Review #6 | Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Be prepared, this is going to be me gushing about this book more than it is me reviewing it.

What I liked:

♡ EVERYTHING, I highlighted so much in this book. I also nearly ran out of sticky notes.

♡ The relationships were adorable, I haven’t squealed over a book in so long

♡ SO MUCH DIVERSITY. We have a fat, autistic spectrum, main character who’s dealing with anxiety. We also have POC, bisexual main character. I think Jamie is also POC? It’s never specified but context clues.

“…He’s all for equality, but he doesn’t even believe bisexuality exists.” She rubbed her fingers over the space between her eyebrows like she had a headache. “You can’t pick and choose whose equality you support. That’s not equality.”

♡ It takes place at a con, one cannot get more fun and adorable than that setting

♡ #ownvoices novel

♡ It made me cry. I related to Taylor so much throughout the whole book and that hit me hard.

♡ Anxiety is written so fucking well in this novel, I feel so lucky that I was able to read this. I mean… check out these quotes.

“Everything feels like I’m on a stage, spotlight on me, all eyes on me, watching, judging. Like I’m one second away from total disaster. It’s invisible, it’s irrational, it’s never-ending. I could be standing there, smiling and chatting like everything is totally fine, while secretly wanting to scream and cry and run away. No one would every know. In my mind, no one can hear me scream.”

As someone who deals with severe anxiety this book means so much to me. I truly hope this book ends up in the hands of others who might need it as much as I do. I may not be able to relate to everything and I don’t have the right to comment on the other representation found in this novel but when it came to the anxiety aspect, I really did appreciate everything Wilde wrote.

What I Didn’t Like:

♡ I wanted more and it ended too soon

♡ Reese.

♡ That’s it, I really loved this book.

“That’s what we do. We walk a tightrope every day. Getting out the door is a tightrope. Going grocery shopping is a tightrope. Socializing is a tightrope. Things that most people consider to be normal, daily parts of life are the very things we fear and struggle with the most, and yet here we are, moving forward anyway. That’s not weak.”

Additional Information:

Goodreads | Amazon | Jen Wilde

Pages: 288

Synopsis:

When BFFs Charlie, Taylor and Jamie go to SupaCon, they know it’s going to be a blast. What they don’t expect is for it to change their lives forever.
Charlie likes to stand out. SupaCon is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star, Reese Ryan. When Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought.
While Charlie dodges questions about her personal life, Taylor starts asking questions about her own.
Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with Jamie—no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about the Queen Firestone SupaFan Contest, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe.

Rating: ★★★★★ | Read April 5 – 6