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sunflowerhexe's review against another edition
DNF @ 30%
Not enough of the stories are gripping me. Not for me!
Not enough of the stories are gripping me. Not for me!
oddact's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
2.25
A lot of the writing felt very amateur. It was cute, but not anything to write home about
theangrystackrat's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
alliemackie's review against another edition
5.0
An incredible anthology of short stories and comics! I loved this.
applepie10's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
riotsquirrrl's review against another edition
2.0
I think I would have liked reading this a lot more in 2016 when it came out. Now it's rather dated and I'm not sure Gen Z readers would really relate to it.
In many ways I did relate to this, as a one-time geek girl with similar experiences. On the other hand, the collection is somewhat uneven and it ended up being about 2/3 prose and 1/3 comics which wasn't what I thought I was getting. There are several works by people who went on to be known in the comics world: Sarah Winifred Searle, Mariko Tamaki, Marjorie Liu. There's even an endearingly amateurish comic by Margaret Atwood.
(ETA: This book also has pretty wild tonal shifts. Most of the stories are pretty light in tone. And then there's one piece about how a woman of color was beaten up by her crush who became a skinhead. And another woman of color who was molested as a child. I would have liked to have seen either more women of color, more traumatic stories, or fewer. But the number included sits weird with me.)
But so much of the work involves people relating to each other through fandoms, and the fandom landscape has changed so radically in 7 years. The vast majority of Gen Z women are not interested in anything Joss Whedon put out 20-25 years ago. One author talks about this new thing, the marvel movie franchise.
And I'm not sure that we necessarily need books right now that talk about how women nerds exist.
I tracked this title down via interlibrary loan but maybe it's just not around anymore for a reason.
In many ways I did relate to this, as a one-time geek girl with similar experiences. On the other hand, the collection is somewhat uneven and it ended up being about 2/3 prose and 1/3 comics which wasn't what I thought I was getting. There are several works by people who went on to be known in the comics world: Sarah Winifred Searle, Mariko Tamaki, Marjorie Liu. There's even an endearingly amateurish comic by Margaret Atwood.
(ETA: This book also has pretty wild tonal shifts. Most of the stories are pretty light in tone. And then there's one piece about how a woman of color was beaten up by her crush who became a skinhead. And another woman of color who was molested as a child. I would have liked to have seen either more women of color, more traumatic stories, or fewer. But the number included sits weird with me.)
But so much of the work involves people relating to each other through fandoms, and the fandom landscape has changed so radically in 7 years. The vast majority of Gen Z women are not interested in anything Joss Whedon put out 20-25 years ago. One author talks about this new thing, the marvel movie franchise.
And I'm not sure that we necessarily need books right now that talk about how women nerds exist.
I tracked this title down via interlibrary loan but maybe it's just not around anymore for a reason.
jenlouisegallant's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this anthology, but I wasn't loving the entire thing. I took my time reading it, so I could digest each of the personal stories that the authors shared. I identified with some of the stories, but others weren't for me. That fact is one of the reasons that this anthology is good. It discusses all kinds of relationships, all kinds of love, and it has a little something that everyone can identify with. We're all trying to make our way through the world, and experience love.
whimsofmin's review against another edition
5.0
AMAZING - better review to come to insta, but this book is a sassy yet comforting nerdy hug
balletbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Very diverse (both in creators and contents) anthology of "geek" ladies' origin stories, worries about relationships, identities, dating, and fandom. Some pieces are straight prose, some comics, some feel more like short fiction, some confessional memoir.
(Our buyers put this in Graphic Novels but it really feels like Women's Studies would be a better fit.)
(Our buyers put this in Graphic Novels but it really feels like Women's Studies would be a better fit.)
pussinbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This is the book I've wanted for a long time! There's nothing more comforting and laughter inducing than reading about women falling in love with characters from Sailor Moon and Final Fantasy 7. That was me when I was a kid. These stories are heavily focused and comics and video games. I would have loved to read a few more essays about falling in love with book characters.