The Princess and the Fangirl
By: Ashley Poston
Today I just want to talk about something happy and not the ringing of the bells- though it does involve fandom.
The Princess and the Fangirl is Ashley Poston’s second novel about what happens at ComicCon Excelisor Con and to my surprise I actually enjoyed this one more than Geekerella which I did not expect to in the first few chapters.
Jess is the actress who plays Princess Amara she’s at the con celebrating a successful movie while fans of her character mount a campaign to bring her back. But Jess is too good for this movie, this world, this scene take your pick. She definitely came off as ungrateful and childish to me.
Especially when she throws away the script in a bit of pique. And the script immediately starts getting leaked.
Imogen meanwhile is her look alike who also happens to be leader of the Save Amara campaign. The two switch places in order for Jess to find out whose leaking the script and hopefully save her career.
But also for romantic hijinks too ensue.
Since I am not one for romantic hijinks I mostly appreciated that this was a celebration of fandom- what characters come to mean to people and how they can help normal everyday people find passion and become more. But it also touches on things like how much should the actors be responsible for and even the angry bitterness of trolls who will harass and stalk actors or anyone who gets in the way of how they imagine “their characters” to be.
So while the romances were cutesy and the characters sometimes spoke like they were spouting off platitudes like they were strolling for likes on Twitter I did appreciate the look at the good and bad of fandom and I did like how it worked itself out at the end. If nothing else its a quick and diverting read with a great cover.
Good summer reading. Take it to a con with you 🙂
Recommend: Yes.