One thing I have to acknowledge about Alexandra Robbins, having read three of her books, is that she has a gift for interviewing young people and getting them to speak openly about their lives, warts and all. 'Pledged' and 'Geeks' both provide a surprisingly intimate view of their subjects, and it's hard to believe that they could be so comprehensive if Robbins didn't have a talent for getting people to open up. Unfortunately, as with previous efforts, this book does little of value with the results of these interviews.

The thesis of 'Geeks,' which Robbins labels 'quirk theory' (a label so disproportionately pretentious to its value as a concept that I groaned every time I saw it in the text) is that the same qualities that cause a pre-teen or teenager to be rejected or excluded in school are the qualities that will make them successful later in life. Robbins supports this theory (groan) with academic research she rarely discusses in any depth, as well penetrating analytical techniques like 'quoting verbatim a Teen Vogue interview of Taylor Swift' and 'pointing out that some successful people used to be nerdy.' Maybe one of the gifted students in this book could explain post hoc ergo propter hoc to Robbins.

Robbins also points out that some people who are excluded in high school grow up to have terrible lives, so I guess the high school fringe shouldn't start planning for all that future adulation just yet. It comes off less as genuine sociological inquiry and more like the fevered revenge fantasy of a misbegotten teen--all those jocks with their friends and parties may be cool now, but just wait until I'm rich and they have to empty my garbage! I hope the kids chronicled in this book go on to happy and productive lives--they all have qualities and talents that deserve to be, and probably will be, appreciated and embraced in the future. I also hope that I've learned my lesson this time and avoid any future journalistic efforts by Alexandra Robbins.