Look, idk why this title is the title I picked, but Wix tells me to pick an engaging title so HERE WE ARE. But for real, Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde is an amazing book and I adore it so much.
Here’s a picture of Queens of Geek with lyrics from my real life queen, Taylor Swift. Like Taylor (the character), Jamie, and Charlie, I love fandom. I am a fan of many things, including (obviously) Taylor Swift and Harry Potter.
Now to move on to why we’re all here…
Queens of Geek is a book about three Australian friends/teens who travel to SupaCon because Charlie has been invited in honor of her breakout Indie film. She also happens to be a famous vlogger on YouTube. Her two best friends, Taylor and Jamie, accompany her and Taylor’s goal is to meet the author of Queen Firestone. Meanwhile, Charlie is having to deal with her stupid ex-boyfriend–and co-star in that breakout movie–and the sexist questions she keeps having to field. She also may have a date with Alyssa, a fellow vlogger, and one of Charlie’s favorite people. So, yeah, Charlie is bisexual and also Chinese Australian. Taylor is combating her anxiety and Asperger’s, as she tries to navigate the crowds at Supacon with Jamie by her side. She has to listen to only a couple of fat shaming comments by rude people who don’t know she’s listening. And Jamie is… Amazing. Wonderful. I love him.
My favorite thing about this book might have been how it tackles and discusses anxiety in the most relatable way. Taylor has tremendous anxiety and this book is in part about her figuring out how to have really amazing experiences and going after what she wants when she suffers from debilitating anxiety. I have diagnosed anxiety, so to see it talked about on the page in a way that is so relevant and accurate for my experience was incredible. This quote just… Y’all. This quote:
“Most people think of anxiety as panic attacks. That’s not entirely accurate.I haven’t had a panic attack in years. I started to recognize the signs and learned what I needed to do to stop it spiraling. I learned how to internalize it to avoid public embarrassment. Anxiety isn’t an attack that explodes out of me; it’s not a volcano that lies dormant until it’s triggered by an earth-shattering event. It’s a constant companion. Like a blow fly that gets into the house in the middle of summer, flying around and around. You can hear it buzzing, but you can’t see it, can’t capture it, can’t let it out.”
I also really appreciated how Jamie and Charlie are so accepting of Taylor’s “quirks” and they love her and have figured out how to support her through her anxiety. Although at times Jamie doesn’t handle her anxiety the exact way Taylor would prefer, this felt realistic and it showed that even though he wasn’t perfect, he was trying. Also, I just love Jamie, so, this should come as no surprise.
Ultimately though, I enjoyed the entire book. I think the only criticism you could make about it is that it’s a bit cheesy, but um, idk about you, but with the state of the world right now, I could definitely use a little cheese. Or a lot. Also, fandom is never too cheesy for me, honestly.
If you haven’t read this yet, I highly recommend it for you! If you have any books that you love that talk about anxiety, let me know! I want to read all the books like this at this point. I’m so appreciative of this representation.
xx
firewhiskeyreader 