Celebrations of Geekdom: A Review of Geekerella

Geekerella (2017)
Written By: Ashley Poston
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Pages: 337 pages (Kindle)
Series: Book 1 of Once Upon a Con
Publisher: Quirk Books

Why I Chose It: Continuing with the fairytale trend. So, this isn’t exactly speculative fiction, I know, but bear with me because it is entirely about a sci-fi fandom and love in nerd culture. I figured that was close enough.

The Premise:

Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale romance.
 
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 the 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.

No Spoilers.

Discussion: So think Cinderella, but the ball is a sci-fi convention, the gown and slippers are cosplay, and the magic pumpkin is a vegan food truck. I know. I’ll just let that soak in for a moment.

From that alone you can probably tell that I laughed most of the way through this book. I absolutely love clever retellings, and the details in this one were just exquisitely hilarious. Prince Charming is a movie star in a Starfield reboot (think Star Trek with maybe a little Firefly thrown in), with Cinderella as a nobody fan who writes the scathing review that goes viral. And my favorite character might be the green-haired fashion designer friend who doubles as a fairy godmother. This isn’t exactly a comedy, but it is a well-executed retelling with highly amusing elements and some perfectly placed one-liners. And I found the budding romance built on a mixture of honesty and misunderstanding super cute. You could see the love story coming from a mile away, but you could also see the looming disaster, and it was kind of fun watching the two collide, especially since the reader knows more than the characters.

Not to mention this manages to be more than just another retelling: it’s also a wonderful celebration of fandom and con culture. And for this to work so well, it’s not just about getting the details right, although it certainly does that. For example, Elle and Darien both find the courage to step into a beloved character and borrow their strengths for a bit; Elle gets to introduce someone new to something she loves with all the fear and anxiety that goes along with that, and Elle also gets treated to a splash of mansplaining about a character she’s spent years loving and analyzing.

These details make it real, yes, but I was also really impressed that Poston made Geekerella into a discourse about assumptions, acceptance, and allowing new people into a space and fandom that’s precious to you. That takes bravery and selflessness. And having shown up late to the party for a couple fandoms and jealously guarded others of my own, I really appreciated this aspect. It’s really easy to be insular and exclusive about books and movies when you’ve been ridiculed for loving them in the past. But there’s still that drive and fire to share a wonderful thing and see a community grow with people who are very different but still so similar.

That’s not to say this is a perfect book. I found Darien’s personality a little off-putting at times. I’m usually into the self-conscious, nerdy types, but his self-consciousness seemed a little hard to swallow along with his superstar circumstances. I expected something a more self-aware and pragmatic, not “ugh, I get to play my favorite character ever and people love me and hate me for it and why is life so hard!” I just had a hard time picturing this angsty eighteen-year-old as a Federation Prince and hero of a universe.

Also, I have a pet peeve about evil parental figures in young adult books (even evil stepmothers). People are just not that one-sided and teenagers know it, guys. Let’s put a little more nuance into their fiction, all right? Thanks.

In Conclusion: The hilarity and cuteness made it easy to ignore the flaws in this book, and overall, I was very into the fandom aspects of it. I’m definitely grabbing the second book, The Princess and the Fangirl, since it’s directly related, and I’m hoping to see another vegan food truck storm a golf course.