Geekerella by Ashley Poston Review
Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication Date: April 4th, 2017 (MARK YOUR CALENDERS!!)
DISCLAIMER: I was provided a free eARC of this book by the publisher off of NetGalley in return for my honest review
Synopsis:
Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.
Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?
Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.(Goodreads summary)
Synopsis:
Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.
Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?
Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.(Goodreads summary)
My Review:
Geekerella being the first YA book Quirk Publishing has published since Miss Peregrines, I was expecting a lot--and I was certainly not disappointed. I managed to finish this book the day I downloaded it off of NetGalley, and I can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy! Poston relates to the geeks inside of all of us with several nods to Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, and many, many more. Geekerella is a well written combination of cosplay, fandom culture, mistaken, secret messages, and incredible characters. To me and every other fangirl out there, it is absolute perfection.
The story itself is a wonderful retelling of Cinderella with a geeky twist. There's still the evil step mother and step-sisters, fairy godmother (but in this case she's a green-haired, vegan-food-truck-driving, fashion-designing lesbian), and, of course, Prince Charming. I loved the fact that the ball was a cosplay contest and that the main characters, Elle and Darien, accidentally start talking because of a stereotypical case of a wrong number. It was simply adorable, and such a fun story that was east to follow.
Now, a story wouldn't be complete without some kick-ass characters, and this book was full of them! I personally loved Gayle, Darien's caretaker of sorts, because she's kind of a mess who somehow gets it together, and Sage, Elle's estranged best friend who likes to food poison people with week old vegan chimichangas. I kind of got Simon Lewis vibes off of Darien with him being such a geek and all, but Darien seems much, much buffer. The main character, Elle, starts off as a somewhat lonely girl with one true love (Starfield), but as the story progresses she makes some new friends, her blog blows up after writing a post bashing her unknown prince charming, and opens her life up to a whole new realm of possibility.
In conclusion, I give Geekerella five stars for being a breath of fresh air. This book was so light and fun and filled with an array of wonderful, diverse characters. It was so...geektastic and was, unknowingly, just what I was looking for to pull me out of a reading slump. I highly suggest this book to anyone who has ever fangirled or fanboyed over anything in their lifetime, or to anyone who's looking for something fun or light to read.
Geekerella being the first YA book Quirk Publishing has published since Miss Peregrines, I was expecting a lot--and I was certainly not disappointed. I managed to finish this book the day I downloaded it off of NetGalley, and I can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy! Poston relates to the geeks inside of all of us with several nods to Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, and many, many more. Geekerella is a well written combination of cosplay, fandom culture, mistaken, secret messages, and incredible characters. To me and every other fangirl out there, it is absolute perfection.
The story itself is a wonderful retelling of Cinderella with a geeky twist. There's still the evil step mother and step-sisters, fairy godmother (but in this case she's a green-haired, vegan-food-truck-driving, fashion-designing lesbian), and, of course, Prince Charming. I loved the fact that the ball was a cosplay contest and that the main characters, Elle and Darien, accidentally start talking because of a stereotypical case of a wrong number. It was simply adorable, and such a fun story that was east to follow.
Now, a story wouldn't be complete without some kick-ass characters, and this book was full of them! I personally loved Gayle, Darien's caretaker of sorts, because she's kind of a mess who somehow gets it together, and Sage, Elle's estranged best friend who likes to food poison people with week old vegan chimichangas. I kind of got Simon Lewis vibes off of Darien with him being such a geek and all, but Darien seems much, much buffer. The main character, Elle, starts off as a somewhat lonely girl with one true love (Starfield), but as the story progresses she makes some new friends, her blog blows up after writing a post bashing her unknown prince charming, and opens her life up to a whole new realm of possibility.
In conclusion, I give Geekerella five stars for being a breath of fresh air. This book was so light and fun and filled with an array of wonderful, diverse characters. It was so...geektastic and was, unknowingly, just what I was looking for to pull me out of a reading slump. I highly suggest this book to anyone who has ever fangirled or fanboyed over anything in their lifetime, or to anyone who's looking for something fun or light to read.
