The Cheerleaders of Doom (NERDS Book Three)

NERDS #3

by Michael Buckley, Ethen Beavers (Illustrator)

Matilda “Wheezer” Choi, the asthmatic who can fly and kick butt courtesy of her nanobyte-enhanced inhalers, loves pro wrestling and hates anything “girlie.” Maybe that’s because she grew up with six brothers—or maybe it’s because her home life has become a battle zone in the conflict between her parents. Unfortunately for Wheezer, when a former member of NERDS turned villain gets extensive plastic surgery in order to become a cheerleader, Matilda must swallow her pride to successfully infiltrate the squad.
The newest supervillain, Gerdie Baker, assisted by the criminal mastermind Simon, has created a device that opens portals to other worlds, which she and the other cheerleaders have been pillaging. But the alternate realities are starting to get awfully close together, so it’s up to Wheezer and the NERDS to stop the cheerleaders before the worlds collide.

Genres: Middle Grade, Nerd, Science Fiction, Adventure, Fiction, Humor, Fantasy

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Michael Buckley was born in Akron, Ohio. He tried his hand as a stand-up comic and lead singer for a punk rock back before attending Ohio University. After graduating with honors he moved to New York City to be an intern on the Late Show with David Letterman which led to stints developing programming for Discovery Networks, MTV, MTV Animation and Klasky Csupo (producers of Nickelodeon’s Rugrats). Today he lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife, Alison, and their son Finn.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Odith Senerath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matilda "Wheezer" Choi, the asthmatic who can fly and kick butt courtesy of her nanobyte-enhanced inhalers, loves pro wrestling and hates anything "girlie." Maybe that's because she grew up with six brothers-or maybe it's because her home life has become a battle zone in the conflict between her parents. Unfortunately for Wheezer, when a former member of NERDS turned villain gets extensive plastic surgery in order to become a cheerleader, Matilda must swallow her pride to successfully infiltrate the squad. The newest supervillain, Gerdie Baker, assisted by the criminal mastermind Simon, has created a device that opens portals to other worlds, which she and the other cheerleaders have been pillaging. But the alternate realities are starting to get awfully close together, so it's up to Wheezer and the NERDS to stop the cheerleaders before the worlds collide.

[Nyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice! The Cheerleaders of Doom is centered around Matilde, the tough as nails, Asian-American, asthmatic, and self prescribed tomboy. There were quite a few messages including a combination of "Beauty is only skin deep.", "Don't judge a book by its cover.", "Follow through on your commitments.", and (my favorite) " Parents divorcing is not the end of the world."

The set up and situation was really interesting. What seemed like an "ugly duckling" cliche turned into something completely different and much more enjoyable. The story moved really slowly throughout most of the book, which made it a little less fun for me at times, but it did eventually pick up. When all was said and done, I really liked this one!

4.5

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a funny book filled with spies, techie stuff, cheerleaders, and plot twists. Plus, I love the math in the book! NERDS books are popular in my classroom. They'll love this one.

[Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series.

[Natasha Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

La porristas del infierno es la tercera parte de la saga NERDS de Michael Buckley. A pesar de ser el tercero, cada novela es independiente del resto de los libros de la saga, por lo tanto, se puede leer por separado. Sin embargo, para los interesados en saber qué ocurrió antes, en la solapa izquierda hay un pequeño recorte de las aventuras anteriores.
Lo que primero atrae de esta novela, no solo es la llamativa portada (la cual es genial), también lo es el interior del mismo, con un diseño increíble y maravillosas ilustraciones. Como pueden ver en las distintas imágenes que adjunto a la reseña.
Pensado para un lector adolescente, la saga NERDS contiene una buena dosis de humor y de mucha acción. La narración es muy prolija y con un argumento lineal. Tenemos varios puntos de vista, pasamos desde el Director de la organización hasta el villano de turno, que se irán alternando, lo cual acelera el ritmo de lectura y no deja que decaiga en ningún momento.
NERDS significa Núcleo de Espionaje, Rescate y Defensa Secretos. En este momento tiene cinco miembros: Jackson Jones (alias "Diente de Lata"), sus brackets de alta tecnología se transforman en toda clase de dispositivos, Julio Escala (alias "Pulga"), hiperactivo, hiperveloz e hiperfuerte; Matilda Choi (alias "Ráfaga"), con sus inhaladores mantiene a raya a los enemigos; Ruby Peet (alias "Erizo de Mar"), sus alergias detectan el peligro y la deshonestidad; y Duncan Dewey (alias "Pegote"), gracias a las sustancias pegajosas que come puede adherirse a cualquier superficie.
En esta misión, el equipo deberá enfrentarse a una chica muy inteligente. Ex miembro de NERDS y con muchos problemas de autoestima, Gerdie la Mateatleta ha diseñado una máquina increíble que le permite atravesar los Multiversos y sacar de allí cosas muuuuuy caras. Ahora usará todos esos tesoros para construirse otra imagen, una muy atractiva, mucho más que sus hermanas. ¿Y que hará? Se unirá a las porristas, por supuesto. Para descubrirla, será necesario que Matilda ("Ráfaga") se mezcle con las porristas... Pero, ¿podrá lograrlo?
Matilda, nuestra protagonista en esta novela, está atravesando problemas familiares. Un poco atareada por eso, no verá con buenos ojos la misión que se le impone. Ella odia a las porristas. No hay nada femenino en su apariencia ni en su carácter. ¿Su deporte favorito? Patear a los tipos malos. ¿Cómo podrá adaptarse al maquillaje y a los pompones? Todo un reto y un desafío de autodescubrimiento.
Todos los NERDS son adolescentes, o casi adolescentes, que atraviesan problemas propios de la edad. Inseguridades, baja autoestima, problemas familiares, etc. Pero más allá de eso, logran sobreponerse y salvar al mundo. Un bello mensaje, ¿no?
Soltando una carcajada tras otra (muriéndome de risa), disfrute enormemente con la lectura. Especialmente con Matilda, que me ha parecido encantadora, y me he podido identificar muchísimo con ella.
Los títulos anteriores son Núcleo de Espionaje, Rescate y Defensa Secreta (NERDS #1) y Mamá me quiere bien malo (NERDS #2). Condimentada con lo mejor de lo mejor, un poco de humor, ciencia ficción y muuuuucha acción. Genial desde el principio hasta el final.
¡Estaré pendiente de esta saga con la cual me he divertido muchísimo!

Para ver imágenes de la novela, click aquí

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The members of the National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society (N.E.R.D.S) are back for a third installment. This spy thriller is filled with all the gadgets and secret identity that you'd expect, but takes on more of a science fiction turn. Someone is making visits to other parallel dimensions which is wreaking havoc on our own. It's up to the N.E.R.D.S. to find out who the culprit is and stop them.

Like previous books in the series, this one focuses on a single character of the N.E.R.D.S team, Matilda Choi. Matilda is a combat boot wearing, martial arts loving gal who has to go undercover in her worst nightmare location, a cheerleading camp. During her time undercover Matilda learns that cheerleaders aren't all shallow airheads but girls who really care about what they do and work just as hard as she does to achieve their end goals. Matilda, also, learns that she doesn't have to put herself in a box either. Even though she's more of a tomboy, she can like the occasional girly-girl thing, too.

I really liked that the lesson of not judging anyone based on perceptions was learned through the reverse of how it would normally be portrayed. In this story, we learn that Matilda's perceptions of the cheerleaders was wrong and that they had more depth to them. Typically, you'd have this lesson learning that you misjudged the outsider or oddball.

I also like that Matilda learned that she didn't have to be one thing. You don't have to be just a nerd or jock or goth or whatever. You can have many aspects to yourself and that's okay.

I loved that Matilda was a kick-butt kinda girl. She knows her martial arts and embraces it fully. That she was the sole focus of this book was great for those kind of girls who may be looking for books with female characters who are more action-adventure based.

Finally, the humor with with Matilda's love of martial arts was treated was hilarious. During her training to go undercover for cheerleading, Matilda is not getting how to clap properly. Her instructor encourages her to think of a bad guys head between her hand whose ears she has to box. After concentrating on this image, Matilda gets it.

[Samlev44]

I recently read Nerds The Cheerleaders of Doom, a graphic novel by Michael Buckley. The book is all about an agent from NERDS (Matilda Choi) and her time period of becoming a cheerleader just to catch a “mathlete” who has gone to different earths and stole treasures to pay for her plastic surgeries. Also Matilda has to fight with other versions of her to defeat Heathcliff Hodges. The book also contains Matilda’s encounters with herself in gorilla form!

At times this book can be irritating. For example, spoiler alert, the nerd group thinks that McKenna, one of the cheerleaders is the mathlete but finds out that the head of the cheerleading squad, Tiffany is the mathlete (Pg.135-138). I think this part is annoying because you would think that McKenna is the mathlete! Something on the good note is that the Author creates suspense by making you think that different cheerleaders were the mathlete by saying for example, ‘Oh that person seems smart maybe she’s the mathlete or because she has the time machine on her hand.’ The Author does that really well and that’s what kept me hooked on this book. I think that this is a good book because the author makes you think a lot.

My favorite quote from this book is about how teamwork is important. I think this is a good quote because I know how important teamwork is. For example, I play hockey and I think teamwork is important in hockey because you need to be able to cooperate with your teammates and trust them, so you can work together as one unit.

The author Michael Buckley writes in a way that is very easy to understand for example, the author does not use big words such as instantiate. That word I don’t even know what it means but the author Michael Buckley doesn’t use big words like that’s why I can understand his writing. I would read more of his books given the chance because his writing is so basic and simple! I would recommend this book to other people who like his style of writing.

[Joshua B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nerds 3 by: Michael Buckley Fiction
243 pages 9/21/12

Nerds is a secret place where scientist turn nerds into super heroes. In the story the nerds have to stop an evil mastermind named mathlete. She was a former member of nerds but had to move away from the nerds facility. Her plan was to destroy every universe. To stop her, Matilda, one of the nerds, goes to a cheerleading school where she knows mathlete is there. This is a hard task for Matilda because she is more of a tomboy then a girly girl. Also she does not know what the evil mastermind’s face looks like because she got plastic surgery. When Matilda is at the school she shows all the girls a really hard math problem that only the real mathlete could solve. Read more to find out what happens next!

I gave this book a 4 star rating. I did this because I thought that this was a great book that had a lot of cliff hangers. Cliff hangers are when an author stops the story at a really good spot that makes you want to read more. I also liked the book because I thought it had a very unique storyline and a great plot. The only thing that I didn’t like was that since it took a while for this book to come out I kinda forgot who all the characters where. Overall this was a great book and I hope you all read this book soon!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! I actually haven't read the first two books in the series, and although I could tell there was plenty of back story that I didn't know, I had no trouble following and enjoying this book on its own.

I loved the snarky sense of humor, the kick-butt girls (and boys!), nerds saving the world, the great librarian, and the whiz-bang gizmos. There are also very realistic and relatable elements -- family life and trying to figure out who you are and how to be yourself in the world -- that will resonate with most kids. I would expect a pretty wide range of kids to like this series -- action and gadgets, but also friendship and searching for identity. The NERDS are 11, but they act a bit older, and of course find themselves in some tough situations while saving the world, so I would recommend it to 8- to 12-year-olds.

Highly recommended!

[Alice T · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in the NERDS series focuses on Wheezer, Matilda Choi. I'm thoroughly enjoying that we get to find out more about each agent as the series progresses. Wheezer's personal family problems are probably relatable with a lot of kids these days. Mom and dad are constantly fighting and are on the verge of divorce. What I like about this particular resolution is that it was realistic. There isn't a happy ending where suddenly her parents get along again, instead, her parents sit down with Wheezer and explain to her what's going on. Wheezer was the unpredictable and slightly violent one of the group when the series first started. By the end of this book, she was the same but I felt that she was more stable and gained a lot more confidence about who she was.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book in the series focuses on Matilda, who is forced to become a cheerleader in order to find the devise responsible for the rips in the diminsions before it causes the entire universe to self-destruct. As always, the book was fun, although this one seemed to have a very abrupt ending.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Alessandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cheerleaders of Doom By Michael Buckley is an awesome book! i couldnt put it down! Matilda finds out that Gerdie created a machine to destroy the world that Screwball (heathcliff) gave her. Matilda has to become a cheerleader to be able to find Gerdie. i would totally recommend this book to all who have lots of time because it is hard to put down!

[Cypress · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book, I highly recomend this book but you should'nt read it unless you have read the other two beacause it would be a little confusing if you did'nt.

[Gwyneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haha this was probably the cutest of the first and second books!!!! It was still just as amazing as the others though!!!!

[Melissa Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book in a series for middle grade students. I like how each book focuses on a different member of the "NERDS"team and gives info on their homelife, etc. This character didn't feel as "fleshed out" as the other 2 books. Would not grab the attention of my 5th grade boys they way the 1st 2 did.

"Matilda “Wheezer” Choi, the asthmatic who can fly and kick butt courtesy of her nanobyte-enhanced inhalers, loves pro wrestling and hates anything “girlie.” Maybe that’s because she grew up with six brothers—or maybe it’s because her home life has become a battle zone in the conflict between her parents. Unfortunately for Wheezer, when a former member of NERDS turned villain gets extensive plastic surgery in order to become a cheerleader, Matilda must swallow her pride to successfully infiltrate the squad. The newest supervillain, Gerdie Baker, assisted by the criminal mastermind Simon, has created a device that opens portals to other worlds, which she and the other cheerleaders have been pillaging. But the alternate realities are starting to get awfully close together, so it’s up to Wheezer and the NERDS to stop the cheerleaders before the worlds collide."

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great book. All the N.E.R.D.S(national espionage, rescue, and defense society) book center around one member of the N.E.R.D.S team. This book centers around Matilda Choi a Asian girl who lives to kick people's butts. She is trying to capture a former N.E.R.D.S member who created a machine to loot other worlds of precious materials to pay for plastic surgery. Matilda has to go undercover as a cheerleader when she hates cheerleaders. May favorite part of the book is when Matilda is taught how to become a cheerleader. In the end Matilda likes cheerleading.

[Twyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part was when Heathcliff, or whatever his name was by the end of the book, was stopped from taking over. I also liked how Matilda helped the cheerleaders to win and made some new friends who weren't a part of NERDS while she was undercover trying to find Gerdie. My least favorite part was when Gerdie thought that it was necessary to use plastic surgery to try make herself look better, rather than waiting, and also when Heathcliff managed to get into an alternate Earth to try get his hypnotizing teeth back. Luckily, he failed in the end.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This time we get to have the backstory of Wheezer. Our friendly… um more like tough as nails, rough around the edges, tomboy. With her inhalers she is a kid spy that goes under cover to find an ex-Nerd Mathlete who is causing some problems. Not as funny as the first two, but heartwarming in its own right.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if this is the best NERDS book, but it is still my favorite. That’s because of the main character, Matilda Choi, a tomboy who has to go undercover in a cheerleader camp. This book made me want to go to a cheerleading camp. I also thought Matilda was cool, even if most of this book seemed kind of like a filler episode.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in the series featured the daughter's favorite N.E.R.D., Wheezer. Another good story told with plenty of humor (though there are some serious parts about family dynamics) that was loved by both the progeny and me.

[Ayush Guhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was funny and adventurous. Matilda had to go undercover as a cheerleader, the one thing she really hates. Matilda has to stop Gerdie Baker(Lilly, name in disguise) from tearing the earth apart from her crazy machine.

[Tiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids loved this one. I wasn't such a fan of the quiz sections in the one, but the story was fun. Ridiculous, but entertaining.

[Kai · Rating 2 out of 5]

BORING and for kids

[retrieverfever · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most girly one that involves cheerleading
Read my first 2 nerd book reviews

[Glen Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

kiddos loved it.

[Rajun]

fudge this none of the books are free

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the best in the series so far.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★

[cleo s · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the best of the series!

[Nimsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live this book as it is pretty nice how she deals with her life and how she acted as a cheerleader although she hates it.