NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society (NERDS, #1) by Michael Buckley

NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society (NERDS, #1) Reviews

• 
  Colin V.B

  Me and a couple friends were roaming the book fair for the best book we could find. Besides from a couple of Justin Bieber books, we found N.E.R.D.S. When I first saw it I thought it was too good to be true! Because this cover was amazingly funny, and so was the book. Michael Buckley created a masterpiece. The plot idea was good and original that, surprisingly, kept you guessing. But what made this book funny was the characters. The characters in this book all have some problems that make them nerds. But when they become part of the spy agency, then their problems get upgraded and they are all given code names. My favorite one is a guy named Gluestick. He eats paste, and now he can stick to walls. I also like flinch. He eats so much sugar, that now he just needs one candy bar to run as fast as a cheetah. I honestly thought this was going to be another bust of a book like Origami Yoda. But Michael Buckley writes like Anthony Horowitz in spy scenes, and like Jeff Kinney when he makes a joke.
• 
  Bailey

  "That's your problem, Braceface. You judge others by what they look like. You've spent your life putting people into little categories-nerd, geek, athlete, cheerleader, weakling-and you can't imagine they might be more than what you think. People are always more than what they appear."
  -Matilda (a.k.a. Wheezer)
  
  Jackson Jones rules elementary school. He's the star of the football team, receives decent grades, has a high popularity status, and a group of his own to call his friends. He spends his days frequently on the field and playing pranks and raids on the nerds of his school. However, this all changes with a single dentist visit. He is told that he will now need braces due to the recent discovery of the abnormal amount of teeth that his mouth is harboring. Wearing awkward braces is not what cool people do, it's what "nerds" have. Forced to wear estranged headgear mounted on his face, he is quickly shunned by his peers and those so called friends he used to hang out with. He's now the object of his past associates' pranks, turning his life around in a complete 360 manner. Jackson's grades quickly drop, and all he does is "spy" to see all of the ins and outs of everyone at his elementary school, students and teachers alike.
  
  When his snooping leads him to a group of students that abnormally sneeze at the same time, prompting the five to leave their class in a timely fashion, he finds himself in an awkward situation. After chasing them down the school's hallway, Jackson hides in a locker when the principal comes walking his way. He can't afford to get in trouble for cutting class. It's at this time that he falls through the floor of the locker, taking him beneath the school, thanks to an elaborate system built by a group unbeknownst to him. It's at the end of this journey that Jones finds himself in a lab-like area, surrounded by scientists working on countless inventions. When he's spotted, he quickly runs into a room that locks behind him. At this time, people are trying to break down the door to get to the intruder, Jackson, while he is being assessed by some type of computer that's located in the room. Finding his weakness, his headgear, the computer system gives him the code name "Braceface." Jackson Jones has no idea what is going on, but he soon passes out in this same room. When he awakens, he has powers.
  
  Jackson is in the secret headquarters of the super secret spy group, N.E.R.D.S. (National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society). It consists of a group of five eleven year old boys and girls who save the world on a weekly basis. No adults suspect children to be more than what they are, little kids who have no idea what's going on around them. This is what makes N.E.R.D.S. the ideal spy unit, a group of unsuspecting people who are tech savvy. Using special technology, these eleven-year-old students are able to utilize their biggest weaknesses as a formidable weapons. This is what happened to Jackson. He can now use his braces in strange new ways by imagining what he wants them to turn into and then using them to protect himself and fight enemies in their new form.
  
  The former jock decides to join the team of N.E.R.D.S which consists of Ruby ("Pufferfish) who is allergic to countless emotions, actions, and foods, allowing her to be, in a sense, psychic, Matilda ("Wheezer"), a fierce girl with asthma who can use her inhalers to fly and blast people back or create gaping holes, Duncan ("Gluestick") a sweet boy who devours large amounts of glue, allowing him to stick to walls and surfaces with his own paste, Heathcliff ("Choppers") a young lad with abnormally large teeth that can hypnotize people, and Julio ("Flinch"), an extremely hyperactive person that can gather all of the sugar he eats through a harness that gives him the abilities of super strength and high speeds.
  
  Jackson must train with all five of his eleven-year-old teammates so that he may become the best of the best, all while trying to observe their missions and make those he formally bullied turn to him as a friend. This is no easy task for any person, but Jackson Jones must do it before he is kicked off the team for good. Their current missions are to stop whoever or whatever is creating the current world crisis: the moving of the seven continents over great distances. Somehow, the land formations are being made to form what was once Pangaea. When the landmasses come together, they create giant disasters, killing countless people in the process. Will Jackson, a.k.a. Braceface, be able to be the hero he wants people to see, or will he fall short and be the bully he's been recently known to be?
  
  Countless middle graders will love this book and the rest of its companions in the series! It was fun, humorous, full of adventure, and an overall good read. There were two aspects that I really enjoyed in this book. The first one was how the six main children in this book were all unique and diverse. This created a great multicultural arrangement and an unforgettable ride for the reader. The second reason then tied into a theme that struck me multiple times while reading Buckley's excellent book: It's okay to be different. I think that this is a great message that so many people and children need to read more of. Sure, the bullying in this book was brief, but it was well addressed. When Jackson hurt Duncan, Ruby, Heathcliff, Julio, and Matilda, they were just some nerds who blended in with all of the rest of his school. However, when he spent time with them, he noticed that what made them nerds was unique to their personalities yet it also didn't define them. People are so much more than what they seem. This was what he learned after joining N.E.R.D.S. Jackson also learned that he didn't need to be a bully to be cool or to attract real friends. He just needed to be Jackson Jones.
  
  Teamwork was also important in Buckley's book. When the gang was fighting or not listening to what the rest were saying and/or doing, things went badly. They had to notice what everyone was doing to work like a well-oiled machine. The descriptions were done well, the plot wonderfully executed, and the writing was excellent! What was really cool about the book was how it was illustrated. It almost had the feel of a comic book but one geared toward middle graders. Of course, this was not what it was, it's indeed a full length novel. Buckley also threw in multiple changes in perspective. He went from the N.E.R.D.S. characters to the mysterious and crazy, villain. Full of intrigue and mystery, the ending contained a great twist that left you wanting the next installment. I recommend that all middle grade students read this. It's definitely worth it.
  
  
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• 
  Kribu

  One star for the first 2/5, three stars for the last 3/5.
  
  It's been a while since I've got so close to just discarding a book not even halfway through but all in all, I'm glad I persevered - the last half, with less toilet humour and more plot, and with at least a couple of the characters developing some (if vague) actual characteristics beyond a description of their looks, was considerably better.
  
  Still, even with all that, I have to go with "it was OK" rather than "liked it" as my rating. Main reasons: humour is highly subjective and the humour in this book didn't work for me, and I just cannot relate to the entire concept of "nerds" (also, I have a highly developed allergy for the word itself and loathe seeing it used anywhere, in any context).
• 
  Connor B.

  I liked this book because it was a re-read and I was able to focus on the little details.
• 
  Cathy

  Can Jackson Jones survive falling to the bottom of the social ladder after geting a face full of braces AND losing his spot on the football team? Well, maybe- as part of an elite, top-secret spy group... there'll be action, adventure, cool gadgets, and nerds? What to do when your curiousity sends you to the inner sanctum of a group that can save the world- by using the very "nerdiness" that causes them, in their drab elementary school lives, to be picked on and avoided? Funny, action filled, great characters. When the lockers send you to headquaters, and creamed corn hides tracking devices, THAT's a plot to hold you!
• 
  J. Boo

  Received in a giant stack of youth books from a cousin who was heading off to college. DS#1 (nearly 7) read this on his own -- his first completed chapter book. (He had previously tried to read
  Moonraker, which inexplicably disappeared shortly after he mentioned to me that he was reading it. I need to wade through the bookshelves and make sure dicier volumes are inaccessible.) Anyway, DS#1 liked it a lot, and gives it many stars.
• 
  Scottsdale Public Library

  When grade school football hero Jackson goes in for a dental appointment and gets braces, he finds his popularity in free fall and his school life drastically changed. Jackson turns to spying on friends to discover why some are popular and some are nerds and discovers that his school conceals an elite group of spies, the National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society. When he sneaks into their headquarters, he gains superhero powers and becomes a member of the N.E.R.D.S.
  
  I enjoyed watching Jackson and his fellow spies learn from each other. Each had strengths beyond their superhero abilities, but they also had problems that had nothing to do with those abilities. Jackson learned the truth about his life as a football hero and had to face the consequences. I enjoyed the alternating chapters with the villain, who was having problems of her own. The superhero illustrations added to the book and were perfect for the story.
  
  I was totally unprepared for the twist at the end and look forward to the next book in this series.- Lynn H.
  
• 
  Ezekiel

  I really loved the book N.E.R.D.S(bad acronym) by Micheal Buckley. This book is about this child named Jackson Jones, who is a bully, the most popular kid in school, who somehow stumbles in a secret spy organization. The organization is called, National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society, N.E.R.D.S. for short. Jackson must go through all his troubles at school, and braces, and befriend his fellow spies, all while he is losing his grades and popularity, and mind. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves spies and books that switch perspectives, from good to evil. I loved this book.
• 
  Lou Anders

  NERDS is a very silly, very easy-to-read spy sendup aimed at young boys. It's fast and funny, and plotted like a Roger Moore-era Bond, with all of the cliques tacked onto fifth graders. It's probably not sophisticated enough for older readers, but would be a great book for reluctant readers, particularly young boys interested in action movies, comic books, and secret agents.
• 
  Logan Licata

  This was a great book. If you like spy novels than you might want to pick this book up. The main character Jackson thought he had life easy, he was the football team as their star quarterback, he was popular. Then things took a change. This book can leave you on so many cliffhangers. It's just the best book ever.
• 
  John Terry

  This was a great book.It had mystery, suspense and action.That is like, all you need in a book.This book made me laugh at some parts but this book is mostly an action-packed book.I would recommend this book to anybody who likes comedy and action books.
• 
  Jody

  Too ridiculous for me to enjoy, and that's saying a lot. Lots of slapstick-y humor.
• 
  Christine

  Jackson is a popular 5th grader when tragedy strikes-tragedy in the form of braces. He quickly sees his social status change from king of the mountain to reject in record time. Soon afterwards, Jackson stumbles upon an elite team of secret agents in his school. Amazingly, they are a bunch of the 'nerds' Jackson used to make fun of. Jackson joins their ranks as they hunt the Hyena, a master criminal with an evil plan.
  
  I thought this was a cute, fast read. In our book club, we had good discussion regarding what it means to be popular, bullying and parent expectations. I'd say this was the kids favorite book we're read and most of them have finished the entire series.
  
  Grade: 3/5
• 
  Jado

  I rented this book out from the library, and lets just say that the previous kids who read this book followed its instructions to a tee. Lots of earwax and water marks (tongue saliva) on this book. Overall, I read this book when I was younger and it still hold us for me today.
• 
  Jessica - How Jessica Reads

  This was sooo cute! Why didn’t they have books like that when I was a kid? 😝
• 
  Grace Erickson

  Very good book could have had more character devipment though.
• 
  Wandering Librarians

  Jackson is on his way to being the most popular boy at Nathan Hale Elementary. Charming, athletic, and good looking, Jackson Jones has it made. So what if he likes to pick on the weirdos and nerds that don't fit in? Jackson is doing the world a service by keeping them in their place. In a flash he is at the bottom of the barrel and he must find new pursuits, like observing (otherwise known as spying) his ex-friends, teachers, and peers and discovering all their secrets. The only ones that seem to elude him are five losers that are always getting out of class. By pure chance Jackson hides in a locker that he sees them sneak into and finds himself in a secret lair and discovers that these five geeks routinely save the world and have spectacular nano-technology abilities to help them:
  
  Mathilda Choi's asthma inhalers give her the abilities to fly and throw fire. She has exceptional fighting abilities and can use anything as a weapon. Heathcliff Hodges has huge buckteeth and can hypnotize anyone with them. Duncan Dewey loves to eat glue and can secrete a sticky substance from his pores allowing him to climb the walls and stick to anything. Julio Escala is ADD and harnesses his hyperactivity for super strength and speed. Ruby Peet is the team leader and is allergic to everything, including negative emotions and lying. They are not only united in saving the earth, nerdiness, and special abilities, but also their hatred of Jackson Jones. As everything seems to falling apart for the N.E.R.D.S. - with a new administrator and a douche bag new agent - they are put onto a new important case saving scientists and keeping Dr. Jigsaw from rearranging the continents. Will the agents be able to pull together and reevaluate their perspectives of each other and how they work to save the world? I listened to this in my car going to to and from work.
  
  This has an only adequate narrator, an agonizingly slow plot, and a main character that had my yelling at my stereo asking why he was such an unbelievable ass. I truly did not find anything redeemable about Jackson. I kept thinking that he got what he deserved by being left by his friends and beat up by the agents. What a jackass. The secondary characters were too weak to take up the slack, they were either one-dimensional caricatures or ridiculously unlikable. ALL OF THEM.
  
  I got fed up with the whole thing, about a third of the way through I just gave up and found the book and read the last two pages hoping against hope that I would be intrigued and go back and listen to the whole thing. Nope. No dice. The whole thing is bullshit, and I couldn't help thinking that I had wasted several hours of my life. It's all so unlikable! BLARGH! Don't read it, don't read the rest of the series, and I'm going to go as far as to say that you shouldn't read his other series The Sisters Grimm.
• 
  Brenda

  Jackson is the main character, he is one of the "cool kids." A star of the football team, revered by all of his friends and well a bully to everyone else. That is until Jackson ends up getting braces and becomes ostracized from his old gang. Jackson isn't used to being a social outcast or misfit, even the "nerd herd" is starting to look interesting to him. So, Jackson sets out to find out why things have changed so dramatically. He takes to following around his previous friends and finds that they aren't as cool as he thought they were, and that everyone has some quirk that makes them different. Jackson also snoops on the nerds of the school realizing that he misses having a tight-knit group of friends and wants to see if he can find a way in. It's on one of these reconnaissance missions that Jackson unknowingly falls into the middle of the NERDS headquarters and discovers that the team is actually a secret organization that uses their weaknesses as strengths to "monitor the globe for danger and fight for the security of the world." Jackson becomes their newest recruit but things wont be easy, he's made a lot of enemies in this group of kids and finding a way to mend things proves tougher then he thought. Plus there is an evil doctor set on changing the map of the world by moving pieces around like a jigsaw puzzle. I found NERDS to be highly entertaining. Maybe because I just get boyish humor having seen my fair share of Nickelodeon shows. I liked the various code names and skills that each child receives after their nerdy qualities were "upsized." There was "Gluestick" (very sticky skin from eating to much glue), "Wheezer" (who uses an inhaler to fly), "Flinch" (with super strength and speed) and "Pufferfish" (a human lie detector that can determine danger and deceit). I like how Buckley didn't make things easy for Jackson to be excepted into the group. He really had to work at righting his wrongs. I also found the "baddies" of the story entertaining, Dr. Jigsaw and Hyena (the professional freelance assassin wannabe who is a kid herself). Having the chapters alternate between what was happening among the NERDS and the Lair of Dr. Jigsaw, until the two sides collided, kept the action going at a nice pace. Overall, would make a great read for an eight to twelve year old who likes spy stories with plenty of action.
• 
  Michelle

  NERDS
  Book 1
  
  Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you were a secret spy? Have a secret hideout underneath your school. Go on cool secret missions. Have exhausting training. Have upgrades (super powers!)! Well, read NERDS Book 1 by Michael Buckley to find out!
  
  This book is about a really popular kid named Jackson Jones who bullies nerds. His popularity drops when he gets a pair of horrible braces! But then, he finds The Playground (the secret hideout for NERDS) by stuffing himself in his locker! And then he gets his upgrades...
  
  My favorite part of the book is whenever a couple of chapters have passed and it is time for a spy test. I like these parts because Michael Buckley (the author) makes jokes along the way and he insults you, which is funny. For example: When Michael Buckley makes a part which involves you to rub your armpit against the page, then he tells you that he’s serious. But, in the end (after you rub your armpit against the page) he tells you that it’s the funniest thing he’s ever seen!
  
  I think Michael Buckley wrote this book because he wants to send a message to bullies to tell them that just because nerds look wimpy, it doesn’t mean they could push them around and pick on them, because maybe they’re not what they seem to be...
  
  I think this is a good book for people who like good jokes and for people who have big imaginations. I think that because Michael Buckley puts sections in the book which are full of jokes and because he comes up with amazing things which are not possible. I think the parts when he makes sections which are full of jokes are better than when Jackson gets suspended from school. I think this because the jokes are very funny, but when Jackson gets suspended, it is kind of sad.
  
  
  I would recommend this fiction book to people who like clever jokes, people who have big imaginations, and to people who like to read fiction books. And the book he wrote, NERDS, is a fiction story (or is it?). If this is the right book for you, READ THIS BOOK! For others, it’s classified information!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Miss Clark

  It is very different from Buckley's other series, The Sisters Grimm, which I highly enjoy. This one is more action oriented and will appeal a great deal more to boys, esp. since the main character is a boy.
  
  Jason is the boy that has it all. Good looks, athletic skill, tons of friends. He is the most popular boy at his middle school, captain of the football team. He also mercilessly teases the geeks at his school and makes their lives sheer misery.
  
  But Jason's perfect life goes straight out the window the day he has to get braces. Suddenly, he has become one of the geeks! His friends dump him and he is relegated to the bottom of the food chain. But now that he has no social life to speak of, he has plenty of time to observe others and he begins to notice all sorts of things about his classmates and family, especially a specific group of geeks. While spying on them, he inadvertently discovers that they are part of a secret society: The National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society. And again, not intentionally, Jason gets an upgrade to his braces that turns them into a secret weapon. Without trying, he is supposed to now join the team. But the others don't want him and after weeks of trying to gain their approval and failing, he realizes that the reason they dislike him is that he was their tormentor. With nothing less than the fate of the world hanging in the balance, can Jason find a way to prove that he really has changed and that he has what it takes to be one of the NERDS?
  
  
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  It took me quite a while to get into the characters, but after that I enjoyed it and would certainly pick up the next in the series. Again, I think boys will enjoy this one, especially 8/9-12/13 range. And the assassin? Loved her.
• 
  Chris

  A very hesitant three stars that was almost two, but I got drawn into the action enough by the end to enjoy it.
  
  I was very disappointed with the general execution of the concept, though, and generally found the humor much too low-brow for a book with a dedication that reads: For dorks, dweebs, geeks, spazzes, waste cases, and nerds everywhere. Someday you too will change the world. It's possible for "stupid" humor to be very intelligent and clever, but this wasn't it; it was much too simplistic. Plus the protagonist wasn't really a nerd--Jackson is a popular bully jock from a line of jocks who discovers social castigation after massive dental work, braces, and headgear. He comes to regret his former ways once finally given insight into the life of outcasts, but if he's the character we're to identify with then one can only assume the book is aimed at popular bullies who need the same lesson in empathy that Jackson gets. Even then I never really felt an appreciation for intellect or other "nerd" passions, just a muddled message that making fun isn't nice.
  
  I can see the book's appeal and will probably recommend it some, but there are better options for those readers.
• 
  Aila

  The book Nerds by Michael Buckley is very good. Its book that kids can find funny and adults too. You don't have to know anything about the spy world to understand this book because Jackson Jones is learning too. This book accurately describes how clique centered schools are and how you can be the most popular one day then come to school looking different and be demoted to the bottom of the pile.
  
  Nerds is about Jackson learning that its not fun to be picked on and he used to be the one that picked on the nerds. The nerds are actually pretty cool with special abilities who hate him but still have to help him. One of them talks to him but the others ignore him during school, " You took particular delight in abusing him. He got the worst of it," Duncan said.' He eventually gained the trust of the rest of his team mates but he still wasn't liked by them but they helped him study and train they became a team. Its a good story about kids overcoming the bulling and then becoming friends.
  
  The book Nerds is a good read for anyone who likes spy movies or books but who also likes laughing. The characters and plot are funny and it is well written.