The Magic of a Geek-Boy Who Gets You by Jody Gehrman

Jody Gehrman is the author of Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty and Triple Shot Bettys in Love. Did you know that Triple Shot Bettys in Love was the first book I received for review? It was probably my most wordtastic review, as well. Want proof? Check out these word snippets from the review: "profound", "besotted", "abstruse", "muddled", "impeccable", "dynamic", "provacative", "catalyst", and "inadequacy". Read more here. Personally, I can not wait for Jody Gehrman's next novel which she talks about a bit below. And let me just say- I LOVE geek-boys. Thank you, Jody, for writing about them.

Working on my latest Young Adult novel, Babe in Boyland, has spawned an inordinate amount of thinking about geek-boys. The book follows the adventures of a temperamental young diva, Natalie Rowan. When her boyfriend, the editor of the school paper, breaks up with her because she’s too frivolous and moody, she decides to show him just how serious she can be by winning the local journalism award, Story of the Year. She decides to utilize her skills as an actress by going undercover as a guy at a nearby boys’ prep school, Underwood Academy, and writing an article about the secret lives of guys.

While she’s there, she starts seeing boys from a totally new perspective. A group of wealthy water polo jocks at Underwood tyrannizes all the other boys, especially those who fail to conform to their rigid standards of manhood. Though she knows as a girl she would have found these jocks attractive, she now sees them for what they are: pompous, narrow-minded and soulless. In contrast, the ragtag bunch of misfits and geek-boys she befriends may not be the epitome of sexy, but they’re quirky, fun and full of heart.

What Natalie discovers during her week undercover is something I’ve learned over a couple decades of dating. When I was younger, looks and popularity ranked high on my list of criteria for guys I might be into. Of course, you have to be attracted to someone to think of them in “that way,” and no amount of good intentions can create chemistry when it’s missing. As I got older, though, I realized that having a creative and intellectual connection with a guy could transform his so-so looks into serious shazam. Someone with frizzy hair, pasty skin and string bean arms can start to look like a Calvin Klein model when you really get him and he gets you. Conversely, some of the most cosmetically perfect boys I ever went out with quickly lost their luster when our conversations lacked the necessary frisson of minds connecting.

I guess this is a long way of saying that geek-boys can be serious treasure troves, but it takes awhile to get that—or it did for me, anyway. When I was twenty-nine I met David, an art guy who probably wouldn’t have warranted a second glance when I was sixteen. Eight years later, we’re still blissfully in love. And okay, yes, he’s cute—which totally helps. Still, it’s not his sexiness that keeps us together. It’s our conversations, our ability to talk about plays and politics and zombies with ongoing verve and enthusiasm that keeps me fascinated. Just to bring it full circle, it was largely David’s insights as an outsider in high school that helped me create the motley crew of Babe in Boyland. Not only is he my soul mate, but he’s also pretty useful when it comes to tough revisions.

So the next time you’re in Calculus and the pale, skinny guy across the aisle raises his hand yet again with the answer, check him out. Maybe that long, floppy hair conceals deeply intelligent eyes. You never know…he just might be the one human being in the world who gets you.