Geekerella

In this modern, geeky update of Cinderella, all Elle has left of her father are memories of their time together watching Starfield, a cult-classic sci-fi TV show. When a movie reboot offers to breathe new life into the franchise, Elle can't wait; but the casting of soap actor Darien Freeman as the Federation Prince Carmindor has her worried about the show's integrity. When a contest is offered to win a meeting with Darien at the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and tickets to the Starfield premiere, Elle decides to enter as a way to escape her awful stepfamily and job at the Magic Pumpkin food truck. Meanwhile, Darien is a closet nerd who has always wanted to step into Carmindor's shoes, but the show's fans aren't accepting him. If only he could meet someone who would see the real him. With geekily adorable characters, a show that's part Star Trek and part Firefly, a cosplay contest, and a food truck fairy godmother, this is a love letter to fandom. Required reading for geeks everywhere.--Thompson, Sarah Bean Copyright 2017 Booklist

In this thoroughly enjoyable, pop- culture-saturated Cinderella retelling, 17-year-old Elle Wittimer, unhappy with her social climbing stepfamily, pins her hopes on winning a cosplay contest at a science fiction convention. Raised by her late father on the cult TV show Starfield, Elle anonymously blogs about the show and has expressed her lack of faith in Darien Freeman, the Hollywood heartthrob who's been cast as Prince Carmindor in an upcoming film adaptation. As the cosplay contest approaches, Elle teams up with Sage, her friend/coworker at a vegan food truck, to redesign her father's Carmindor costume, while texting with a mystery boy. Actor Darien grew up loving SF conventions and Starfield but has avoided them since his uncomfortable ascension to the "it list." Poston (We Own the Night) builds an endearingly nervous text-based romance between Elle and Darien, and she gives her secondary characters dimension and agency: Sage is a lesbian fashion maven who gets her own happy ending, and Elle's stepfamily, though still mostly terrible, is complex. A celebration of fandom and happily ever afters, this feel-good reimagining hits all the right notes. Ages 14-up. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 7 Up-Elle Wittimer loves Starfield, the popular sci-fi series that has garnered a cultlike fandom across the United States. When the latest teen sensation, Darien Freeman, is cast in the significant role of Prince Carmindor, Elle vents her displeasure on her fan blog and receives unprecedented readership. While working on the promotions for the show, Darien begins to feel the wrath of Starfield's loyal fans and attempts to get out of an upcoming ExcelsiCon cosplay event by contacting the convention's organizer. Elle's deceased father is the convention's founder, and Darien's text message is forwarded to her cell phone. The two develop an anonymous relationship via text messaging, which starts to attract the suspicion of Elle's evil stepsisters and Darien's production team. When Elle decides to enter the cosplay contest, she must hatch a plan with her new friend, Sage, to avoid the interference of her nagging stepmother and acts of sabotage from her stepsisters. Predictably, Elle's and Darien's paths cross at the ExcelsiCon ball, which ends with the expected lost slipper. The plot in this fairy-tale retelling won't be a mystery, but there are a few twists and turns that add a unique spin to the classic story. Unfortunately, the alternating voices of Darien and Elle are almost indistinguishable. VERDICT This secondary purchase is best suited for collections that serve teens who revel in the fandom and cosplay communities.-Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Cinderella jumps aboard the Enterprise in this entertaining if somewhat paint-by-numbers version of the classic fairy tale.Elle is a dreamy white geek girl who blogs about the television series Starfield and whose deceased, cosplaying father started the original Starfield convention, ExcelsiCon. Brown-skinned part British-Indian Darien is a hunky teen soap actor who has been cast as the lead in the film reboot of Starfield, much to the dismay of hard-core fans like Elle. When Darien accidently calls Elle while trying to reach the management at ExcelsiCon, the two embark on an anonymous texting romance. Their stars collide when Elle enters a cosplay contest that Darien is judging at ExcelsiCon in order to win a life away from her mean stepmother. Poston follows the "Cinderella" plot to a tee. Fairy godmother? Check, in the form of green-haired lesbian seamstress Sage. Unconventional mode of transportation? Check, in the form of the Magic Pumpkin, a vegan food truck. There's even a pair of glass slippers and a Cosplay Ball. Endless references to real-life fandoms from Star Trek to The Lord of the Rings make this book feel like a long, chummy in-joke. Romance genre readers who expect a happy ending and teen fans of fandoms may enjoy this timely retelling; others may find the derivative plot too on-the-nose. (Fiction. 12-15) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this modern, geeky update of Cinderella, all Elle has left of her father are memories of their time together watching Starfield, a cult-classic sci-fi TV show. When a movie reboot offers to breathe new life into the franchise, Elle can't wait; but the casting of soap actor Darien Freeman as the Federation Prince Carmindor has her worried about the show's integrity. When a contest is offered to win a meeting with Darien at the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and tickets to the Starfield premiere, Elle decides to enter as a way to escape her awful stepfamily and job at the Magic Pumpkin food truck. Meanwhile, Darien is a closet nerd who has always wanted to step into Carmindor's shoes, but the show's fans aren't accepting him. If only he could meet someone who would see the real him. With geekily adorable characters, a show that's part Star Trek and part Firefly, a cosplay contest, and a food truck fairy godmother, this is a love letter to fandom. Required reading for geeks everywhere. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

In this thoroughly enjoyable, pop- culture-saturated Cinderella retelling, 17-year-old Elle Wittimer, unhappy with her social climbing stepfamily, pins her hopes on winning a cosplay contest at a science fiction convention. Raised by her late father on the cult TV show Starfield, Elle anonymously blogs about the show and has expressed her lack of faith in Darien Freeman, the Hollywood heartthrob who's been cast as Prince Carmindor in an upcoming film adaptation. As the cosplay contest approaches, Elle teams up with Sage, her friend/coworker at a vegan food truck, to redesign her father's Carmindor costume, while texting with a mystery boy. Actor Darien grew up loving SF conventions and Starfield but has avoided them since his uncomfortable ascension to the "it list." Poston (We Own the Night) builds an endearingly nervous text-based romance between Elle and Darien, and she gives her secondary characters dimension and agency: Sage is a lesbian fashion maven who gets her own happy ending, and Elle's stepfamily, though still mostly terrible, is complex. A celebration of fandom and happily ever afters, this feel-good reimagining hits all the right notes. Ages 14–up. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary. (Apr.)

Gr 7 Up—Elle Wittimer loves Starfield, the popular sci-fi series that has garnered a cultlike fandom across the United States. When the latest teen sensation, Darien Freeman, is cast in the significant role of Prince Carmindor, Elle vents her displeasure on her fan blog and receives unprecedented readership. While working on the promotions for the show, Darien begins to feel the wrath of Starfield's loyal fans and attempts to get out of an upcoming ExcelsiCon cosplay event by contacting the convention's organizer. Elle's deceased father is the convention's founder, and Darien's text message is forwarded to her cell phone. The two develop an anonymous relationship via text messaging, which starts to attract the suspicion of Elle's evil stepsisters and Darien's production team. When Elle decides to enter the cosplay contest, she must hatch a plan with her new friend, Sage, to avoid the interference of her nagging stepmother and acts of sabotage from her stepsisters. Predictably, Elle's and Darien's paths cross at the ExcelsiCon ball, which ends with the expected lost slipper. The plot in this fairy-tale retelling won't be a mystery, but there are a few twists and turns that add a unique spin to the classic story. Unfortunately, the alternating voices of Darien and Elle are almost indistinguishable. VERDICT This secondary purchase is best suited for collections that serve teens who revel in the fandom and cosplay communities.—Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD