The Princess and the Fangirl

I loved Geekerella, so was really looking forward to this sequel, which focuses on Jess, Dar's co-star from the Starfield series. While I still liked Geekerella better, I enjoyed this one. It was a cute story that also hit back at toxic fandom and geek culture. From the afterword, it's clear that Poston was reacting to certain things with the book, particularly the Twitter and Instagram abuse that famous women in geek life face. While Geekerella was more of a fairy tale, this story was very much grounded in the real world.

While I found it a bit of a slow start, I soon got into the groove and fell in love with Imogen and Jess. They're both characters who are stronger than they know, and have let others determine their self-worth for too show more long.

While a huge part of this book revolved around the bad parts of fandom, it was also a celebration of its good parts. And the connections we can forge with total strangers over the internet. Love.

I really hope this isn't the last we see of this world. show less

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher (Quirk Books) in exchange for an honest review.

Omg this book was incredible and I have nothing but good things to say about it. I read Geekerella about 2 years ago and loved it, but I don’t remember having this level of response to it. I’m obsessed.

So first off, I loved the writing style. Sometimes when you read books about fandoms it can come across like a fan fiction. This book read like a nice YA contemporary with fandom references.

I also loved that this book tackled the darker side of fandoms. A big focus was on how harsh fans (particularly in the sci-fi community) can be on actors. This is something that happens all the time and I’m glad the book gave the show more perspective of the actor on the receiving end of it. I also liked that this darkness was balanced by the positives of fandoms. It showed both sides well.

As for the plot, I liked that it took place entirely at the con. I thought the romances were adorable and I loved the representation (LGBT and POC).

The fandom references were so on point. My favorite was the Blue Eyes White Dragon reference to Yu-Gi-Oh on page 251 (I was super obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid).

Lastly, if you miss Darien, Elle, and Sage from Geekerella, don’t worry. They all make an appearance in the book and I was so happy to see them again.

Overall, this was an amazing companion novel to Geekerella. If you loved that book, you’ll love this one! show less

Love love love! This has all the wonderful, quirky cosplay fun of Geekerella, fandom at its finest as Imogen, Princess Amara’s biggest fangirl comes to a con with her family, and Jessica, the actress who plays Princess Amara (and who not-so-secretly hates the role) sits on panels barely disguising how much she’d rather be anywhere else. But after a chance meeting where the two realize they look similar enough to pass for twins, a lost script, and an interview gone right/wrong, they decide to switch places. And hilarity ensues.

This was so much fun as one girl got to go back to “normal” for a bit, the other tries to save her favorite princess, unlikely romances begin to form, and there’s just so much comicon fun. The enemies to show more lovers thing with Imogen and Ethan? Yes, please. I hope she keeps this series going!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less

Imogen Lovelace is with her brother and her mothers at Excelsicon, a yearly event for her geeky family. She is a huge fan of the Starfield franchise and she’s launched a campaign to save the female lead, Princess Amara. The problem? Jessica Stone, who played Princess Amara in the latest movie, doesn’t want the princess to be resurrected; she just wants to move on with her (hopefully) Oscar-worthy career. When Jess misplaces her copy of the sequel’s script, she realizes that she has to find it or she will be ruined. Jess conscripts Imogen, who looks startlingly like her, to stand in at her panels and meet-and-greets while she frantically searches for the missing script.

This series is completely adorable! Which makes it sound like show more it’s for younger kids, but it is written for young adults. Still–I’m going to let adorable stand.

There are so many things to love in this book. I love that Imogen has two mothers and her brother is gay. I love that everyone at Excelsicon is so unabashedly geeky. Attendees actively celebrate and encourage geekiness! I love that Poston addresses the darker side of fandoms. You know, those people who think that sequels or different actors or actresses will never be any good and who constantly troll actresses in particular about how they’re too fat or too thin or too ugly or too flat-chested or just too anything.

Mostly, I just love the characters that Poston creates. They’re regular people who get excited about the things they love and relate to. They’re perfect strangers who bond over a shared love of a TV show or movie. They’re people who are maybe teased or bullied about their enthusiasms in the wider world but who find acceptance among their own people at a Con or on a message board. They find quotes with ideas they need to hear in the shows they love and adopt them as their personal credos. And they understand that the color or shape of a character doesn’t matter; Princess Amara’s spirit lives in all of us. How can you not love a book like this?

I realize I haven’t said much about the plot. That’s because so much of this book is about its heart. But to address that for just a minute, the plot was maybe a bit implausible (Why wouldn’t Imogen be the one looking for the lost script instead of famous Jess?) but there were some twists and turns and I was surprised by the ending. I loved that Imogen realized how hard Jess’s shoes are to fill and that Jess started to better appreciate her fans.

If you’re looking for a deep, Literary read, these books are not for you. But if you’ve ever had serious conversations about what happens to characters after the book/movies end, drawn fan art, written fan fiction, pre-ordered tickets or books for sequels that you just couldn’t wait for, dressed up like a beloved character, quoted favorite lines, or been gloriously geek-tastic in any of a million different ways, this series is for you. I can’t recommend it highly enough! show less

This is set at ExcelsiCon the year after Geekerella. Jessica Stone, Starfield actress, swaps places with a fan, Imogen. Jess needs to find a mislaid script before she’s accused of leaking it, and Imogen hopes she’ll get an opportunity to promote the #Save Amara initiative.

I enjoyed the way they both experience a different side of fandom. Imogen discovers the pressures of being a star, when con appearances are part of your job, and, away from the spotlight, Jess discovers how cons allow people to come together and celebrate the things they love.

My only disappointment is with the way Imogen and Jess deceive Imogen’s fandom friend, Harper. I wish that had been handled differently.

“I think sometimes the stories we need are the show more ones about taking the hobbits to Isengard and dog-human dudes with space heelies and trashy King Arthurs and gay ice-skating animes and Zuko redemption arcs and space princesses with found families and galaxies far, far away. We need those stories, too. Stories that tell us that we can be bold and brash and make mistakes and still come out better on the other side.” show less

This book was a warm hug. It was a love letter to fandom. It was a story about friendships and romance and it was so soft and sweet and geeky and I loved it.

Did it have a lot of substance? No. But do I care? Not in the slightest.

Oh and it also featured a really fucking adorable sapphic romance that warmed my heart.

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The Princess and the Fangirl

Imogen is a fan of Starfield and starts a campaign to save her favorite character Princess Amara. At ExcelsiCon she spends her time asking fans to sign her petition to bring the princess back and hands out buttons with her #saveAmara initiative printed on them. But the actress who plays Amara wants nothing to do with the part. Jessica Stone has seen the backlash of fans who didn’t approve of her take on Amara, and she wants to leave Starfield far behind. When the two girls meet they realize how similar in looks they are. Jessica sees her chance to have a moment of peace from the spotlight, and Imogen sees her chance to save Amara. They switch places and show more realize that living in each other's shoes isn’t what they expect it to be.

The Princess and the Fangirl is a retelling of The Princess and the Pauper. I don’t know enough about the story it is based on to tell you if it was a decent retelling, but what I can tell you is that I had a lot of fun reading this one. I love when books have moments that make me snicker at one-liners the characters fling out, and there were many times I found myself doing this while reading. I do think there were a few too many shout outs to geekdom, but overall I still enjoyed it.

I also found myself more drawn to Jessica’s character in this book. Even though she was introduced in Geekerella, she wasn’t exactly a likable character. But once you get into her mind and see what she struggles with daily, you begin to sympathize and understand Jessica more. Not only did she deal with her insecurities with body image and self-confidence, but she also had outside pressure from a fandom that would tear her apart with words.

Ashley Poston does a great job portraying both sides of fandom. As the story progresses she exemplifies how great and how terrible fandom can be. You have the fans that love new reincarnations of a show, and on the other side, you have those people who nit pick and try to tear down every piece of it. And she puts the characters right in the spotlight, showing how it affects the people that are involved with the characters these fans love or hate. It’s an eye opening experience, and even with some of the heavier themes it deals with the pace never slows down.

If you're looking for a fast-paced read, filled to the brim with geek references, then look no further. The Princess and the Fangirl is the book for you! show less