Book Nerds Across America: cinderella

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Book review: It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

Book Summary

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

Flo's Review

I did some traveling this weekend and was happy to bring Tatum along for the journey. Honestly, I didn't like Tatum at first. She just seemed to be snarky toward her stepmother and father, so it was hard to feel sympathetic for her. However, that changed as I continued reading. Not so much the sympathy, but more that I came to like and respect her. She had a good attitude about working hard for a goal, helping and becoming friendly with her stepsister, listening to her abuela, and considering things from her stepmother's point of view.

The title is a play on the fact that Tatum reflects a lot on how to end her emails and on how other people have ended theirs. This was a cute addition to the Cinderella story, and on a deeper level, good commentary on how what seems like the end is often not the complete end. After the salutation is written, the story is not completed but just transferred. It is now with the receiver and it carries on with how he or she reacts and possibly responds to it.

I enjoyed the fact that the ending of this one did not mirror the ending of the Cinderella story. There is a Happily Ever After, but the relationships are different -- and I think better -- than how the relationships end up in the classic story.

This was a quick, cute read and I enjoyed it!

It Started With Goodbye comes out on May 9, 2017. Thank you to Blink YA Books for sending me an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Book Summary
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?

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

Flo's Review
You guys. You guys! I ADORED this book. I woke up this morning, grabbed the book (which I'd intuitively left by my bed the night before), and started reading. And there I stayed, reading in my bed, until I was done. (Minus one restroom break.) I kept telling myself, "Okay, after this bit I'm going to get up and get something to eat!" But then somehow I kept on reading. And I kept on jumping ahead a few pages to see when Darien and Elle would text each next - I would get nervous if it didn't happen every 2 pages or so. Like, "Oh no, he said THAT and she hasn't responded yet!! What will he think?!?!" No truer words were spoken to describe me and this book than "emotionally invested."

I think it's because this book speaks to me on so many levels. I mean, this site is Book NERDS Across America. Naturally, I'm a geek. And being all into a fandom? Yup, right here. And the description of the con? Yep! And the thing is, the fact that the story is a take on Cinderella is done so well, that I honestly didn't even notice what the parallels were right away. They just seemed like elements of this own, individual story. For example, I literally remembered reading a scene about the Magic Pumpkin driving through town and thinking, "OH! I get it! It's a pumpkin!!"

The characters were so well, too. Catherine and Chloe were definitely deplorable, but not in a fake, overdone kind of way. The emotional attachment Elle had to her father put everything into perspective and helped a lot of things add up. And Darien was very real; he felt like a regular guy and not a movie star, so it made sense that he and Elle would fall for each other. Sage was also a fantastic character and I loved seeing her get her HEA.

The ball scenes at ExcelsiCon were spot on! Poston captured the magic beautifully, and it really felt like a fairy tale to read.

Geekerella comes out April 4, 2017; do yourselves a favor and pick it up!

Thank you to Quirk Books for sending me an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.