Geek Abroad

Geek High #2

by Piper Banks

Looking for love in all the wrong countries…

Miranda Bloom’s life has never been better. She finally has an almost-quasi-boyfriend, Dex McConnell, the star lacrosse player of Orange Cove High. But when holiday break rolls around, she jets off to visit her mother in London, and Dex suddenly seems to lose all interest in her. Then there’s Henry, the very cute and very available British guy who complicates matters by making it clear that he’s very interested in Miranda.

Things don’t get easier for her when classes start back up at Geek High. Between the dreaded Math Team competitions, an annoyingly love-struck best friend, and a stepmother who seems to delight in making Miranda miserable, it doesn’t take a genius to see that the semester ahead is going to be tough.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Teen, High School, Realistic Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2008

About the author

Growing up, Whitney Gaskell always wanted to become a writer. Then for some unkown reason, she went to law school. Whitney then decided to write under a pen name, Piper Banks, but also is now known as Whitney Gaskell.

OFFICIAL AUTHOR SITE

Reviews

[Jismeily]

When Miranda kisses Dex its like they are dating. But when Miranda goes to London Dex loses all interest in her. Then this hot boy named Henry gives Miranda a tour of London since Miranda's mom is always busy. Then when Miranda tells her mom about Dex Miranda's mom wants to have dinner with her so she can know about him.
TO BE CONTINUED....
Miranda's best friend Charlie was dating a boy named Mitch back home in Florida. When Charlie and Mitch went to the theaters for a date, Charlie saw Dex. Dex was with another girl laughing. So pretty much Dex is cheating on Miranda. Now that Miranda knows this she feels like she should date Henry. But Miranda was leaving in nine days so she would be leaving soon. Miranda thinks that Henry likes her because when they went to the theaters together Henry asked if she "had a boyfriend".
TO BE CONTINUED....
It was New Years and Henry invited Miranda and her mom to a party his family was having. When Miranda arrives its crowded so she follows Henry to his room. Henry and Miranda play a video game that Miranda's friend, Finn, created. When Miranda gives up because she kept losing, Henry pointed out that the family, and friends down stairs were counting down because it was almost 12:00. Henry said that they should go down stairs when the count down was over. Miranda agreed, so they waited. Once the count down was over Henry KISSED Miranda. So now Henry and Miranda are basically dating. Henry will visit Miranda in Florida, or Miranda will visit Henry in London.
TO BE CONTINUED....
When Miranda makes it back to Florida her step sister, step mom, and dad were waiting for 2 hours in the car. They were waiting for 2 hours because Hannah went to New York and her flight back home was 2 hours before Miranda's flight, so all the family did was wait for 2 hours till Miranda's plane entered Florida. Miranda wanted to get a burger with her father but since Hannah and Peyton were waiting in the car she had to get a tiny snack(Miranda chose a Kit Kat bar for a snack). Peyton got mad that they had to wait for that long. (Peyton is very impatient). When they were about to leave Hannah had to pee but Peyton did not want to let her pee because Hannah always took a long time. Hannah said she will be quick, then she went to the bathroom. When Hannah was done she could not help it then she was staring at her beauty in the mirror. She put on lipstick and she combed her hair. She went back to the car and the rest of the car ride was silent. When they got home Miranda was tired and fell asleep. Hannah woke Miranda up at 9:35 to ask her about her trip. Miranda did not say anything about Henry but Miranda was only talking about have Dex has been cheating on her. Hannah's sweet 16 was coming up and she wanted everyone to come with a date. Hannah wanted Miranda to go with Dex but now we know that Miranda is very uncomfortable. (I think that Miranda will invite Henry so Henry can come to Florida then Henry will be able to be Miranda's date to Hannah's sweet 16.(The party will take place in a restaurant called ,Canyon.
TO BE CONTINUED....

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liking the 1st book GEEK HIGH, I bought this one... it was as good as the 1st one with the little different plots.
The Snowflake Gala is done and out of the way and Miranda Bloom, math genius, is headed off to England for Christmas break to visit her mother.
I really enjoyed seeing Miranda develop into a stronger individual and really stand up for what she believed in.
Piper Banks has made her mark... I was amazed at the emotional reponse her writing was able to provoke out of me. When telling of how Miranda was irritated with how Charlie was acting so was I. When Miranda was upset with how Peyton (aka 'The Demon') treated her I got upset, and was really glad my mother never treats me like that...
There were some classic elements to it, but then there were a few times when I thought something would happen and then the author throughs a curveball.
Overall great book...

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Does she like Dex, or does she like Henry? Does she want to live in London to escape the evil step-monster, or does she want to stay in Florida with Dex and her friends? The only redeeming bit of this pointless story was the intensity of the math competition scenes.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this series! I think I almost liked this second one better than the first. I love Miranda and her friends. I'm definitely picking up the 3rd at the library this week. Sad to think that there are only four books in this series, so I'm halfway done. I hope the author gets some inspiration and decides to continue on with the series ~ it's a good one!

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was not as good as the first one. It still kept me interested and wanting to read more. I loved the guy in London.

[Moviesfreak89 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like it that much .. Skipped a lot of pages to see what happen (did the same thing to the rest of the series )

[Yancey Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piper Banks makes this story here own once again, giving it a totally different twist as she did with the first one. You'll just have to see what's in store for this Geek the second-time around.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miranda Bloom is back: after organizing a successful Snowflake Gala for her school, being selected as a finalist for a prestigious writing contest, forming a relationship with her stepsister, and landing her first almost-quasi-boyfriend in the form of cute lacrosse team captain Dex McConnell, Miranda is on top of the world. But when she goes to spend a few weeks in London with her mother and doesn’t hear anything from Dex, it seems like their relationship is more complicated than she’d thought. Then there’s the cute and clearly available British boy Henry. And when Miranda gets back to Orange Cove, she’s got more trouble in the form of a lovesick best friend and a math team that seems doomed from the start.

Pros:
•like the first book, this one is a fun, easy, quick read. I liked getting to see more of Sadie and the Mu Alpha Theta team, and meet Henry, who was a great character. I think it was a good choice to make this into a series instead of trying to fit everything into one book. Also, the adults in Miranda’s life are much less ridiculous in this one, which I appreciated

Cons:
•we still literally don’t know Dex at all. What do he and Miranda do when they hang out? What is one word to describe him besides “nice”? The other characters are still also relatively simplistic

Recommendation: I recommend if you liked the first book! It’s the same energy of an easy unoffensive fun YA book. Definitely does not transcend the YA genre, but a fun beach read/escape nonetheless.

[Your Common House Bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly an okay read. Was a little peeved by the portrayal of autsim though. I think that the first book was better but I'm not gonna like I got invested in the story and might have just read the entire rest of the book from Miranda's birthday party onwards.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole book series was super cute, I remember loving these as a kid! It was an easy read and fun to follow along!

[Mely McKiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was fun but not as the first one

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Tasha for TeensReadToo.com

The Snowflake Gala is done and out of the way and Miranda Bloom, math genius, is headed off to England for Christmas break to visit her mother. When she arrives, she expects to spend her time sightseeing with her mother and catching up. What she doesn't expect is that Henry, the son of her mother's publicist, will be showing her around London as her mom still has lots of work to do. Miranda doesn't mind too much, especially since Henry's so adorable, but right now she's not sure what's going on with her and Dex and doesn't want to risk messing that up.

When Miranda returns home she is greeted by confusion. She still doesn't know where her and Dex stand, Hannah (her stepsister) is still being really nice to her, her best friend, Charlie, is hopelessly lovestruck, and the dreaded MATh team competitions are quickly approaching. On top of all of that, Miranda's evil stepmother has become even more unbearable, making her life nothing short of crazy.

Will Miranda's semester pan out the way she wants, or will all her confusion lead to a tangled up mess?

It's rare that you find a sequel better than the first book, but I think in this case GEEK ABROAD definitely outdid its predecessor, GEEK HIGH. The characters were more developed, it felt like there was more going on in the story, and overall I thought it was a better book.

First of all, I felt I really got to know Miranda in this book. As the book progressed, she became a more secure individual and she took on a leadership role with her MATh team. I really enjoyed seeing her develop into a stronger individual and really stand up for what she believed in. I could see a lot of myself in her and felt a real bond with her. I also could not stand Peyton, Miranda's evil stepmother. What's funny is this is not a bad thing at all. I loved how the author created such an unlikeable character. It was infuriating to see the way that Peyton treated Miranda and I am eternally grateful that my mom treats me so well! It was also nice to see Miranda's dad stand up for her in this book. He didn't take any flak from Peyton and his bond with Miranda (and the reader) really developed in this book.

I also really liked how much emotion the author was able to provoke in me. When Miranda was mad, I was mad right there with her. When she got irritated with Charlie I could feel myself getting agitated, as well. I was really impressed with this because not many books get me as involved with the characters as this one did.

This book could also make a great stand-alone book. While it is a sequel, it filled in all the necessary gaps where needed. Even if you haven't read the first book, GEEK HIGH (which you really should), you wouldn't be left confused.

And finally the romance in the book was too cute. There were some classic elements to it, but then there were a few times when I thought something would happen and then the author threw us a curveball. Overall, this was the perfect light read, perfect for any time of year. I really hope that the author will create more Miranda-filled adventures that we can all embark on!

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

For winter break, Miranda is flying across the world to London to visit her mom. While she is there, and gets to see all of the sights, the son of her mom’s book editor, Henry, is her tour guide. Miranda doesn’t like this one bit because she doesn’t want her mom to control her life, like when she all of a sudden decided she was going to live in London, and to Miranda, it feels like she is cheating on Dex. But after a while, Miranda starts to wonder if being with Henry isn’t cheating because Dex hasn’t got in contact with her for the entire break. Then when Miranda goes back home to Orange Cove, things also aren’t how they were when she first arrived. Hannah is being extremely nice to her, and her two best friends, Charlie and Finn are fighting and aren’t talking to one another.
Geek Abroad was also a pretty good read, just like the previous novel in this series. It somewhat continues what happened in Geek High, but this also has a new plot and new conflicts. Even though this was pretty good, it was also a little disappointing. It was disappointing because the impression I got from it that at least half of the book would be taken place in London, while Miranda was with her mom. But it the setting in London was only a few chapters. Besides that, I still very much enjoyed it. Also, I liked how Banks changed the character Hannah so that she’s nicer, and the reader sees a character change in her. But it leaves me wondering if Hannah is going to go back to the way she was when Miranda first met her in the next book.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Geek High, Geek Abroad was a purely fun and entertaining novel.

What I liked most about Geek Abroad was how even though Miranda seemed like one of the smartest person I will ever know; she also has another side: a stupid side. But then again, most of us do. She ends up making a huge mistake – or a small one, depending on how you look at it – and freaks out when it’s all just a huge misunderstanding. I liked how Piper gave us another side of Miranda and, like I said for the other book, it made Miranda seem more real and more like someone we can be friends with.

Henry, the very cute and available British guy who Miranda met in England, is someone who I have positive and negative feelings for. Positive: he’s cute (duh!) and he’s really sweet. Negative: he’s kind of a naggy person (is that even a word?) especially in the emails. I mean, I love people sending me emails and everything but he goes on and on about the most pointless things and I’m just like: hello? Are we done?

Another thing I didn’t really like too much about Geek Abroad is something related to Henry’s emails. I didn’t like how the emails just had his point of view in it. What happened to Miranda’s point of view?! The emails were all to Miranda from Henry and you could kind of understand what she said but, at first, I didn’t realize that she was answering back. You had to read between the lines to understand.

Anyway, Geek Abroad is just a book you can sit back and relax into.

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a Math genius, Miranda, who has the ability to compute equations in her head. Before Miranda leaves to London for the holidays, she “hooks” up with Dex, but is not sure if she should consider him her boyfriend. Miranda’s mother is eccentric and loves attention, on her first night, her mother throws a party and this is where Henry comes into the picture. Not really knowing what to do about her boy problem, Miranda decides to enjoy her break and Henry. The vacations end quickly and Miranda has to go back home to face reality and an evil step-mother.


Back home, Miranda is faced with a tough decision of giving in to her math genius or to follow her heart and writing. Teens will fall in love with Miranda, and may even cry and laugh as they read about her many problems, including her family forgetting her sweet sixteen. This book is a sequel to Geek High but readers will be able to understand Miranda’s character and her problems without reading the first book in the series. This book is good for anyone wanting to read a romance book that somewhat reminds me of the trials of Cinderella and her evil step-mother.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geek Abroad is the sequel to Geek High. In this second book of the Miranda Bloom series, Miranda is off to England to visit her mom, Sadie. I liked the London setting that was presented for part of the novel. Also Miranda is a well-written and relatable character. I wish that you got more of her step-family dynamics in this book, but exploring the MATh team addition more thoroughly was interesting. The next book on my reading list is Summer of the Geek to find out what Miranda Bloom is up to next.

[Mounica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lighthearted, fun-to-read, and engaging book. It's actually the sequel of Geek High (which I haven't read yet because I just kind of picked this book off the shelve and I didn't know there was a book before this). Anyway, I thought it was good...but parts of the book weren't so original. I felt like I read it in some other book or at least like bits of it, but other that it was good.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually interlibrary loaned this one because the entire chicago public library system doesn't have any piper banks books. it was very fun, although not as much in england as i would have liked. i was charmed by the characters, but it was a pretty basic high school YA plot and while i'm curious about the last two i'm only on-hold curious, not buy or interlibrary loan curious.

[sj · Rating 3 out of 5]

As readable as the first one. Same standard plotline as found in much YA, but still better than a lot of the crap that's out there right now.

I guess my biggest annoyance would be that the title is rather misleading as the geek is only abroad for about 30% of the book. Other than that, a solid effort.

[LauraW · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and good. I like these books well enough to keep reading them, but for some reason, they aren't quite as profound as I had hoped. I am not sure what it is, but they are more of a summer vacation read than a serious, devote all of your attention to read. That isn't bad, BTW; sometimes, it is exactly what I want.

[Brittney Bower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her stepmother is a Bitch. Her relationship skill suck. Her math skills rock, if only she appereationed them more. Her writing skills are off the rocks. And her friends are growing up and out into new people or are they.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was literally stifling my laughter. I was like: "oh my god...!" at the embarrassing parts. I laughed and smiled at the bonding moments Miranda and the British boy had. (sorry I haven't read this series in a LONG while, so I don't remember a lot of names)

[Maximina Rios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that shows the problems that girls can face when they are talking to a guy. There are some girls that don't see the meaning behind guy's action or really see how they feel about them . It can be confusing.relationships can be too complicated. I loved the book.

[Rahmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating : 3.5 stars
Di buku ini Miranda kurang nunjukkin sisi heroine nya. Terlalu banyak part yang malahan nunjukkin sisi insecure nya Miranda :(
Di sisi lain di sini lebih banyak drama dan konfliknya, typical high school sih tapi yaa cukup menghibur dan sempet dibikin kesel juga.

[awesome girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this book was a good book the best part was when Dex and Miranda got back together you should also read its the next book

[.keelia. .keelia.]

I seriously cannot WAIT till this book comes out!! I already know its gonna be SOOO good!!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

really, good enering
just a good book!

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was every bit as good as the first one.

[*JUHI* · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of a point less confusing book about a teenager but I guess its a good time passer

[Anevay · Rating 5 out of 5]

She goes to london and she has a bf and she meets a new guy and he's cute too!!!