Word Nerd

by Susin Nielsen

Paperback, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

FIC NIE

Call number

FIC NIE

Description

When some bullies at his new school almost kill him by slipping a peanut into his sandwich, friendless nerd Ambrose, forced to be home-schooled by his overprotective mother, coerces his neighbor Cosmo into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club, where people accept him for who he is.

Publication

Tundra Books (2010), Edition: 2nd Printing, 264 pages

Original publication date

2008-09

Original language

English

Language

User reviews

LibraryThing member xXcr9Xx
I loved this book. It's a novel written by Susin Nielsen. The book is about a boy named Ambrose who is allergic to peanuts. He was being bullied and almost died because these kids put a peanut in his sandwich. Finally, he meets an ex-convict who seems to like to play Scrabble just like him. Ambrose
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and Cosmo turned out to become good friends. They went to a Scrabble club and did not tell Ambrose's mother because she was very overprotective. However, she found out when Cosmo's friend wanted some money from him. It turned out to become a fight and the police were involved but it was all good because Ambrose's mother became friends with Cosmo even though she doubted him.

The book overall was great, except for the disgusting parts. I really liked the story. I would recommend this book for kids aged 10+ because some parts of the book may be too much for children younger.

I have never met somebody who is severely allergic to peanuts but I'm actually allergic to ragweed and dust mite. However, its just mild.

This book is fantastic!
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LibraryThing member keatkin
Identifiable characters that are realistic and flawed in their portrayal, both in how they live their lives and interact with each other. Clever use of one word titles, scrambled and unscrambled, that convey the essence of each new the chapter - as a bonus for Scrabble devotees, the author
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generates a wordlist, using only the letters of each chapter title.
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LibraryThing member StJohnBrebeuf
The 2010 Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award Winner
LibraryThing member isln_reads
Booklist (November 1, 2008 (Online))
Grades 4-8. Scrabble and crossword nerds will enjoy this funny moving story, and so will many in the middle-school crowd, who will recognize the struggle to stand up to bullies at school and a hovering parent at home. Ambrose, 12, is close with his widowed mom,
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but he wants his independence. After mom moves them yet again, this time to Vancouver, he bonds with his neighbor’s son, Cosmo, an ex-con teen who has spent time for drug crime and is now trying to stay clean, facts that Ambrose hides from Mom. Not only does Cosmo teach Ambrose about self-defense, but together they also join the local Scrabble club, where Cosmo meets a gorgeous girl and Ambrose wins the championship. Every chapter heading is a fun word game that connects with the plot: Bonding (“bingo, boing, bind doing, bog, ding, dong, gob”) and Screwed say it all, as Ambrose finally gets Mom to put down roots and allow him the space to find his own way.
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LibraryThing member JMBridger
A funny, yet serious story about a young boy struggling with identity, independence, and bullies. Set in Vancouver, this Ambrose's story tugs at the reader's heart strings and leaves the reader rooting for this naive underdog.
LibraryThing member MickyFine
At 12 years old, Ambrose almost died when three guys put a peanut in his sandwich. This single act sends Ambrose's overprotective mom into a tailspin. Suddenly he's doing school by correspondence, ends up hanging out with their landlord's son, Cosmo, who was just released from jail, and joins the
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West Vancouver Scrabble Club where he begins to grow up and really learn what friends are.

This book is perfect for tweens. Ambrose is a delightful narrator with his quirkiness and unique approach to life. And he doesn't skirt around issues at all. He's funny and his views on the people that surround him are entertaining. His obsession with words and Scrabble is also particularly endearing. However, what I enjoyed most about this book is just how Canadian it is. Ambrose talks about living in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, and Kelowna before moving to Vancouver. He makes reference to Canadian music and television. I laughed out loud reading his fantasy about Peter Mansbridge being his father. A fun, quick read that ultimately emphasizes that being different should always be embraced.
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LibraryThing member alizastein
For twelve year-old Ambrose, self-proclaimed nerd, he has always had a hard time making friends and his latest school proves to be no different when the three bullies at school almost kill him by putting a peanut in his sandwich, of which he has a severe allergy to, causing his mother to make the
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decision for Ambrose to take correspondence classes from home. Despite not having a way with words in social situations, Ambrose is a brilliant Scrabble player and his love for the game sparks an unlikely connection with his landlords’ son, who happens to be fresh out of jail. While touching on heavy topics surrounding drugs, breaking and entering, and alienation, Nielsen makes this an appropriate read for tweens and middle schoolers who have at one time or another felt different. Readers will see the world through Ambrose’s eyes, who honestly and amusingly narrates his search for acceptance. Word lovers will enjoy the clever chapter titles each beginning with a jumble of letters followed by a list of words that can be made from the selection, and finally by the title of the chapter itself which uses all the letters above.
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LibraryThing member sdunford
I picked this book up, thinking it was about linguistics -- a mistake -- but I'm glad I made it, because what I found was a delightful, compactly written coming of age story that was delightful but real at the same time -- Bravo!
LibraryThing member LibraryGirl11
Scrabble drives this story of a Canadian boy's journey from harassed misfit to finding himself in a mismatched family of sorts. Probably not great for group discussions--lots of mention of "boy parts," but worth reading.
LibraryThing member VhartPowers
This book could have been perfect for all readers if certain things had been left out. Such a shame. The author really captured the essence and idiosyncrasies of the main character Ambrose. He's 11 and doesn't fit in at school. Not any of the schools he's been at.
Interestingly enough, his life
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improves when the three bullies almost kill him with a peanut and the son of his landlords is released from jail.
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LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
I'm largely enthusiastic about Susin Nielsen's YA literature: quirky, addresses the dysfunction in society based on the experience of living in metro Vancouver (BC). Her characters are idiosyncratic and often socially marginalized. She writes with sympathy and the endings are realistic, without
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everything being resolved. Word Nerd was characterised by all these attributes and made for an engaging story, albeit that it took a few chapters to really become engrossed in the story.

There were several plot flaws that lowered my rating: the extreme bullying that went unobserved at school and were poorly addressed; the dichotomy of a single mother leaving her 12-year-old at home alone at night (while she's teaching night classes) yet is portrayed as an over-the-top helicopter parent; the rapid dénouement where the closing scenes have the impoverished mother driving a rental car to Calgary (from Vancouver), yet couldn't afford to buy anything but thrift clothes for her son.

However. There was plenty of merit in this story and I recommend it based on the developing relationships in a world of ordinary people struggling with real-life situations, the engaging character development in Nielsen's writing, and her ability to evoke reader sympathy. If you liked No Fixed Address or The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, for example, I think you'll be glad to read Word Nerd.
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LibraryThing member secondhandrose
I have read a number of Susan Nielson's middle grade fiction books and I think this has to be my favourite so far. It will only take you a couple of hours to get through it but it is a heartwarming book about a bunch of misfits and about Scrabble.

ISBN

088776990X / 9780887769900
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