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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book made me angry, I enjoyed reading parts of it but overall it made me angry.
I loved everything about this.
I'm a sucker for special format books, so i thought a book told entirely in texts, emails and blog posts was genius.
The fandom talk was so realistic, I actually cared for the fictional characters from the TV show they watch. I also could relate a lot to connecting to someone you've only ever met online.
I also loved the vaguely polyamory vibes when Charlie helps taking care of Gena.
This book took me through all emotions: joy, laughter, fear, sadness. I cried my way through the entire part 3.
I usually spent a week or two on a book, but this one I devoured in 4 hours, unable to put it down.
I'm a sucker for special format books, so i thought a book told entirely in texts, emails and blog posts was genius.
The fandom talk was so realistic, I actually cared for the fictional characters from the TV show they watch. I also could relate a lot to connecting to someone you've only ever met online.
I also loved the vaguely polyamory vibes when Charlie helps taking care of Gena.
This book took me through all emotions: joy, laughter, fear, sadness. I cried my way through the entire part 3.
I usually spent a week or two on a book, but this one I devoured in 4 hours, unable to put it down.
I could relate to Gena, so much. Be prepared: this book will wreck you.
I don't know what I expected from this book, but I liked what I received. The draw for this novel was simply that it was about internet fandom and a friendship forged online. It sounded relateable and fun, so I gave it a shot.
I didn't expect to read it in one go, but once I started the format (the novel is composed entirely of blog posts, private messages, etc.) made it extremely easy to read and difficult to put down. By the time I was a third of the way through, I'd already made the decision to finish it.
As a whole, I loved this book. It covered topics I wasn't expecting and touched on some very real problems and issues, and dealt with those well, in my opinion. I loved that there were LGTBTQ characters, although that particular storyline seemed a little muddled by the end. I loved how unexpected certain events were.
All in all, I liked it. There were some things I didn't like so much, but as a whole I really enjoyed it.
I didn't expect to read it in one go, but once I started the format (the novel is composed entirely of blog posts, private messages, etc.) made it extremely easy to read and difficult to put down. By the time I was a third of the way through, I'd already made the decision to finish it.
As a whole, I loved this book. It covered topics I wasn't expecting and touched on some very real problems and issues, and dealt with those well, in my opinion. I loved that there were LGTBTQ characters, although that particular storyline seemed a little muddled by the end. I loved how unexpected certain events were.
All in all, I liked it. There were some things I didn't like so much, but as a whole I really enjoyed it.
So I've actually been thinking about this book a lot since I finished it because I wanted to write a coherent review, but honestly? Honestly, all this book did was disappoint me in the end. It made me just feel like I got queer-baited, and do you know how absolutely infuriating and annoying that is?
There was so much promise for this book, that's the worst part. The format of it was interesting and unique, the relationship between Gena and Finn was so pure and I really appreciated that it showed that you can form strong friendships with people over common interests on the internet and even develop feelings for people you're not with physically. Because yeah, it's such a common thing nowadays and I really appreciated that being painted in a good, bright light.
But that's where the good things stop. It ended up being a love triangle between Finn's boyfriend and Gena, I was pissed off with Finn more than half the time and I felt like I honest to god got queer-baited because despite it being acknowledged as a love triangle, nothing went anywhere. Nothing. And then the ending was so clipped and rushed and abrupt that it just tipped my anger over even more. It was honestly so far from the mark that I don't even want to put it on my LGBT+ shelf because I don't feel, at all, that it should be called that. It was good for all of the first quarter of the book and then it lost me, and the only reason I finished it was because the media format of it made it a quick read. I think I finished it in about four hours.
I rated it three stars originally, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it didn't even deserve three stars. It wasn't even good representation. It was just... bad and tbh, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for LGBT+ representation (especially wlw)
There was so much promise for this book, that's the worst part. The format of it was interesting and unique, the relationship between Gena and Finn was so pure and I really appreciated that it showed that you can form strong friendships with people over common interests on the internet and even develop feelings for people you're not with physically. Because yeah, it's such a common thing nowadays and I really appreciated that being painted in a good, bright light.
But that's where the good things stop. It ended up being a love triangle between Finn's boyfriend and Gena, I was pissed off with Finn more than half the time and I felt like I honest to god got queer-baited because despite it being acknowledged as a love triangle, nothing went anywhere. Nothing. And then the ending was so clipped and rushed and abrupt that it just tipped my anger over even more. It was honestly so far from the mark that I don't even want to put it on my LGBT+ shelf because I don't feel, at all, that it should be called that. It was good for all of the first quarter of the book and then it lost me, and the only reason I finished it was because the media format of it made it a quick read. I think I finished it in about four hours.
I rated it three stars originally, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it didn't even deserve three stars. It wasn't even good representation. It was just... bad and tbh, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for LGBT+ representation (especially wlw)
Spoiler
because both characters ended up with boys anyway, after the lamest and most half-assed romance between girls I've ever made myself suffer through for absolutely nothing. ((:
This is one of those books I think I'd review differently if I were in a different mood. Gena and Finn are in the same fandom, and become friends because of their shared interest in a character on a TV show. The beginning is really fun, with lots of fangirl flailing, talking about fellow people in the fandom, figuring out situations for cons, writing fics, etc. The book is epistolary, with emails, letters, fic pages, journals, etc.
It made me really giddy, because Moskowitz and Helgeson do a great job of capturing the different feelings and situations within fan communities. The things the characters say about shows and relationships and the tv characters sound exactly like conversations I used to have with people about Pretty Little Liars. I've kind of slipped out of the fandom world lately (and by "slipped," I mean I was an earthquake and broke a lot of things. I have fragile fault lines and when they get pushed, I overreact and explode....which may make me a volcano instead of an earthquake, whatever), but this book brought me back to that happy and fun feeling. I still do it a little, with Amerikate, but not on the level I used to.
The book takes a drastic turn, and I'm still trying to figure out how I felt about it. The tone becomes a lot more serious, and there's a lot of stuff about mental health and grief and stuff, but I don't know. I don't think it was fully explored. Maybe that was on purpose, in case they wanted to do some kind of follow up story online, or a full sequel book? I'd like to know more about where these characters are going.
It made me really giddy, because Moskowitz and Helgeson do a great job of capturing the different feelings and situations within fan communities. The things the characters say about shows and relationships and the tv characters sound exactly like conversations I used to have with people about Pretty Little Liars. I've kind of slipped out of the fandom world lately (and by "slipped," I mean I was an earthquake and broke a lot of things. I have fragile fault lines and when they get pushed, I overreact and explode....which may make me a volcano instead of an earthquake, whatever), but this book brought me back to that happy and fun feeling. I still do it a little, with Amerikate, but not on the level I used to.
The book takes a drastic turn, and I'm still trying to figure out how I felt about it. The tone becomes a lot more serious, and there's a lot of stuff about mental health and grief and stuff, but I don't know. I don't think it was fully explored. Maybe that was on purpose, in case they wanted to do some kind of follow up story online, or a full sequel book? I'd like to know more about where these characters are going.
(third time reading) 5 stars | realistically this time around I would give it more of a 4.25 stars, but I cannot bump this rating down because this book means too much to me. The relationship between Gena and Finn is just so... I just relate. And how fandom can be such a big part of someone’s life... these thoughts aren’t that coherent, but I write these reviews for myself so it’s not that important.
(second time reading) 5 stars | This gives me all the feels. It simultaneously breaks and heals my little fangirl heart.
(first time reading) 4.5 stars maybe 5 I'll have to think about it | if I fail my quiz tomorrow, this is the reason why.
I can't even express how relatable this book is. To me.
(second time reading) 5 stars | This gives me all the feels. It simultaneously breaks and heals my little fangirl heart.
(first time reading) 4.5 stars maybe 5 I'll have to think about it | if I fail my quiz tomorrow, this is the reason why.
I can't even express how relatable this book is. To me.
A story of two fangirls and their intersections online and IRL told through the medium of blog posts, texts, letters, emails, and journal entries. If you've ever been a fangirl or made online friends this story will resonate with you.