Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
Rating: 5/5 stars
Synopsis:
Charlie likes to stand out. She’s a vlogger and actress promoting her first movie at SupaCon, and this is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star Reese Ryan. When internet-famous cool-girl actress Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought.
Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with her best guy friend Jamie―no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about a fan contest for her favorite fandom, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe.
Content warning for: biphobia, fatphobia, sexism and racism (all challenged)
I have sooo much to say about this book, I love it so much! This is truly my favorite book of all time and the only book to make me cry from start to finish because of how represented I felt within the pages and characters of this novel!
The novel follows two girls: Charlie, who has anxiety and autism and is a true fangirl down to her core. And Taylor, a bisexual Chinese-Australian girl who is an up and coming Youtuber and actress. Both girls are so well-developed and dynamic characters who are figuring out their place in the world and who they are. They share such an amazing friendship, which was so refreshing since friendships often gets pushed to the side in most books.
The anxiety rep is spot on! It is so hard to find well-written and authentic anxiety in most books, but this book blows all that out of the water. I have never seen my anxiety written in any book before, I don’t think, and it was like the author plucked every thought and feeling I have from my brain and put it into words I’ve never been able to do myself. One quote that really stood out to me was: “My anxiety is invisible to others, but often it’s the focal point of my mind. Everything that happens on a day-to-day basis is filtered through a lens colored by anxiety” (51). This is honestly what life is like living with anxiety for me. Of course this representation of anxiety may not be accurate to everyone, but if you don’t have anxiety or know someone with anxiety and would like to step into the shoes of someone who knows what its like to have this experience, I highly recommend reading this book. I felt truly seen in this book, in a way I never have before and for that alone I will forever treasure this book.
And the bisexual rep! There was an actual bisexual girl represented in this book in a beautifully positive light! It was explained in such a casual way and its just what it is, nothing extravagant or elaborated, just part of Charlie’s identity. Also, her experience in figuring out how she knew she was bi was similar to my experience and how its not as fantastical and magical as most medias portray realizing that you’re queer. Of course those representations can be 100% accurate to many people, it was so nice to see a different portrayal, a different story. There was some biphobia exhibited by Charlie’s ex boyfriend if that is something you do not like to read, however it was immediately challenged.
This book is filled to the brim with so many heavy topics ranging from sexism, racism, fatphobia to characters with autism and the importance of friendship, all without feeling overfilled with so many different things. Charlie is constantly calling out the absurdity of the sexism and racial stereotypes she experiences being a female actor compared to the treatment her male costar gets from the fans, the press and management. Despite all those challenges, she never lets up and is always fighting for herself and her requests to be respected by everyone no matter who they may be. Taylor also bonds with another character over both of them having autism and sharing similar experiences as well as a shared love for superheroes and fantasy novels, leading to the importance that fandom has for so many people. This book truly gets to the meaning of what it means to be a part of a fandom and sharing with people who love the same things that you do and how important those friendships can be. It is also sprinkled with so many pop culture references from books to TV shows and it’s truly every nerds’ playground when it comes to that. One of its biggest messages is how great it is to be weird and for everyone to always embrace their weirdness.
The writing of this book is very natural and overall flows throughout with good pacing between the POV switches and what it is like to be living in this decade of social media. There are some flaws in the writing, as all books have, but overall the main characters are thoroughly developed and the plot carefully written . There were some parts of action that were questionable when in reality they would be more difficult to accomplish in the real world that made a very slight disconnect in the novel, but the main focal points of the novel were well placed and relatable.
I could go on and on about how great this book it, but I’ll stop here to prevent writing a novel of my own. This book is my favorite book of all time and means the world to me. It is truly a novel of learning your inner strength and who you are independent of others definitions of you. This is at the top of my recommendations list and is a read you will not regret reading.
Bookish Army 