Geekerella by Ashley Poston

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Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Genre: YA, Contemporary Romance, Fairytale Retelling
Publisher: Quirk Books
Date: April 4, 2017
Length: 320 pages

This book was free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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.

Description from Goodreads

I'm a pretty big geek, and I'm proud of it. My office is decorated with comic book figurines, posters, HP and Star Wars lego mini figs, Mighty Muggs, and assorted pop culture and literary paraphernalia. I frequently have comic book or manga debates with students and teachers and I have been known to say, "That's not cannon!" when watching film versions or reboots of some of my favorite fandoms.
When my sister was little she was a huge Trekkie (let's not get into a Trekkie vs. Trekker fight) and I would take her to the convention when it came to town. If I couldn't go, I'd buy tickets and my mom would take her. In fact, while not considered a geek, my mom loved Star Trek and Star Wars. I remember staying up late when I was little and watching reruns of the classic series with her. She introduced me to Star Wars and was so excited that I was old enough to see Return of the Jedi when it was first released in theaters. I've got those sentimental ties to a TV show that make it so much more important to me, just as Elle has in this book. And for me, that made this book enjoyable and relatable.

What I liked

Pretty good reimagining of Cinderella: Let's be real here, since this is a retelling parts are pretty predictable, you know what's going to happen. Poston does a good job making it more than just a mixed bag of fandoms slapped onto a Cinderella story (though it does feel like that at times). The wicked stepmother and stepsisters have a bit more depth, which surprised me, but there are other villains who are flat. What I liked is that I got so caught up in Elle getting to the convention and so incredibly stressed out about potential damage to her parent's costumes that I totally forgot about the ball. I also appreciated that Geekerella felt more like a tale where Elle and Darien had to rescue themselves first before they could rescue each other.

The Fandom as Ella's last link to her parents: Not only did her dad start ExcelsiCon, but her parents had enjoyed Starfield cosplay and the con together. It was their thing, and Elle's dad tried to share that with, help her experience something her mom loved even though she was no longer with them. Elle has wonderful memories of the show because it also reminds her of good times and the people who love her. I found her tightfisted hold on those memories and insistence on faithfulness to Starfield to be very believable. 

Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the Fairy Godmother: I liked Elle. She lost her mother when she was 4 and her father when she was 7 and has been stuck with her emotionally abusive stepmother ever since. She is accustomed to hiding, to being alone, to never asking for help. She started to come out of her shell and it was great. Elle clung to the physical things that reminded her of her parents, the show, the costumes, the house. She eventually realized, as painful as it would be to lose those things, she couldn't lose her memories or knowledge of her love. That helps her take the final step to breaking free. 

Darien likes acting but is completely overwhelmed by his fame and popularity. His one good friend betrayed him and his own father micromanages Darien's life to keep his popularity up and the roles and money coming in. Between trying to keep everyone happy, being upset about the loss of his personal relationships, and keeping his true "career killing" geeky self hidden, Darien is no longer enjoying his job. He's a Starfield fan and wants to do right by the story, wants to prove that he's more than a pretty face, but not sure how to get past his own insecurities and the jealousy and spite of many around him. His loneliness and that texting tether to Elle helps him realize that he doesn't have all of the answers to his problems, but he needs to stand up for himself.

I kept expecting Sage to turn into a magical fairy godmother. She turned out to be just a lonely, prickly girl tired of the backlash for being "weird" and a lesbian who was trying to reach out and make a friend. She was cool, sweet, and giving. I wanted to giver her a hug and then help her make possibly pretend revenge plans against her tormentors because I know she would have the best ideas.I liked her and wanted more Sage and less moping by the MCs.

The cover: I just wanted to point out the great cover that does a great job illustrating Darien and Elle's worlds.

close ups can be found at Hypable

What I'm on the fence about

The villains: The wicked stepmother, Catherine, isn't totally a 2 dimensional bad guy. Yes, I still want to set her hair on fire and frequently wished that she would be eaten by a troll, but Poston gives us flashes of a deeply hurt woman who can't find happiness. She's selfish, shallow, and has a very limited view on what it means to be happy and successful. It's also clear that she was raised like this. The few times her perfectionist facade breaks you see a person who's desperately seeking love but going about it completely wrong. But then the walls go back up, she's cruel, and you no longer care. The same thing goes for her daughters. I get the impression that the girls had hoped for a real father and after his death Elle claimed him totally and completely, leaving nothing for them. I don't want to spoil things, but readers quickly learn that one sister wants to break the cycle but is afraid to.

There was an extra bad guy, again I don't want to spoil things, but he seemed a bit pointless. I really don't think this character needed to come back into Darien's life, it just seemed like a lame way to continue to isolate him. 

A lot of time devoted to Elle's emotional attachment to Starfield: Poston uses Starfield not only as a way to keep Elle connected to her father, but also a way to work out how she can keep those memories alive. Unfortunately it just seemed to go on and on. 

The texting: I kinda made sense how Darien got Elle's number, but not really. That type of important information should have been updated after 10 years. And it kinda made sense why these two lonely people would reach out to each other and keep texting, but it was a stretch. 

Possibly too many geek culture references: It just seemed a bit over the top to me, the constant referencing didn't seem natural. I did enjoy it to an extent, but how were there only two Doctor Who references?! It's criminal. 😀

Starfield is basically Star Trek with a bit of Star Wars and Battlestar Gallactica: This is not a bad thing! This helps readers automatically understand the Starfield fandom without an info dump explaining the background. But I'm a librarian and I know I'll have to deal with this. I'll have students complain that Postner ripped off another sci-fi show, I'll explain why she did it that way, and I'm exhausted already.

What didn't work for me

These are by no means deal breakers, it's just what stuck out to me.

Her dad's "brick" phone: Merg! Catherine won't buy Elle a new phone, so she has to use her dad's old "brick" phone that magically played YouTube videos. Now I'm as old as Methusala, so I actually remember brick phones. Ain't no way in hell that phone is playing a video. Best as I can tell it must be a first gen iPhone, which most definitely isn't a brick phone.

She took the dog to the movie premier: I love Frank the Tank, but no. Just no.

The hostile PAs: PAs are not going to go up to TV show guests and booked talent and insult them like that on studio property. This is how you get fired. I thought this was dumb and "real" fan backlash could have been shown a more realistic way.

Rating: 4.0

I had a few problems with it, but I still read this book in one sitting because I needed to get to the cosplay part! (I was truelly anxious about those costumes!) And again, I really loved that the MCs had to figure themselves out before they were in a place to help each other. They rescued themselves and enjoyed their new found freedom together. This is something that I would totally recommend to readers who are a bit geeky, love their fandoms, and are in the mood for some brain candy. I think they will find Geekerella to be a fun read. But this isn't for everyone. If you aren't a comic or sci-fi fan looking to overdose on geek culture references then this is not the book for you. I can think of many students who would hate this because of the geek aspect - they don’t get it and they don’t enjoy it. This is a delightful little puff ball of a story that I don't really envision people re-reading, so this might be a better library choice. 

Do you have any geeky memories that really remind you of family or good times? Are there any other geek culture books that you would recommend?

4 comments 4.0, Ashley Poston, Brain Candy, Contemporary Romance, LGTBQIA, Retelling, Review, Young Adult