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NERDS (Book 3: The Cheerleaders of Doom) by Michael Buckley

Review by Chris Singer

About the author:

Michael Buckley is the author of the New York Times bestselling series and Today Show Al Roker Book Club pick The Sisters Grimm. He has also written and developed shows for Nickelodeon, Disney, MTV Animation, the Sci- Fi Channel, the Discovery Channel, and VH1. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Alison, and son, Finn.

About the book:

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.

My take on the book:

Buckley’s latest is another wonderful read in his imaginative and entertaining spy spoof NERDS series. Book 3′s storyline focuses on another NERDS team member, Matilda Choi. Matilda is called by the codename, “Wheezer” because she uses technologically-enhanced inhalers which help her fly through the air (even space) and blast bad guys.

This series has gotten better with each book and I can’t recommend it highly enough. This book has been my favorite. I loved Matilda’s toughness and her fiery personality. You know right away that she’s not going to be pleased going undercover as a cheerleader. Wheezer has a lot of preconceptions about cheerleaders and has to change her way of thinking in order to complete her mission. It’s a great lesson for kids about learning not to judge someone based on their looks or on ideas you’ve only heard about but have never seen in person for yourself.

Like in the other NERDS books, young readers will once again find the James Bond-style gadgets, villains and story-lines hilarious and wildly entertaining. Each book is also filled with cool lessons on spy tools such as how to make invisible ink and secret code making and breaking.

Word is Michael Buckley is working on the 4th book in the series. It’s not out yet so you have some time to catch up. Check them out at your local library or bookstore.