Hey there, book-lovers!
I came back from a mini-holiday late last night, and now I’m back with a review! I’ll be making another post about the holiday soon, but I absolutely loved it.
For today, please enjoy my review of ‘Queens of Geek’ by Jen Wilde. I’ve been eyeing this book for AGES and I’m so glad I finally got it! So, without further ado, let’s jump right in:
Blurb: Three friends, two love stories, one convention: this fun, feminist love letter to geek culture is all about fandom, friendship, and finding the courage to be yourself.
Charlie likes to stand out. She’s a vlogger and actress promoting her first movie at SupaCon, and this is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star Reese Ryan. When internet-famous cool-girl actress Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought.
Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with her best guy friend Jamie—no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about a fan contest for her favorite fandom, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe.
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde, chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads, is an empowering novel for anyone who has ever felt that fandom is family.
“I’m forever observing, trying to learn how to be an adult human being by watching others, and I’m constantly in awe of how easy some people make it look.”
Thoughts: This book is so adorable and relatable and I loved every minute of it. I’m quite the geek and I love comics, reading, watching science fiction shows, getting Funko Pops and other merch; so to read about people that are interested in the same things I am was such a breath of fresh air. The fact that the characters were also really well thought-out was a huge plus for me! There was a lot of diversity and representation, such as anxiety-rep, bisexuality-rep, and LGBTQ+ relationships. I especially loved Taylor, since we have very similar personalities and we react to change and doing new things similarly. She’s ‘flawed’ by society’s standards; she suffers from anxiety, she’s autistic, and not slim, but she’s also very strong as well as sure of herself and who and what she loves. It was very refreshing to me to see these struggles represented, and how it’s ok not to be okay. I also loved the relationships in this book: Jamie and Taylor are obviously my favorite couple, buuut I also really loved the relationship between Charlie and Alyssa. They are such an adorable couple and they fit really well together.
The plot also flowed very nicely. However, I do think that there could have been more elaboration throughout. There were quite a few interesting points raised throughout the novel, such as celebrities’ rights to privacy, Hollywood’s crazy expectations on budding actors, biphobia, fat-shaming, sexism, toxic relationships, and a few more topics. I would have loved to see some of these topics explored further, and it’s a shame that some weren’t as this book had so much potential to say more.
Rating:
“Are you happy the way you are? Are you comfortable? Do you feel like yourself?”
The corner of my mouth lifts into a half smile. “Yes. Yes. And yes.”
“Then that’s all that matters. Fuck everything else.”
That’s it for today, folks! Hope y’all have a great weekend filled with books and some hot chocolate (I’m loving this stormy weather!).
Have any of you read this book? What do you think of it? Let me know in the comments below!
Written by: Alexia DeBono
HAVE AN INTEREST, IDEA, OR AN OPINION?
Do you have an interest you’d like to tell others about? Or an opinion you’d like to share with the world? From politics to culture and sports, message us if you would like your articles published!
A Bird's Eye View 