A Review of The Princess and the Fangirl

The Princess and the Fangirl is a book by Ashley Poston, and the sort-of companion/sequel novel to Geekerella. Imogen Lovelace is a fan of Starfield, and campaigning hard to save her favourite character, Amara. Jessica Stone, the actress playing Amara, is just hoping she can put the blockbuster sci-fi flick behind her. As luck would have it, they sort of look like each other, and a chance meeting and a case of mistaken identity later leaves Imogen and Jessica swapping lives for the duration of ExcelsiCon.

I've never made any secrets about how much I love Geekerella, have I? However, if Geekerella was Poston testing the waters, this one is her cramming as much nerd culture in as she can, and it is glorious. One of the big reasons this works is because Poston knows her stuff, and her references are both varied and rather obscure, at times. I love seeing my favourite fictional things represented that normally never get mentioned in popular culture!

I'm starting to call this series my comfort read, like you get comfort foods. Seriously, it feels like friends. And I mean literally, I have a group of nerd friends who will debate sci-fi shows and quote memes at each other. Semi-ironically. This book feels like them.

Imogen and Jessica are two very different girls, which lets Poston get in two opinions and sides of the story. Imogen's experience with fandoms and conventions is very different from Jessica's experience with them. Imogen grew up in conventions but Jessica has only ever seen them as a work obligation that she dislikes. Imogen is impulsive, and Jessica can be aloof, coming across as mean. But they are both sympathetic individuals (the joys of a duel POV!) and with a great supporting cast around them. I would have sold my soul for more time with Imogen's family.

Poston doesn't shy away from representing the worst aspects of fan culture, too. If I could take one message away from both these books, it would be "love your nerdy fandoms with your whole heart, but be respectful about them." The big one that sticks out here is Jasper. He sticks out as an asshole from the first time we see him with Imogen, but he cements it when he meet-and-greets with Imogen-as-Jess. But it's also obvious that many of Jessica's cast and crew, the director especially, have little respect for her. Arranging a publicity stunt when it's her turn to speak is trash behaviour.

Vance Reigns is also asshole extraordinaire, cutting off Imogen opening up to him to tell her she is pretty, then proceeds to repeat synonyms for pretty during the rest of the conversation, since that's the only thing that he can ever imagine girls being, and the only part of her speech that he paid any attention to. However, Imogen is still on the naïve side, and doesn't notice the inherent condescension in how he brings it up, just her happiness about being called pretty. This is a realistic response for her situation, as girls are taught that being attractive to men is the most important thing they can be.

"Are you one of those girls who think girls who wear make-up are vapid?"
Yes. "No."
I'd like to talk about this response, from Imogen. And again, it is realistic! There are teenage girls who feel this way, I was one! To be fair, it was hugely hypocritical in my case, too, because it wasn't like I didn't wear some on occasion. And it is an attitude that needs calling out. Jessica points out that she wears her make-up as armour, and a lot of other women in the book are described as wearing it.

Elle's cameos were good to have. She's basically my literary best friend, so it was nice to see her. But there are a lot of cameos from other characters from Geekerella, and they did feel slightly gratuitous. This novel could have been a vaguely related standalone, but I would honestly have to say that you'll get more out of this one if you read Geekerella first, especially as this book spoils the first one slightly. To the extent that you can spoil a Cinderella retelling, anyway.

And, uh... didn't the first book confirm that Elle's father started ExcelsiCon when she was, like, 7? So how is this the 25th annual ExcelsiCon? Minor, but it bothered me. (Also, I picked Geekerella up to check this fact, and happened to spot that the Amara's original actress in that book was called Ellen North, not Natalia Ford. I'm sorry! I know this is such a picky complaint.) (And in looking it up, I did realise that my original memory was wrong, and the ExcelsiCon when Elle was 7 was just the first one she could remember. Maybe I just need to reread Geekerella!

Recommended for everyone who loves fandom and nerdy things. And please, give me a short story where Harper introduces Jessica to the original Starfield series.