About the book:
Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Summary:
Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic science-fiction 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 has 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 rating: 4.06/5 Amazon rating: 4.4/5 My rating: 5/5
Do you know that feeling you get some times after finishing a particularly good book? The one where you're just sort of content with the world and slowly close the book wishing there were more pages to read. Yeah that's the feeling that I had after reading this book.
Geekerella is one of the first books I've read in a long time that I sat down to read and didn't put it down until I was finished. It was so refreshing to find myself so pulled into a book that it didn't matter to me that it was well after 3 am and I needed to work in the morning, my only priority was to keep reading until the words ran out.
As someone who is very much into a particular fandom (Harry Potter), I can honestly say that its so nice and refreshing to see a female portrayed in a positive light who is also geeky and into a particular fandom. Throughout the book, there are several nods to different fandoms as well as the role that it plays in our lives. Geekerella did such a great job touching on some of the different aspects of going to conventions and being a die hard fan for a particular series and it was great to watch how it all played out.
As other reviewers have so eliquintly put it, "Geekerella is a love letter to fandoms."
So how did this book do on it's Cinderella retelling? I thought that it did an amazing job. So many elements were there that needed to be while still making it it's own. You can see representations of the pumpkin, mice, the shredded gown, the evil step mom/step sisters, and of course the glass slipper. And while having all of these elements is what makes this story a retelling, I think that the budding friendship between Elle and Sage was my favorite part of the story. Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed the relationship between Elle and Darien but there was just something about adding that level of friendship and watching them bond that made me connect with Elle on a different level. I believe that Sage is meant to be a version of her "Fairy Godmother" in this retelling. She is the person who comes along and keeps her going when all hope seems to be lost.
And because I think we all need to hear it whether you decide to read this book or not (though I definitely recommend that you do):
“Never give up on your dreams, and never let anyone tell you that what you love is inconsequential or useless or a waste of time. Because if you love it? If that OTP or children's card game or abridged series or YA book or animated series makes you happy? That is never a waste of time. Because in the end we're all just a bunch of weirdos standing in front of other weirdos, asking for their username.” Ashley Poston, Geekerella
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