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A review by beautifullybookishbethany
Con Quest! by Sam Maggs
4.0
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
A fun middle grade romp for anyone familiar with geek/fandom culture, Con Quest! also has great family dynamics, lots of inside jokes, and a sweet side romance between two girls that ends with holding hands and a kiss on the cheek.
Cat and Alex are twins who can't wait to participate in a quest taking place at Geekicon, with the prize of meeting one of their favorite celebrities, but to complete all the challenges they have to escape from their older sister who's supposed to be watching them.
I think the twins are around 12 and their older sister Fiona (Fi) is 14. The story is told from each of their perspectives and all of them have solid arcs of character growth through the story. Alex is autistic, with sketching being one way he copes with the overstimulation of large crowds as the convention. He learns to advocate for himself and what he wants, even with his sister. Cat is an organizer who tends to run the show, but sometimes needs to listen and think before she acts. Fi wants nothing more than to be cool and popular and hates all the geeky stuff her parents and younger siblings are into, but she just might learn that fandom can create space for acceptance and being yourself. (partly through getting to know a quirky girl from her school along the way...)
This is a whole lot of fun, fast-paced, with a lot of heart. It also addresses the more toxic sides of fandom through the sort of villain character in the book- a member of the show staff who gatekeeps what "real" fans or geeks should look like or do. Stand-ins for real fandoms (i.e. Star World instead of Star Wars) are kind of silly and cheesy, but it's also funny sometimes if you are able to figure out the references. I think this is a solid middle grade story addressing fandom culture, which you don't always see. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
A fun middle grade romp for anyone familiar with geek/fandom culture, Con Quest! also has great family dynamics, lots of inside jokes, and a sweet side romance between two girls that ends with holding hands and a kiss on the cheek.
Cat and Alex are twins who can't wait to participate in a quest taking place at Geekicon, with the prize of meeting one of their favorite celebrities, but to complete all the challenges they have to escape from their older sister who's supposed to be watching them.
I think the twins are around 12 and their older sister Fiona (Fi) is 14. The story is told from each of their perspectives and all of them have solid arcs of character growth through the story. Alex is autistic, with sketching being one way he copes with the overstimulation of large crowds as the convention. He learns to advocate for himself and what he wants, even with his sister. Cat is an organizer who tends to run the show, but sometimes needs to listen and think before she acts. Fi wants nothing more than to be cool and popular and hates all the geeky stuff her parents and younger siblings are into, but she just might learn that fandom can create space for acceptance and being yourself. (partly through getting to know a quirky girl from her school along the way...)
This is a whole lot of fun, fast-paced, with a lot of heart. It also addresses the more toxic sides of fandom through the sort of villain character in the book- a member of the show staff who gatekeeps what "real" fans or geeks should look like or do. Stand-ins for real fandoms (i.e. Star World instead of Star Wars) are kind of silly and cheesy, but it's also funny sometimes if you are able to figure out the references. I think this is a solid middle grade story addressing fandom culture, which you don't always see. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.