girl is the kind of YA novel that makes the genre so popular. This story may not be a new one, but how many novels these days are completely original thoughts? The plot combined with Cindy C. Bennett's expressive writing style is what makes this one so great. All of the characters are described wonderfully, so that you can picture them in your mind. From the cliche' Mrs. Brady/Cleaver to the bad boy former "almost boyfriend," Cindy has done an excellent job of bringing them to life. The inner turmoil going on inside of Jen has been perfectly portrayed, and you come to understand why she acts the way she does. Whether you have a background similar to Jen's or completely different, you can still relate to how she feels and the struggles she faces. This novel tugged at my heartstrings and brought tears to my eyes more than once. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

Review from Krazy Book Girl (my 15 year old daughter):
Jen and Trevor are complete opposites, to say the least. Jen is a goth party girl and is regarded as a freak. Trevor does well in school, loves Sci-Fi movies, and is regarded as a geek. Jen decides to make a bet with her friends that she can bring Trevor over to "the dark side." It definitely does not turn out how she expects, or how you would expect. My favorite things about this book are how realistic it was and the word usage. The author really painted a picture of what was happening with her details. I really enjoyed reading this, and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fun but emotional read.

While you are here, please also read my interview with Cindy.

Find out more about Cindy, Geek Girl, and her other books at Cindy's website.

An ARC was provided by Cedar Fort for this review.

Giveaway:
One (1) copy. If you live outside of North America, Cedar Fort will send you an eBook. If you live inside North America, you have your choice of a hard copy or eBook. Giveaway will be open until midnight November 30. Winner will be selected using Random.org. Winner will be contacted through email and will have 3 days to respond or a new winner will be selected.

How to enter:
5 total possible entries.
Just follow Krazy Book Lady on GFC and fill out the form below.

Optional extra entries:
+1 Follow Krazy Book Lady on Twitter.
+1 Follow the author Cindy C. Bennett on Twitter.
+1 "Like" Cindy C. Bennett on Facbook.
+1 Leave a comment on this post or on the interview with Cindy.

Thank you for entering and good luck!

Sorry! This giveaway is now closed!

Winner: Jolene A.

Blog Tour: Interview with Cindy C. Bennett

Cindy C. Bennett is the author of Geek Girl. (You can see my review and my teenage daughter's review here.)

About Cindy:
Cindy C. Bennett was born and raised in beautiful Salt Lake City, growing up in the shadows of the majestic Rocky Mountains. She and her husband raised two daughters, two sons, and a plethora of pets.

In addition to writing YA fiction, she volunteers her time working with teen girls between the ages of twelve and eighteen, all of who she finds to be beautiful, fascinating people who constantly inspire her stories. She developed a love of writing in high school English when a teacher introduced her to the joys of escaping reality for ten minutes each day in writing.

When she's not writing, reading, or answering emails (notice there is no mention of cleaning, cooking, or anything domestic), she can often times be found riding her Harley through the beautiful canyons near her home. (Yes, she rides a Harley.)

What has been your most rewarding experience since you began writing?

Definitely my interaction with my readers. I love hearing from them. I’ve gotten some amazing emails from people who maybe have gone through a situation similar to one of my characters, or who just relate to something in the books. I’ve gotten to know some people who have become something of friends through our email exchanges, and I have two readers who write to me fairly regularly who are both so amusing that I look forward to hearing from them. So that has definitely been a most rewarding experience.

When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember, but it always seemed like a pipe dream—an impossibility—I think because I wanted it so much. I wanted to be a mom more than anything (done) and I also wanted to be a teacher. I haven’t ever had the chance to be an official teacher in a school, but I’ve had chances to teach in other settings, and I always enjoy it very much.

What was your favorite book when you were younger?

As a teen the thing that I remember reading most that I thoroughly enjoyed was Romeo & Juliet. I’m such a sucker for romance, and it’s the ultimate in romance. I also very clearly remember reading Forever by Judy Blume. I don’t know that I’d call it my favorite, but it made an impression because it was somewhat forbidden due to some of the content. I read a lot of VC Andrews and Stephen King as well.

What is your favorite quote?
“Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.” ~Author Unknown

If Geek Girl was made into a movie, who would be in your dream cast?

I don't really have specific actors in mind. I do have actors that the characters looks are based on, but they are all probably a little old to play high-schoolers. I always imagined Jen looking like Rachel Leigh Cook, and Trevor as Zac Efron-esque, especially after I once saw him describe himself in high school as "cool-geek." A younger Topher Grace would be Brian, and a younger Dakota Fanning would be Jane. It’s clear that I picture Trevor’s mom as anyone who looks like Carol from The Brady Bunch, but his dad would be someone more like Pierce Brosnan. Jen’s foster parents might be Mimi Rogers-esque and John Travolta-ish.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Don’t give up. Be persistent. It takes an amazing amount of persistence and hard work to succeed. It also takes the ability to withstand rejection, never an easy thing to be given. Most of all I would tell them to learn the craft, make sure to understand grammar, punctuation, spelling. I’ve been on some sites where authors are writing comments, or whatever, and their spelling or grammar is horrible (mixing up then and than, for example), let alone not using capitalization correctly, and I just think as a reader if I saw that I would be turned off by them as a writer because I’d be afraid their writing would reflect that. Everything you write anywhere, even on Facebook, should be written sort of as if it were a test of your writing skills.

What is a fun, random fact about you that most people don't know?

I am the holder of a concealed weapons permit, and I quite enjoy going out shooting (targets, not animals). I have a .38 Special revolver that I shoot most of the time, but my husband has quite a gun collection and I think I’ve shot most of them. I prefer revolvers over pistols after taking the skin off the top of my hand once by not moving it out of the way of the slide (my bad).

You can find Cindy on her website, on Twitter, and Facebook.

Teaser Tuesdays: Geek Girl

Teaser Tuesdays was created by MizB of Should Be Reading.

My teaser for the week: (OK, more than two sentences, but I couldn't help it.)

I slip my arm deliberately under Trevor's, lacing my fingers with his. She notices; so does he.

"Hey," my answer is flippant, a slight feline threat in there that she recognizes instinctively. The mice always do.

Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett, p. 49

Please come back to see my review of Geek Girl during the blog tour on Saturday, November 19.

Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful to NOT include spoilers! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author.

What do you think about this teaser? Please also share your own.