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NERDS (Book 2: M is for Mama’s Boy) 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 (from the publisher):

NERDS combines all the excitement of international espionage with all the awkwardness of elementary school, and the results are hilarious. A group of unpopular fifth graders run a spy network from inside their school. With the help of cutting-edge science, they transform their nerdy qualities into incredible abilities! Their enemies? An array of James Bond–style villains, each with an evil plan more diabolical and more ridiculous than the last.

My take on the book:

The second book in the NERDS series starts right where it leaves off, with a storyline featuring around NERDS team member Duncan Dewey. Duncan bears the codename of ‘Gluestick’ due to his propensity for eating paste. Like all of the NERDS, Duncan has nanobyte upgrades. His upgrades allow him to stick to any service.

In this story, readers get to meet Duncan’s family members who know about his secret agent duties with NERDS. Like Book 1, there is an important mission for the NERDS, but the backstory centers around the theme of fitting in and believing in oneself. It’s an excellent theme to explore with middle readers, many who will find themselves relating to and finding a lot in common with Duncan and his family.

Young readers who enjoyed Book 1 will once again dive right into this action-packed story and will be clamoring for Book 3 in the series. Parents will have fun reading along as well and will definitely get a kick out of Buckley’s clever and entertaining story.