2023 REREAD: There's nothing quite like reading a lighthearted, positive, shining, girly and geeky book to cheer me up. 'Queens of Geek' is a quick pick-me-up of a book that can be read in a day. Passionate, understanding, diverse, hopeful, and pink, I adore it.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
'Queens of Geek' was written for all geek girls.
To anyone who has ever felt out of place, abnormal, like an alien, like a freak, an outcast, an unwanted mold on society to be stepped on and then picked away clean, like you shouldn't exist; to anyone who has ever been mocked, ridiculed, humiliated, and made to feel ashamed for liking something, for finding something that makes you happy, or for just being who you are: 'Queens of Geek' is for you. It is a comfort blanket. A spark of hope for the future, coming from the contemporary present where weird is the new normal. Nerds are cool now, and pop culture is a dominant culture in society. It is beautiful.
"Three friends. Two love stories. One convention."
- That blurb does sum up 'Queens of Geek'. Three friends from Australia go to a major pop culture convention in the US, SupaCon, as a pre-high school graduation event, in prospect of attending university together in LA.
Charlie Liang is a Chinese-Australian, bisexual, pink-haired daughter of immigrants, who is a star vlogger on Youtube with a zombie movie under her belt to promote at SupaCon. She is moving on from a disastrous breakup and public humiliation brought on by her arsehole ex, Reese Ryan, whom she is also costar to in her first movie, so avoiding him and keeping her space as her own person is something no one will allow her to do; most of her fans devotedly ship "Chase" and want her to get back together with Reese, never mind her feelings. What Charlie wants and how much she actually cares what others think of her under a starry-eyed, celebrity lens is put to the test when she starts a relationship with another popular vlogger and actor, Alyssa Huntington, whom she's admired and had a crush on for years.
Taylor, the other POV character of the book, is a fat autistic girl with anxiety issues who is passionate about pop culture and escapism. She has many followers on Tumblr, and is secretly in love with her best guy friend, Jamie Garcia, but is too afraid of change and the future to try to develop their relationship into more than friendship. SupaCon is Taylor's first con and her first time cosplaying (as her literary and film heroine, Queen Firestone), and it might be just what she needs in expressing herself more, and finding out that she is not as weird or a "problem human" as she always thought she was.
Pop culture references, commentary on feminism and double standards (for example Reese, when interviewed, is asked questions about his movie and character, while in the same interview Charlie is only asked about her diet and body, plus the director had told her to "run sexier", whatever the fuck that means), commentary on mental illnesses, commentary on the vast spectrum of sexuality, a reflection of how the internet has changed how everything works, especially in the entertainment industry, and all around lovable, candy-sweet geekiness - 'Queens of Geek' has it. It does contain very preachy speeches by characters, but it's warranted. Understanding the importance of representation, of geeks/nerds/outcasts sticking up for and supporting one another, of girls sticking up for and supporting one another, of people on the autism/anxiety spectrum sticking up for and supporting one another, and of not being an entitled bully to anyone who is different from you; how vital these life lessons are cannot be undermined.
This book is so positive, so colourful, so cute. Funny, too. But I was also surprised by how often I got teary-eyed reading it. I could relate to a lot in it, especially some aspects of Taylor's character (though if I'm honest, I'm more interested in Charlie's POV chapters - she's great and seems a fantastic friend to have, and is perhaps not as contradictory or inconsistent as Taylor). Being yourself should be how you want to live, no matter what people might think, because nobody can please everybody, it's an impossible goal. One's existence and/or behaviour isn't up for scrutiny, and is not up for any judgement of any kind. Being happy, being who you are in a cruel, conformist, us-vs-them, dickish world is commendable, brave, and really, above all else, healthy and normal. Individuality and expressing passion about all sorts of things, as long as they aren't hurting anyone, is human. It's not weird in any sense. Why criticize that?
I wish I had something like 'Queens of Geek' growing up; it would have saved me from a lot of time and energy wasted on fears and tears.
Yes it is preachy (indeed anyone choosing to pick it up would already be aware of social justice, and sexism, racism, homophobia, biphobia, ableism, fat-phobia, and why they're bad), and there are some moments that are very, very contrived and convenient - plot points straight out of a rom com or teen sitcom. There are a few typos in the writing as well. But I don't care. Like I said, 'Queens of Geek' is an outcast's comfort blanket, a reminder that they are alright. That they are understood. They are normal, they are not broken or sick, no matter who says otherwise. It's not cheesy, it's the truth.
I wanted to meet these characters, give them a big hug, and thank them. More realistically though, in this review I will instead thank the author, Jen Wilde, for creating them, and for writing such a life-affirming novel for weirdos like myself. For anyone who has ever been bullied, and hurt, and felt pressured to not be themselves.
So 'Queens of Geek' is for everyone, really.
Who knew that a few days at a con could be life changing? Could say a lot about living life? There are too many awesome quotes in the book to record.
Again, thank you, Jen Wilde, for writing such an adorkable, sweet, diverse, affirmative, up-to-date, supportive love letter to every fangirl and fanboy (my spellchecker underlines red fangirl but not fanboy, similar to how superheroine is apparently not a word but superhero is. Culture needs to keep changing; technology as well as people need to keep up with the times). I'm happy I bought 'Queens of Geek'. I regret nothing.
The cover is irresistible, too.
Final Score: 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment