2023 REREAD: Infectious, addictive, geeky fun, all set at a con. Heavenly, almost otherworldly, and so ridiculous and too good to be true (impossible universe or not), you got to love it. This series is passionate towards all things geek.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
I wasn't going to read this, but I've been in kind of a slump, and any book with the words "Princess" and "Fangirl" in its title, plus the promise of geeky fun and feminism, sounded just what the book fairy godmother ordered and blessed.
'The Princess and the Fangirl', the sequel to an enjoyable guilty pleasure of mine from last year, 'Geekerella', as part of the new 'Once Upon a Con' series by Ashley Poston, is as fun, delightful and relevant as you'd expect. It can be read in less than a day and, like its predecessor, will speak to a number of modern geeks, nerds, cosplayers, fan artists, and internet and Hollywood stars and starlets. It's a love letter to fandom while also showing its dark, toxic side, especially in the sci-fi community. It goes deeper into these issues than in 'Geekerella', while we go along with the refreshing star-studded journey of self-discovery, love and happiness with relatable and adorable characters.
I am not that familiar with Mark Twain's 'The Prince and the Pauper' that 'The Princess and the Fangirl' is loosely based on. It's not another fairy tale retelling, that's for sure. But it uses the same basic premise... in a contemporary, starry, geeky twist:
A young actress, Jessica Stone, also from 'Geekerella', desperately tries to get away from a sci-fi reboot franchise, 'Starfield' and its impending sequel, where she plays a space princess, to avoid being typecast so she can star in "smart" Oscar contender movies. Mean, overwhelmed, tired, and a little condescending, Jessica Stone is like Robert Pattinson and Carrie Fisher, as well as other typecast actors known in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. Not helping her career and self-confidence are the thousands of internet trolls with nothing better to do in their lives constantly harassing her on Twitter and Instagram, no matter what she says, does, and looks like. Conventions can be friendly and passionate places, but it is the negativity that sticks to you the strongest.
Jess ends up switching places with a lookalike fangirl, Imogen Ada Lovelace (great name, love that reference in particular), at a con, ExcelsiCon. Imogen, also known as "Mo", and affectionately as "Monster", has low self-esteem, and wants to save her favourite fictional character, Princess Amara, Jess's role in 'Starfield', from being fridged. She will impersonate Jess in panels, while the real actress, masquerading as Mo, searches for the person who is leaking the 'Starfield' sequel script online - the script that she had carelessly thrown away and someone else had found. Someone who will gleefully out the script as being hers.
It is a race against time - for Jess to save her career, and Imogen to save the intergalactic princess who should be able to save herself. Not merely from her own classic sci-fi story, but from toxic nostalgia online trolls, and male film executives and directors who are afraid of change and the wrath those changes will blow up on them by said trolls.
The two teenage girls are polar opposites. Tough-as-nails and cool Jess doesn't understand fandom culture at all; she sees it as pointless and childish, and hates conventions. On the other reflection of the rainbow, these things are Imogen's life, her reason for connectivity and self-worth. But they are both women, who are part of the sci-fi community, one way or another, so they share similar experiences, and more in common than they thought. By the end, can they understand the other's life better once they live it for even a short period? And more than the princess - can they save each other?
Can they, the actress and the fangirl, both insecure and self-conscious, let themselves go? To truly be themselves, to belong, and be happy?
'The Princess and the Fangirl' is set at a con and takes place within a few days, so it is like 'Queens of Geek' by Jen Wilde. I don't think it is as good as that, however. The plot and its setup contains a lot of contrivances in order for it to work; like how Jess and Imogen bump into each other in a restroom, happen to look alike, happen to wear pretty much the same clothes, and how no one of this internet age, where everyone has a phone and a camera and can be paparazzi now, notices that Imogen isn't Jess. Lucky that fangirl Imogen looks like her favourite character as played by Jess, and they meet at the exact time and place when they'd need to. It is indeed an "impossible universe", where a girl named Elle can live exactly like Cinderella and be called Geekerella and date a famous actor who plays a space prince, where young people can fall in love within a couple days of knowing each other, and hopes and dreams for a progressive future for fandom and Hollywood can come true, simple as that, no consequences for highly questionable activity.
Fairy tales? Maybe, but it's nice to hope. To be optimistic.
There are scatterings of a love triangle - go deeper and you get a love quintangle, or pentagon - but this is light and not so annoying. There's a hate-you-deeply-then-love-you-you-insufferable-so-and-so romance between Imogen and Jess's assistant and childhood best friend, Ethan Tanaka, but again even that grew on me. The romance parts are rather sweet and feel genuine (and hunky, on Ethan's part).
What I'd like a clear answer to, now that I think about it, is: What does Imogen do, aside from starting the #SaveAmara campaign and selling pins at the con? What does she want to do? Will she take over her mums' pop culture figurine business? How has impersonating Jess affected her prospects for the future; a "nobody" like her? Is it left ambiguous? She reminds me of Elle, with the snark, quick temper and quick judgement of others, except she's shier and with a pink pixie cut. And I'm not sure why Mo is viewed by her family as a troublemaker, enough to earn the "Monster" nickname, unless being a little unlucky and having a short temper counts.
A few continuity and pop culture reference errors at the beginning (the Dalek catchphrase is "EXTERMINATE!", not "ANNIHILATE!") also bugged me. 'The Princess and the Fangirl' needed further proofreading.
Diversity: Jess falls for a girl fan artist, Imogen's internet friend Harper Hart, and mentions having fallen for another girl in the past. How bold that it is the famous actress who is LBGTQ (it's never stated if anyone is gay or bi or in any other spectrum in the book) and not the fangirl, so it is the actress who has a lot more to lose if she comes out. Harper is dark-skinned and queer. Imogen's brother Milo has a boyfriend, Bran, who is also a POC. Added bonus is that Imogen and Milo have two mums. Ethan is Japanese-American. And of course, there are Darien Freeman, Sage and her girlfriend Calliope from 'Geekerella', who are much more than cameos. These characters are precious; especially in the scene where Elle and Jess (disguised as Imogen) first meet, and Elle asks the thawing jaded ice queen Jess to take a picture of her and other Princess Amara cosplayers, of different genders, sexualities, races, and ages, posing. One of the best, most heartwarming moments of the book - simple yet effective.
One of the things that marks 'The Princess and the Fangirl' below 'Queens of Geek', however, is the lack of mental health and disability representation. Specifically how certain members of the fandom community relate to what they love.
Despite this:
Love the sexual harassment portrayal - it is treated as the big deal that it is. The guy, a famous YouTuber and "pro-gamer", who gropes a girl gets banned from the con. No ifs, no buts about it. It is what we need to see happen often. Jess is aware that, as a white and straight-passing actress, she doesn't receive nearly as much scrutiny and vitriolic, toxic hatred as women of colour in sci-fi filmography. They're driven off the internet just for daring to exist. Not sure, though, that I like that one of the antagonists, a ridiculously good-looking, conceited, manipulative, press-loving, and womanizing playboy pretty boy actor, is an Evil Brit archetype.
I can't not mention the references. So many! Superhero films, comics, TV, anime, video games, shippings, character revivals, Netflix, ramen, the lot! They don't feel random, tacked on or soullessly listed in either. They have relevance, especially in light of the 'Star Wars' and 'Ghostbusters' toxic fandoms, and they add great humour and comedic effect to 'The Princess and the Fangirl' ("Holy George Clooney's bat nipples" is just one of them. Also random line: "I think my ovaries are exploding."). I didn't expect to find this many 'Yugioh!' references, or a 'Yugioh! Abridged' reference. These make me smile and laugh throughout, as well as reflect.
Special shout-out to Natalia Ford, Princess Amara's original TV actress, who I can't stop picturing as looking like Nichelle Nichols for some reason, and who is doing well for herself, despite what Jess had initially thought of her "nonexistent" career. Praise Stubbles, her hairless demon cat. Thank you for not making the original Amara a villain, Ms. Poston!
There are some surprises in this book. I didn't expect the reveal of the leaker of the 'Starfield' sequel script at the end, and yet it made a kind of twisted sense. Nice that YA can still ambush me, in a good way.
Last bit of review Easter egg: The name of Imogen's mums' business is called Figurine It Out. Bloody brilliant.
Well that's it. 'The Princess and the Fangirl' was what I needed. Modern geek books can cheer me up, and make me hope.
Sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero films can mean as much if not more to people than any Oscar bait drivel (the Oscars are an outdated sham, anyway), and any story can mean anything to anyone, because it is theirs. It is theirs in interpretation, in representation, in heart, in relating to its characters, in a galaxy constellation of ways. All stories can belong to anyone. All characters can belong to anyone. No one is taking anything away from you in stories and fandom. They can't. You will always have your stories, your characters, your love for them, as you love yourself. That love and connection can last for the rest of your life, or from childhood onwards. Sharing that love with others, making friends through love, which is more powerful and longer-lasting than hate, and thus belonging, is one of the best feelings in the world.
That is the joy of fandom community.
What else can I say, except: "Screw the rules, I have pink hair."
Final Score: 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment