Jessica's Review: Geeks by Jon Katz

Geeks has been quoted as being "an uplifting and hugely compassionate book" (Philidelphia Inquirer) as well as "a story of triumph, friendship, love, and above all, about being human and reaching for dreams in a hard-wired world" (Seattle Times Book Review). The book opens with various descriptions and definitions of what being a geek truly means which is followed by a forward about the ascension of geeks through history. But this story in particular is told by journalist Jon Katz and is the story of two boys, lost and out of place in a small town in Idaho, who used their self proclaimed geek titles as well as the internet to get out into the world and start lives for themselves. This is a story of the struggle of Jesse and Eric, their struggles in life, and their need not for acceptance but to find a life that fit their own personalities, suspicious of authority and questioning the structures of society such as politics and religon. The strictly Mormon town of Caldwell, ID was not the place for their computer genius so they set off for Chicago. This book documents their trip as well as the struggle of geeks across the country as Columbine, the shootings in Littleton, CO, occurs . The profiling and cruel torment that geeks went through acorss the country is chronicled by this journalist that decided it was his mission to give these people a voice. I would suggest this book to anyone who reads stories of outcasts, modern biographies of struggle, or any book about getting by on anything but socal standard. Overall it was a great eye opening book.
Rating: 4Q,3P