Lisa Yee wrote a phenomenal trilogy, "Millicent Min, Girl Genius," "Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time," and "So Totally Emily Ebers." Warp Speed is sort of an accessory book to that trilogy... not part of it, but set in the same environment, and the three primary characters in those books all have small roles in this one.
Marley Sandelski is a Star Trek geek, meek, and a victim of any and all bullies at his middle school. Bullying is the primary theme. It is plain that Marley has a few good friends among his fellow geeks, but he has to learn that himself. He views them more as friends because they're his only option rather than friends because they all actually like each other. The bullying Marley endures for the first half of the book is relentless, and perhaps goes on a bit too long before the plot shift begins. Because of running from bullies all the time, Marley has inadvertently become an accomplished runner. Then when one of his primary tormentors turns out to be the victim of an even worse bully, things begin to shift for our hero.
(P.S. Ramen is right. Star Wars is best.) ( )

Starts out a bit slow, a bit same-old.?á Gets more complex later.?á Ends with warm fuzzies all around.?á Earnest, but fun.?á *Very* fast-paced and short, funny, and relevant.

I should do the research to make a proper series of this and the other kids' stories at Rancho Rosetta: Millicent, Stanford, Emily, and now Marley... others??á They do stand alone, though, so I'm not worried about it. ( )

Marley is a school outcast. He's bullied, teased and assaulted on a regular basis. His refuges are AV Club, Star Trek, and his parents' classic movie theater. The author nicely weaves his Star Trek passion with the decisions he makes to be a different person (mainly to attract his crush Emily) and become less of a target of the bullies. SPOILER: I thought it was a clever twist that Marley decides not to participate in track even though he has the talent. I thought, oh, here's the theme, find your strength that will transcend your loser status. But his decision is how Marley keeps true to himself. He can be confident with who and where he is instead of "crossing to the dark side" as his friend Ramen might say. ( )

Fun lighthearted book about a nerdy seventh grader, Marley, and his friends, who endures bullying at school by running away at top speed from his attacker. The track coach asks him to be on the team! I liked the characters, fun Star Trek vs. Star Wars geek humor, and the connections to Yee's other books about this school, from Millicent Min Girl Genius to So Totally Emily Ebers. Good one to pair up with How to Survive Middle School. ( )

The plot is interesting because the protagonist, Marley, has to choose between his geek friends and the more popular kids as Marley himself becomes more popular.

Marley is a Star Trek fan and his Captain's Log entries at the end of each chapter summarize the story in a Star Trek form. When he meets a kind popular girl his entry reads something like "freindly alien offers to guide through uncharted territory." ( )