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Book Review
Imogen is a fan of Starfield and starts a campaign to save her favorite character Princess Amara. At ExcelsiCon she spends her time asking fans to sign her petition to bring the princess back and hands out buttons with her #saveAmara initiative printed on them. But the actress who plays Amara wants nothing to do with the part. Jessica Stone has seen the backlash of fans who didn’t approve of her take on Amara, and she wants to leave Starfield far behind. When the two girls meet they realize how similar in looks they are. Jessica sees her chance to have a moment of peace from the spotlight, and Imogen sees her chance to save Amara. They switch places and realize that living in each other's shoes isn’t what they expect it to be.
The Princess and the Fangirl is a retelling of The Princess and the Pauper. I don’t know enough about the story it is based on to tell you if it was a decent retelling, but what I can tell you is that I had a lot of fun reading this one. I love when books have moments that make me snicker at one-liners the characters fling out, and there were many times I found myself doing this while reading. I do think there were a few too many shout outs to geekdom, but overall I still enjoyed it.
I also found myself more drawn to Jessica’s character in this book. Even though she was introduced in Geekerella, she wasn’t exactly a likable character. But once you get into her mind and see what she struggles with daily, you begin to sympathize and understand Jessica more. Not only did she deal with her insecurities with body image and self-confidence, but she also had outside pressure from a fandom that would tear her apart with words.
Ashley Poston does a great job portraying both sides of fandom. As the story progresses she exemplifies how great and how terrible fandom can be. You have the fans that love new reincarnations of a show, and on the other side, you have those people who nit pick and try to tear down every piece of it. And she puts the characters right in the spotlight, showing how it affects the people that are involved with the characters these fans love or hate. It’s an eye opening experience, and even with some of the heavier themes it deals with the pace never slows down.
If you're looking for a fast-paced read, filled to the brim with geek references, then look no further. The Princess and the Fangirl is the book for you!
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