Miranda Bloom's summer is shaping up to be one of the best ever. She's in love with her lacrosse-playing lifeguard boyfriend, Dex, and has what promises to be a cushy summer job lined up as nanny to a 10-year-old piano prodigy, Amelia. So what if Miranda's dad and stepmom seem to fight all the time; if it gets too bad she has an invitation to join her mom in England. Not that she's thinking of doing that, no way was she going to leave Dex.

All too soon, Miranda's all-too-perfect summer takes a nosedive. Amelia pretty much hates her on sight, her stepsister Hannah arranges for their parents to go into therapy, Dex's ex returns to town for the summer, her best friends are in the middle of a romantic crisis and Dex seems to be keeping a secret from her. And at the rate she's going, despite Dex and her father's best efforts, Miranda is sure she's going to flunk her driving exam. Things get really weird when her stepmom tries making a half-hearted effort to be civil. Still, Miranda meets each obstacle with optimistic determination, until Dex's friend lets slip the secret Dex has been keeping, making England look like a pretty good option for the future.

Piper Banks' SUMMER OF THE GEEK is an entertaining look into the life of teenager Miranda Bloom. Miranda is an entertaining protagonist, smart and sassy yet insecure in the way of so many teens. I loved that the author manages to avoid the teen clichés and tell an entertaining story. Miranda and the people in her life are fun, her adventures real. Teens will identify with Miranda and the dramas she encounters in her quest for the ideal summer.