Dating on the Dork Side

by Charity Tahmaseb, Darcy Vance

Stung by an epic betrayal, Camy Cavanaugh relies on the sure things: her best friend, her job as peer tutor, and her safe spot on the sidelines of life. But when she hacks into a secret, trash-talking website, it ignites a war between the sexes that won’t end until the whole school is turned upside down—and Camy’s world is turned inside out.

Now the hottest girls in school refuse to date the A-List boys. But with the Homecoming dance looming, everyone from the queen bee to the girl “most likely to” pushes Camy to hook them up with guys from the nerd herd.

And then there's quarterback, A-lister—and former crush—Gavin Madison. He hasn’t spoken to Camy in three years … but he’s talking now, begging her to pair the guys on the football team with girls from the Honor Roll.

It’s a contest of wills and everything is on the line—even Camy’s heart. Will she retreat to the sidelines, or will she find the courage to get back in the game?

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Romance, High School

334 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2015

About the author

Charity Tahmaseb has slung corn on the cob for Green Giant and jumped out of airplanes (but not at the same time).

She spent twelve years as a Girl Scout and six in the Army; that she wore a green uniform for both may not be a coincidence. These days, she writes fiction full-time from her home in Minnesota.

Reviews

[Meredith Schorr · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfectly paced and enjoyable contemporary YA!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, the ins and outs of dating and high school. Honestly, I don't miss those days often, but books like Dating on the Dork Side make me a little bit nostalgic.

Dating on the Dork Side is a quick and hilarious read about what happens when one of the smartest girls in school stumbles upon a website that just happens to be all about the girls in her school - and not in a good way.

In Olympia, football is life. The jocks are the kings of the kingdom and the cheerleaders, pom squad and other popular girls join them in their rule. Until smart and savy Camy Cavanaugh shows the resident queen what the boys are saying about her behind her back. Suddenly Elle and the popular girls are ready to take a stand. Things at Olympia High may never be the same once Camy, Elle and the rest of the girls are done.

Dating on the Dork Side is a smart retelling of the classic Greek comedy Lysistrata. If you're not familiar with the story, here's a wiki. So when the girls decide to boycott the boys, everything changes at Olympia High. With unlikely new friendships, more than one moment of drama, and a lot of laughs, Dating on the Dork Side is guaranteed to make you laugh, cringe and root for the underdogs. At the same time, Dating on the Dork Side reminds readers that people are seldom what they seem at first glance. The popular girl may just be a closet Star Wars fan. That kid you can't stand may have a passion for classical music. The cutest boy in school might just have a thing for the resident nerd. The mean girl may have a home life that makes yours look tame by comparison.

Authors Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance have reunited to create a high school where the geeks and nerds have a say in how their high school experience turns out. Like their first book, The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading, Dating on the Dork Side is a seamless collaboration between two different people. Unlike other books where you can tell the authors and their styles apart, Tahmaseb and Vance work together flawlessly. Their unified voice creates believable characters that are guaranteed to remind you of someone you went to high school with (or even of yourself). Their books are smart and easy to read, with stories that move forward without a lot of the fluff that seems to come out in YA books sometimes.

Dating on the Dork Side is the perfect Christmas gift for the girls in your life - no matter how popular they are!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dating on the Dork Side is a book that I could easily see being made into a teen movie in the likes of Easy A or The Duff. It wouldn't surprise me at all to find it on the big screen one day. It's more about friendship than romance (though there is a bit of romance, too), which is a nice change of pace from most YA.

High school tutor Camy is surprised to find baseball star Jason "The Ab" Abernathy in the tutoring room on the first day of school. Even more surprising is what he's doing there—using the school computers to access a password-protected website. She's able to hack in once he leaves (his password isn't particularly difficult to guess), and what she discovers turns her world upside down: it's a wiki called "The Hotties of Troy," and most of the girls in school—including Camy—have pages devoted to them. After Camy alerts Elle, the school's most popular girl, to the presence of the wiki, the girls band together to get back at the boys ... and unexpected friendships and relationships spring from the chaos.

The first two-thirds of this book is simply fantastic! It's so entertaining and, at times, unexpected. The last third isn't as strong, as the plot goes down a predictable (the creator of the wiki), head-scratching (the "evil" teacher who apparently goes through a personality transplant in Camy's disciplinary meeting), and unbelievable (the aforementioned disciplinary meeting and its aftermath) path.

I still greatly enjoyed the novel—it's quite engaging and perfect for film. I just hope that if it is ever adapted, the filmmakers tweak the ending. 3-1/2 stars.

[Kim]

Language: Moderate number of profanity words and some crude humor.

Sensuality: Moderate sketchy clean young adult/teen novel. Mild kissing on screen/page. Brief non-sexual nudity. Off screen/page fade to black sexual intimacy mentioned, but not shown.

Source: My personal purchased library.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

To start let's talk about the inconsistencies within this story:

1. Realistically these girls know that no one on the team is tech savvy enough to create the wiki, but Camy never considers maybe Rhino??? I mean come on he has a garage full of computers he built....
2. Camy's "relationship" with Gavin there's no real interaction with them honestly besides one or two conversation? and a little flirtation from many moons ago.
3. The obvious romance between Camy and Rhino is completely ignored!!!
4. When it is revealed who created the wiki it's a "complete shock" and he's a total ass as well which contradicts his sweet if a little grouchy behavior in 95% of this novel.
5. Clarissa has some vendetta against Camy that doesn't quite click with the exception of Camy dancing with Jason for 2.5 seconds.
6. The entire reason Gavin didn't speak to Camy for three years + why he danced with Clarissa just to hurt her was all because she let it slip that he was having trouble at school. But magically he likes her again senior year after he gets dumped by Elle. Yawn.
7. The fact that despite everything Camy remains friends with this ass-hat because he supposedly made the wiki to protect her after seeing a troll video? really? so why the fuck did he post a bad picture of her himself on the hidden page?? boy bye.
8. and for the love of god why the actual fuck would Elle the very person who wanted to take down the wiki stay with the very kid who fucking made it???
9. Let's not forget how the school let everything slide just because she made a speech. (not even a great speech honestly) then gave her detention while everyone else got off Scott free? like Clarissa who tried to say Camy and everyone she tutored was cheating, no punishment for lying? nothing?? in real life if a school found out about something like this there would be an investigation of some sort. Then expelling anyone involved. The whole cheating accusation made no sense either and I felt it was a poor attempt at showing or saying how kids that do poorly in school/belong to a certain crowd are treated differently. Which isn't wrong because this can and does happen but at the same time didn't need to be added to this story. It was trying to hard to be relate-able.
10. Also his "protection" bit further crumbles because only the "jocks" are on this site. When in reality there's at least 500 other boys at this school. This book also tries to play like jocks are the only ones who will say mean shit about girls behind their back. Here's a quote I feel best represents how this idea makes me feel. "what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

This book just pissed me off. while it is a cute idea and the mystery of finding out who created the wiki kept me reading, I also had an inkling of who it was early on. Over all I feel like this book isn't good because of what it depicts and encourages. Young girls read this stuff y'know?

[Mallika · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a 3.5 stars from me. A fun read if you like High School drama, something like a Mean Girls meets John Tucker must die crossover! I personally feel that it is a good story to be turned into a feature film, I'd watch it! The story is a page turner in the first two- thirds, but it could have been given a better treatment in the last one- third, maybe some good editing or a different ending, the last third kind of just stretches out and kills the punch that was building up.
SPOILER - Oh how I wanted Rhino to have a secret crush on Camy! :D
Genre - Young adult, High School, drama, comedy.
Plot - Very good.
Characters - Very good.
Narration - Very good.
Pace - Good.
Readability/Language- Very good.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A high school Lysistrata-type story, where the popular girls find out about a girl-rating web site the boys have been running and ask the girl who discovered it to set them up with geek boys in retaliation. I read this last year, but don't see a review of it here; I remember liking it, but not any of the details.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

**SPOILER FREE**


A twist of fate... so it seems.. But you'll want to read for yourself as this author takes you on a journey that doesn't happen in your every day high school years. Smooth flow to that will have you enjoying the book even more!


*Received for an honest review*

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! I loved that it was clean and had a fun plot twist to it! Definitely something I would recommend to my friends!

[Suzana Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting nothing more than a pleasant teen romance when I decided to read this. What I got was a surprisingly well-rounded YA story. Camy doesn't spend her entire day pining after her crush. Her family, friendships, school, and her interests and concerns are actually given more priority than her romantic fantasies. For that reason alone, I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It's also a very entertaining story. At times it was so much fizzy fun that I sat reading it with a huge smile on my face, and even laughed out loud.

One of my favorite things about this book was the friendship between Camy and Rhino. It is definitely the most unique guy and girl friendship I have ever read about. They are two smart people who actually sound smart when they speak instead of the reader just being told that they are smart. They are also odd and socially awkward in some ways, and that comes across even in their interactions with each other. Yet they also get each other in ways that need no words. There is both a simplicity and a complexity to their friendship that I absolutely loved. When I have read other books, I have often just been impatient to get back to the romance. Reading this made me realize that when the friendships are written with equal care instead of just being thrown in as filler, they can be just as fun and interesting to read about as the romance.

The female friendships added another layer to the story, but they didn't always necessarily like each other as individuals as much as understand each other simply because they were all girls and had similar problems and concerns. To be fair, Camy's friendships with the girls were still new and tenuous compared to her long and solid friendship with Rhino. There is a male and female divide on some issues though, which Camy found out. I liked how that wasn't glossed over or simplified so that everything could turn out perfect. It hurt and disappointed Camy greatly, but it was honestly handled in the story. Sometimes the only solution is to agree to disagree. Part of maturing is dealing with the shattering of your illusions about people. Can you still be friends if your views are not the same on everything? There was much more substance between the hilarity and the teenage machinations for popularity and revenge than I expected to find.

[Mona · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fresh twist on an old theme.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't in the mood for a YA novel, but this was next on my to-read pile, so.... I read. Usually, I read a book in a week or so, because my reading time is really limited, but today I'm sitting here a bit bleary-eyed, as I stayed up until almost 1:30 because I had to keep going (and then I had to finish it)! I got reeled in via several characters, many plot twists and finally, just a need to know how everyone was going to grow and sift out by the ending. And I was not disappointed at all - it was worth every bleary-eyed minute of today. (As Camy, the protagonist well knows, this is what coffee is for).

Another reviewer complained about the lack of romance - but this is part of what I loved about it. This is the story of strong young women who are more about respect and what should be due them via their accomplishments than it is a teen romance. And yes, the romance is there, too, and it's fun because most of the match-ups defy stereotypes, but it's so much MORE than that.

The real strengths I see here are the strengths of the female characters. They truly do band together, and they defy their own, and others' stereotypes of how they should act or interact with their school, with each other and with life. Also, this book has a great focus on cyber-bullying, even when the cyber-bullying may be unintentional, and how carefully teens need to tread with social media. This is taken head-on, without a preachy tone.

Okay, but the real deal is the fun - there are literary allusions, smarmy guys (and girls), great role models (older and younger), and quite a bit of laugh-out-loud wit. If you have a strong young woman in your life, I'd highly recommend this book. If you have a strong young man in your life, I might recommend it even more - especially if he complains that he doesn't understand the opposite sex. Whatever - son or daughter or niece or nephew - give a holiday gift that will leave them thinking... and then you have fun reading it when they're done!

[Ben Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, two disclaimers:
a) This review is in return for receiving a free review copy
b) I am a 30 year old Australian male with no history (that I'm aware of) of attending high school in America, nor have any deep understanding of what it's like to be a girl in that situation. I am not, you might say, the intended audience of this book.

And with that out of the way, this book was an absolute romp. It was a bunch of fun and I enjoyed it from beginning to finish, a finish that came quickly as I inhaled this story over two nights. Despite the prior mentioned disconnect between reader and story, and my own initial fears that I'd committed myself to review a story that had every potential to not appeal to me, I instead found myself connecting easily with the narrator as her story unfolded. Her words could easily have been spoken by myself and her problems ones I could easily have found myself in when I was her age. And I laughed with the familiarity of experience as Camy's world slowly unravelled. The story was easy to follow, fluid to read, and well paced for the genre. I'm not sure if American high schools are truly that polar, but where that might have lead to a story filled with a bunch of caricatures, the authors instead flesh out the characters over the course of the story with enough depth to find them believable and relatable. And as mentioned in other reviews, the writing is seamless between the two authors.

The story may not hold any deep revelations, but it was what I wanted it to be, a fun innocent read with a relatable narrator and an enjoyable story line. I'm only jealous there was no Camy to hook this dork up with a hottie when I went to high school...

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty, heart-warming, and fun modern take on Lysistrata (Ancient Greek play where the women hold back erm favours in order to convince the men to end the war).

Camy is quiet, has one (male) best friend, and spends her free time tutoring (and not just because the tutor room has the best the view of the football field). But when she accidentally stumbles upon an explosive website and forwards it to the school's Queen Bee, all the hottest girls in school are clamouring to be set up with the non A-list boys. And then there's Camy's old crush, Gavin, who is asking for the revenge... in the form of geek girls for his A-list team. It's war... and it's going to be messy.

There's something so endearing about this book about a quiet yet strong girl that has brains and looks and doesn't know it. And the link with Lysistrata, which flowed throughout the book, is so apt in the current climate. But it was the strength of character that Camy showed in overcoming her sporting injury as a young girl and re-inventing herself before the book even began that had me rooting for her from the start. Pacy, realistic, surprisingly deep, witty, and all-round lovely, this is one I will be re-reading in years to come. Highly recommended.

[Huma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for the honest review.

Charity Tahmaseb, you won my heart. Seriously.

The best part of the book was that it got straight to the point from first chapter itself. I loved the way, Tahmaseb doesn't waste anytime and got straight to the point. I was actually surprised and loved it from the first chapter itself. The characters are so relatable in the book. While reading the story, I thought it would turn out as Mean Girls (the movie) but good, it didn't. I loved the ending.

Whilst reading the story, at times I felt that the author would put Camy with Rhino, which for me was a BIG NO. I mean, my imagination of Gavin and Camy together was way high than Camy and Rhino. Plus, my imagination of Rhino wasn't good either - in the sense, I imagined him as a geek. So, yeah, I am glad that author kept Camy and Gavin for the end.

Elle - that was a surprise. The way her character had turned to a mellow one. Nice work.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention. This is the only draft of a novel that I have read so far in which there was NO grammatical or spelling error. Super great concentration, Charity Tahmaseb !

Highly recommended to people who are willing to grab a mug of coffee and some school romance. Total love this is !

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would love to give this book a 3.5 instead of just a three but alas, Goodreads does not do half stars. There were many things to like about this book, i like the commaderie the girls have. I even really like the mix up of social groups. What I didn't really like about this book is there wasn't any depth (like Clarissa ... why was she such a mean girl to Camy) In the begining there was a comment like the Camy I knew wouldn's blah blah this made it seem like she did at one point consider her a friend and maybe something happen in Clarissa's mind or something or she was always using Camy from the start and here's why kind thing (like she played football and was friends with the hot guys or whatnot) but there was NONE of that. Rhino was likeable in a hot geeky king sorta way but Elle was annoying and Elle and Rhino was super annoying. Gavin was the most likeable boy but there was zero chemistry written there. It was and he kissed me the end...nothing that made your stomach flutter or you hold your breath and really imagine the kiss the share. In the end still fun and a good journey for Camy.

[JadeShea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dating on the Dork Side begins when Camy finds a website that is for the guys of her school to talk trash about certain girls, and guess what? She's on the list as well.
She hates that this is there, so she goes to the most popular girl at school, and from then on it spirals out of control when they do their best to get back at the guys.

However, as Camy tries to find the person who started it signs are pointing to people she thought she could trust, and her long time crush. This get more complicated when trust is broken, new friends and enemies are made and life is just crazy for Camy.

Dating on the Dork Side is actually not as dorky cute as you would think. It does have some really cool aspects to it, but it just wasn't what I was hoping it would be.

I really did like it though, and I enjoyed the plot line for the most part. Even if some of it seemed a bit repetitive.

And the characters were really interesting as well. But, this isn't a story that makes you laugh too much or fo you to spend to much time in. It is good to pass the time with though.

[Miel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings...

I usually never write reviews, but this book just had me feeling really frustrated yet captivated at the same time, that I feel like I have to say something about it. This book had a very interesting premise, and up until the last several chapters, I thought it was executed pretty well, however when the plot really began to twist, I feel like the aftermath events were just way too messy and rushed, not to mention a whole lot of justice was left unserved. I was left feeling quite annoyed and frustrated with the main character for the rest of the book, even though I was somewhat satisfied with the ending... Despite my annoyance, I could not put the book down and read it entirely in one sitting!

[Krista Heit Valentine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

The school tutor who is happy to live on the sidelines of high school. She comes across a wiki that rates and sometimes demeans the "hot" girls of the school. She decides to bring in the school queen bee on this who then ropes her in to teach the boys a lesson, a boy, boycott.

The story overall is cute and has a pretty good theme and point. I think the "love story" of it falls a little flat but over all a good read if you are in the mood for something interesting but not too heavy.

[Armee Gale Hayag · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, you will not feel the characters of the story maybe because of the choice of words however the story is nice so I continued reading it. I love how strong the characters are and how it was shown on the book. At first, I thought that I will be disappointed reading this book but no--- I actually enjoyed it eventhough the story is quite predictable.
This book is ideal to teenagers. Thumbs up!

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a free Amazon prime read. I'm rounding this up from a 2.75 stars. Haha It was just...fine. It was obvious from the beginning who the "culprits" were and most of the girl characters were such extreme stereotypes that it made everything less believable. Plus the title is pretty horrifying. I can't admit reading it to anyone. I'm glad everything worked out in the end, especially with her best friend.

[Cassey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. I liked the protagonist and the supporting 'cast'. Moments of funny, but really just a great read about finding your space, navigating people and your sense of self with others while tackling the fact that words do matter and shape they way we perceive each other in an engaging way.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars of cuteness

There's not a whole lot to say about this story other than its cute. High school cliques, internet trolls, revenge, unlikely friendships I think that sums it up. I probably would have given this 4 stars if I was onboard with the relationship, but I just didn't feel any chemistry between the characters.

[Vicki Scullion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great YA novel that explores the concept of respect as it deconstructs gender roles as they are played out in a high school. Funny, realistic, and full of interesting twists, this novel is definitely one I would recommend to middle and high school students.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great YAR read

With a well-developed cast of unique characters and an all-to-possible plot, Dating on the Dork Side shines with just the right mix of fun, romance, and good life lessons.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was very enjoyable. I was disappointed at the language, though - there were a couple uses of words that I prefer not to have in books. . .

[Valerie Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute but so obnoxious. There were inappropriate things I didn't care for and some language.

[Saniya More · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, light read. Pretty predictable plot line. But was a good break after the last book.

[Joana Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than meets the eye

I loved this book. Camy's voice is fresh and funny and she's the sort of character you can actually relate to.

The entire book was full of twists and surprised that kept me going on it right until the end. It's full of characters who turn out to be more than Camy, and you as the reader, would have thought, from Lexy on the pom squad right down to Camy's best friend, Rhino.

As a character, as I said, Camy is a really good one, someone that you an easily follow and continue on for just another chapter because you want to see what happens to her next. She has her moments where she's mean, but in general, you can see her trying to think the best of people, or feeling bad when she thinks something of someone that's not necessarily nice. She makes her own mistakes just as any other teenager does, and she takes responsibility and accepts who she is even while she feels like it's changing, both because of the wiki and because of the events that snowball from her discovering it. She has a really great character arc that will keep you cheering for her right up to the last page.

So go ahead and pick this one up!

[Kelly McAnally-Kern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cyber teens take a stand!

In a society where cyber gathering is expected, this book hits on issues kids today deal with. And unbeknownst to parents it’s out there. And words hurt. This story takes a worst case scenario and turns it into a positive. Kids from different social status bond together to make a wrong not so wrong. (Yes I didn’t say right, because no matter what the site was wrong, and the kids should have turned to adults. This is the age of cyber bullying and oh so many things could and can go wrong when kids take it into their own hands) But in the end- the kids pull together and create lasting friendships. And in the real world, whatever that really is, most of these people who would never have been around each other through high school end up friends after. And how they treated others or how they were treated is relatively forgotten. Because high school is a cruel. No matter who you are. I just LOVED this book and plan on recommending it to my teens and their friends!!