Geek Girl: Model Misfit by Holly Smale

About the book

Geek Girl: Model Misfit is the second book in the Geek Girl series by Holly Smale. The book was published by Harper Collins Children’s Books on 26^th September and it is 400 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy.

Plot Synopsis

Newly a model, always a geek, Harriet Manners has a lot going on. She knows an unlimited amount of random facts, is about to have a little brother or sister and has no idea where she fits in. After her plans for the whole summer are ruined, she’s surprised by a fabulous opportunity to model in Japan. But, even though she can’t wait to be as far away from home as possible, nothing seems to go right for Harriet in Tokyo. Her shoots are going terribly and hot boy Nick is everywhere she doesn’t want him to be. Japan was supposed to be the best summer ever but is quickly turning into Harriet’s worst nightmare.

What I thought

Geek Girl was one of those books that I couldn’t put down as soon as I started it and I was so hoping that the second instalment was going to be exactly the same.

At the beginning of the book Harriet is just about to take her final exam while painted gold (it’s okay, it was for a photo shoot) and is stressing about Nick, the guy she hasn’t heard from in ages. She has a whole plan for the summer with her best friend which are quickly destroyed when she finds out Nat is going to France for the summer. Luckily, her agent gives her the news that she’s landed a job in Tokyo and must leave right away so things begin to look up.

Harriet’s unique voice shines through from the very beginning and I quickly remembered why I loved her so much in the previous book. She’s a quirky girl and is definitely different from the other girls at her school, which doesn’t really do her any favours. However, she always tries her hardest at everything, even if things don’t seem to go her way a lot of the time. She’s silly and clumsy, which makes me laugh and even though she is incredibly clever, she does the silliest things at times.

I really loved that this book focused on Harriet getting another shot at modelling and jetting over to Japan to try again. The location brings in a completely different culture to what Harriet is used to and also provides some fantastic scenes of her exploring and getting to know her new surroundings. Not only that but Holly Smale brings in the pop culture of Japan and makes it a focal point of the story. It was so funny to see Harriet learn about the cuteness of everything and how important that was in Japan.

While the plot and Harriet were both fantastic, other characters help make this book as good as it is. In Japan, Harriet is forced to live with other models Poppy and Rin and these two provide so many funny moments. I have to say that I absolutely loved Rin and her misunderstandings of English and the fact that she tried so hard to get things right. Then there is Nick, who I loved so much in the first book. Nick is the love interest of the series and he’s broken Harriet’s heart. So when he turns up in Japan, she doesn’t know how to act and the fact that she’s without her best friend doesn’t help any. Nick and Harriet always have this wonderfully unique chemistry going and I couldn’t get enough of these two together.

I cannot really express how much I loved this book apart from to say I did love it more than the first book. Holly Smale has definitely done it again!