Spring 2017 Kids Indie Next List Pick
2017 Goodreads Choice Award finalist for Best Young Adult Fiction
Named to Seventeen's 2017 "12 Life-Changing Books You Have to Read This Summer" List
“Geekerella has ‘must-read’ written all over it. A fun romantic comedy with coming-of-age sensibilities and authentically voiced teens, this novel hits all the YA book-love buttons. Geekerella is simply delightful.”—USA Today's Happy Ever After
“Fairytale and fandom collide in this sweet, heartfelt, entertaining rom-com.”—Bustle
“A legit love letter to geekdom.”—Paste Magazine
“Pay attention, fangirls, because Ashley Poston’s Geekerella is about to be your favorite YA romance.”—Sweety High
“The geekiest spin on Cinderella you'll ever read.”—Hypable
“Geeks and non-geeks will discover their inner fangirl when they fall for this fan-tastic book that celebrates fan-doms, fan-tasy, and 'shipworthy romance’.”—Justine
“This geeky twist on a classic Cinderella story is honestly the most adorable thing ever!”—Her Campus
“This charming and funny twist on Cinderella is the perfect YA fandom fairytale.” —BNTeen blog
“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.”—Booklist
“A celebration of fandom and happily ever afters, this feel-good reimagining hits all the right notes.”—Publishers Weekly
“Geekerella is funny and real, adorable yet heart-wrenching, and a wonderful new YA reimagining of a classic story. It’s everything you could want in a book, and it deserves attention from all fans of contemporary YA.”—Ava M., B&N Teen Blog
“Geekerella…couldn't be sweeter or more fun…. If you're a fan of Fangirl, or a fan yourself, this is the version of Cinderella for you.”—New York Journal of Books
“Geekerella hits the spot. It’s an uplifting, adorable take on a classic fairy tale with a lovable heroine and a story that would have delighted 12-year-old me, but actually did manage to elate jaded, cynical adult me. Ashley Poston gets my stamp of approval on this Cinderella story.”—Geeks of Doom
“Heirloom cosplay, fairy godfriends, and a new fandom with the swooniest OTP. Equal parts Fangirl and This Is What Happy Looks Like, Geekerella is so. Frakking. Good.” —Lily Anderson, author of The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You
“I've never had this much fun reading a fairytale retelling! Geekerella is hilarious, packed with emotional punches, and steeped in so much love for fandom and con culture. We've all known the Cinderella story since preschool, but Ashley Poston's version feels so fresh and real that I genuinely worried Elle might not make it to the ball.”—Alison Cherry, author of Look Both Ways and For Real
“Fun, funny, and fan-tastic! I rooted for Elle and Darien from page one.” —Sarah Ahiers, author of Assassin’s Heart and Thief’s Cunning
“Adorkable, geektastic, nerderiffic… however you describe it, Geekerella is scrumptious! Ashley Poston’s fandom is one you’ll definitely want to join.” —Tiffany Schmidt, author of Break Me Like A Promise and Bright Before Sunrise
“An utterly charming take on Cinderella that sparkles with witty banter, Geekerella is the perfect YA fandom fairytale.” —Dahlia Adler, author of Behind the Scenes and Just Visiting
“A fun, can't put down re-telling of the classic Cinderella story.”—The Nerdy Girlie
“A must read for anyone who considers themselves a geek, nerd, fan, or just awesome.”—YA Bibliophile
“A fresh, fun, charming retelling of Cinderella just for fangirls, with wonderfully human characters, great storytelling, and fun little details.”—Page Turners
02/20/2017
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.)
03/01/2017
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
Narrator Eileen Stevens’s subtle Southern accent and energizing performance are an out-of-this-world pairing for this reimagined Cinderella. Sounding intrepid and animated, Stevens never loses sight of Elle, whose love of the cult sci-fi show “Starfield” is her escape from her evil stepmother. When she begins texting a fellow fan, Elle thinks she may have found her Prince Charming. Little does she know that on the other side of the texts is Darien Freeman, the teen heartthrob who is starring in the “Starfield” reboot. Narrator Tristan Morris’s wonderfully theatrical voice never quite captures the young actor, who is caught in a bout of ennui. Teens familiar with the intricacies of fandom will find the inside jokes a delightful addition to this contemporary fairy tale. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
