You say obsessed, I say super fan

Geekerella by Ashley Posten

The Skinny: 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? -From Goodreads

BFF?: I heart Elle. She was just adorable to me. There’s always something endearing about a modern-day Cinderella type character. I think they’re all the things I’d want to be – hard-working, goal-oriented, courageous, focused – but they’re also insecure and desperate to escape their life. Elle was all these things, but I didn’t feel like she was just yet another Cinderella type character. For me she really stuck out because of her love for Starfield. I’ve never been a mega fangirl of anything, so I don’t QUITE get it, but I do relate a lot to finding answers to life’s struggles in books, characters, TV, and movies. Give me a problem and I can probably give you a TV show scene or a book scene that will help you make sense of the problem. I digress… Elle’s love of Starfield didn’t make her into some total geeky only talks about the fandom type person. It was refreshing to see someone who truly loves something and to talk about it in a completely normal way. Elle gave me a bit of confidence to talk more about my own fangirl things. I love how she also stuck up for herself, even though so much was stacked against her. It was great to see her gain confidence throughout the story to take chances to follow her dreams, no matter what.

Readability: I put off reading this one for a little while, afraid that it might be a bit young or not really a “me” book. I couldn’t put it down! Both Elle and Darien had voices that felt so natural to me that it felt like being with friends. It was very easy to read, but didn’t feel simple. Just a good, sweet book that you can get lost in.

Crush Level: 7
Let’s talk a hot minute about Darien. Hot boys + geeky fandom = keeper. Normally I don’t like having a crush level on a narrator, but I’m okay with it this time. Part of me felt like Darien’s older friend who knows just how cute he is but has zero attraction to him. Darien had this amazing personality, both “in character” and out. He was a little unsure about himself and just where he fit in. He’s this dreamy teen heartthrob actor who is a total nerd fanboy of Starfield. He’s a lot like Henry Cavill. <swoons> His texts with Elle are just the cutest thing ever, too, and I just loved seeing how cute he was with her! Even though he didn’t turn out to be QUITE what she was expecting I think he was just amazing to her. And I think he was amazing to himself. Like Elle he was in a rough situation and I loved seeing him stand up for himself and take back his life.

Bonus Points
Food Trucks

I know food trucks have been around forever, but they’re sort of a newer thing down here. I’ve also never eaten at one, despite us having like a dozen now in town. They always seem to have the BEST food. I loved that Elle worked in one called the Magic Pumpkin. Thought it was SO incredibly clever!

Starfield

I don’t REALLY get this show, but I kinda feel like I would have watched it at some point in time? Maybe?

Pop Culture References

I’m pretty iffy on pop culture references in books because I feel like it dates them. Sometimes those references don’t stand the test of time, so people who read them 10 years from now won’t get just how incredibly clever or funny something is. But, at the same time, I LOVE pop culture references, especially when it’s one I get or one that is cleverly sneaked (such as the Firefly reference in the Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters movie – true story, I was the only person in the theater who burst out laughing.).

Cosplay

Look, I know some people think this is geeky and while I would never go all out like some people do, I still think the people who take it seriously and put SO MUCH effort and creativity into their costumes are phenomenal. Also, as someone who loves a good any excuse to wear a costume, I say rock on.

Commencement Speech: This book! I am SO glad that I had the opportunity to read this one! First off, the cover is so lovely! It’s just pretty and one that you could spend time looking at. And just when you think you’re over your instalove of the cover, if you take the jacket off BOOM! There is a Starfield insignia on the book. I smiled so hard when I discovered that!

Onto the story… This was definitely a well done story. Cinderella adaptations can sometimes feel like a cop-out, taking probably the most common and simplest fairy tale there is and making it into your own. So I think when there’s this huge element that makes it stand out, it gets my attention. Luckily for Geekerella it had a couple of elements that made it stand out to me. Obviously the Starfield story line was fantastic. It felt so universal, Elle’s love for the show, because no matter who you are, you have something that you love and maybe obsess over a bit. But then we have the whole “You’ve Got Mail” story line (where Darien unknowingly texts Elle and they start a texting relationship). Texting in books is a favorite of mine. So I ate their texting up! And then there was the movie making, the food truck, the best friend, the dog… all so much fun and SO well done!

This is a book I would highly recommend to just about anyone. Even if you’re not much of a fairy tale person, this one doesn’t SEEM like a fairy tale. Definitely pick this one up, put on your favorite Star Trek/Star Wars/Buffy/Firefly/Harry Potter/Doctor Who/Marvel costume, and settle in for a truly heartwarming story!

Yearbook Quote: None! ARC!

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