Hannah Moskowitz

I'm not crying you're crying.

Oh my god. This book. Just when you think you know where it was going, you end up somewhere completely unexpected.

Despite the cute premise, the back cover blurb, and the happy geeky fangirling that is this book's first half, it gets dark. And then it gets even darker.

Holy shit. Did it get dark.

But I still really liked it. It's a story about finding human connection, and how some relationships transcend labels. That happened with Gena and Zach, who were were show more basically siblings as children. And with Finn and Gena. And even Finn and Charlie and Gena.

This was a beautiful book. The telling was a bit strange but the epistolary format ended up working. It's a format I really enjoy because the reader has to do work and fill in the blanks.

And maybe I saw myself in the book, when the friendships I made via online fandom in high school and college survive to this day. show less

I adore this book. Even though it didn't go quite the way I expected it to, I still loved every minute of reading it. The world needs more books like this -- books that really get the fandom experience. I loved Fangirl, but the main character always felt so removed from fandom, despite being this really popular fic writer. With Gena/Finn, the two of them are so immersed in fandom and it's such a core part of the way they interact with the world that it felt much more authentic to me. I show more desperately need more books like this in my life - full of characters who experience the world the way I do and have these weird, crazy online relationships with people they've never met who all love the same thing. This book is definitely going on my list of favorites. show less

Gena/Finn is the story of two young women who are brought together across the country by their shared fandom for the same television drama (think Supernatural). As their friendship intensifies via internet and phone, they begin to expand into other areas of each other's lives, and soon they find themselves questioning the nature of their relationship.

The book is written entirely through the written communications of the characters (emails, texts, blog posts, etc...). I found the form to be show more easy to get into, and overall enjoyable.

About a third of the way into the book, I started wanting a break in the form in order to portray deeper communication between Gena and Finn. The first time they meet in person, for instance, I wanted dialogue; I wanted to hear the actual conversations, instead of getting the story through emails and texts as they talk about their time together.

However! Moskowitz and Helgeson had a clever and satisfying solution to this. Later in the story, when all of the main characters are together, the form switches primarily to journal entries - still true to the written-communication-only rule, but the nature of this type of writing versus a text exchange allows for much more in-depth exploration of emotions, and portrayal of scenes almost like in a traditional novel form. Brilliant. show less

Teeth is an unusual journey from beginning to end and it is not often that I read a book that captures my heart in such a complete way. Set on a lonely, windswept island, the residence there are all in search of the healing properties of the local fish. Rudy's brother is very sick and so his life, and the lives f his immediate family, have been uprooted in search of this cure. The first thing I noticed about Rudy, if you'll pardon the pun, is that he is adrift. He mourns for his old life, as show more any teen would, but he doesn't feel like he has the freedom to complain because of his brother's health. His life is lonely and the descriptions of the isolated place where they live really add to that feeling. There is definitely a Gothic feel to this whole story, with mysterious and eccentric characters all holed up in their houses until it's time to go to market and buy fish. Eerie screaming at night eventually leads Rudy to Teeth, and the friendship is both awe inspiring and darkly fascinating. Add the town shut-in with a beautiful daughter and it was a story that enthralled me from beginning to end.

There are strong fairy tale elements in this book. For instance, the story of Teeth's conception is straight out of a fairy tale and in its modern setting it might be hard to get around that, but it did not bother me. In fact, it pulled me into the story and enchanted my sense of curiosity about how the book would eventually come to its conclusion. Everything about this story seemed to live simultaneously in a world of brutal realities and fantastical elements. One plot point I really loved was the semi-romance between Rudy and Diana. Rudy is fascinated by this beautiful girl that is so smart, yet so cut off, and it felt to me like an excellent way to compare the way he has always interacted with girls versus his connection with Teeth. They are two beings that are both abandoned, in their own way, and are trying desperately to find a connection to the cruel world around them. Their friendship, which feels like much more by the end, is full of impossible choices and the most wonderful part of reading this book was watching Rudy and Teeth navigate their individual pain by helping each other. There is no doubt in my mind that, above all else, this is their story and it is one that will make you laugh, cry, and stare out to sea long after you've finished the book. show less