When Edan Kupferman dresses up like her favorite character, Gargantua, she feels tall and powerful. That's important right now, because her family is a mess, her best friend is gone for the summer, her crush is confusing, and Edan's feeling small and not sure which end is up.
When Edan's cosplaying, she can be angry, loud, and not the good girl everyone thinks she is. And when she's at conventions, she feels like she's found her own Team Tomorrow. But when her personal life starts to spiral out of control, Edan has to figure out whether she needs a sidekick, or if she has the strength to be the hero of her own story.
Flo's Review
I love me some nerdy love! I am a big nerd myself (my hubby and I just went to see Star Wars and he's totally bragging because he got a Barnes and Noble gift card this year but I didn't), so these are my people. I've been on a "love at con" kick this year, especially after reading Geekerella, The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love, and Queens of Geek. So when Scholastic sent this book my way, I was excited to dive in.
It look me awhile to get into this one at first. I wasn't connecting with Edan. Yes, she is going through a hard time, but when we meet her she is still in the "feeling sorry for myself" phase, and that is fun for nobody. However, I kept on going and I'm so glad I did. For the last 100ish pages, I stayed in bed reading because I just didn't want to put this down.
I liked how the story was set up -- there are four sections, each revolving around a con, from small to large (starting with Los Angeles and ending with San Diego.) There was a definite theme here with the idea of "good guys versus bad guys" and how that is clearly not black and white. For example, Edan's dad could technically be seen as the "bad guy" in this scenario. But he's a man who made mistakes and has people who love him.
There was also a definite "girl power" theme here, from the character of Gargantua -- whom Edan idolizes -- to her relationship with Yuri and his friends. This one felt a little bit forced, so at times it was like, "Yes, girls are powerful, girls can do anything, I get it, I get it..." type thing. But I guess if you are doing to beat an issue to almost death, girl power is a good one to choose.
And finally, Kirk. I adored Kirk and can see why Edan did as well.
Don't Cosplay With My Heart publishes January 2, 2018.
Thank you to Scholastic for sending me an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.
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