What I’m Reading: The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins.

Impressions: I found this book absolutely fascinating. Alexandra Robbins is a nonfiction writer, and for this book she interviewed over a thousand high school students across America. She followed the stories of people with different labels: “The popular bitch,” “the nerd,” “the loner,” “the artsy chick,” etc. She also gave each student a challenge to help them break old habits and possibly become happier with their situations. Throughout the book, she suggested that students who are not comfortable in a particular clique, or “on the cafeteria fringe,” are more likely to think for themselves, which will lead to success later in life.

While Robbins didn’t follow these children into adulthood to see what they ended up doing, I still think this was an interesting study. Answers to questions such as why groups act certain ways, or why particular stigmas are attached to certain cliques are proposed.

I went to a small magnet arts high school, and I truly believe that we didn’t have cliques to the extent that the schools in this book had. Then again, maybe I’m just in denial! Either way, this book was enlightening on many levels and high school was illustrated in a way that I know everyone can relate to.