A review by paisleygreen
Con Quest! by Sam Maggs

5.0

"The thing about that kind of friendship, fandom friendship,” Rowan continued, “is that it’s just completely genuine. Everybody knows exactly who you are and what you’re into. You can just be yourself. No games. No garbage. It’s huge. Fandom connects people all over the world. And then once a year, if we’re lucky, we get to meet up IRL here. At GeekiCon. And it’s … kind of magic.”

This book is seriously so fun. The basics: Twins Cat & Alex are major nerds who are at GeekiCon, surrounded by fans and fandom, and who are competing in a massive unofficial scavenger hunt-type thing called the Quest, which asks teams to do all kinds of fun things at the con. (Think a mashup of San Diego Comic Con and GISH.) In order to check off as many items as they can, they evade their older teenage sister, Fi, who is very much dragged to the con by her family and wants to prove she's responsible enough to go camping unchaperoned. Fi enlists the help of a mysterious person named Rowan and fun crushes and character development ensue!

Things I adored about this book:
- If you are part of various kinds of fandom or the types of things that get represented at cons, you'll have so much fun at how Sam Maggs references different comics, TV shows, movies, and so on. Just as an aperitif, there's things like Lunar Soldier, Star Worlds, My Academic Heroine, and (my favorite) Igor!!! On Skates.

- This is a middle-grade novel with great diverse representation, especially with gender and ability. For example, there are a few asides that explain nonbinary people or say something along the lines of "They could have been a boy or a girl. Or both. Or neither!" That is such a cool way to introduce / reinforce gender diversity to young people in an approachable and casual way. Additionally, one of the twins, Alex, has ASD. And thank god, there are no ~mystical autism powers~ or exaggerated savant qualities. Alex is portrayed with real heart and sensitivity, and it's great to see how the ones who love him work with his needs rather than treating him as some great mystery or a tragic figure.

- Interpersonal conflicts feel grounded in a real place, characters grow realistically, and communication is healthy. So wholesome <3

- The "villain" (if there really is one in this book) is the type of man that every nerd knows: a purist who thinks cons should just be "about the comics," who gatekeeps who belongs in the nerd community, and who wants to kick out the people who "force diversity" (aka ask for representation) in the fandoms they love. It was a nice nod to the type of everyday tensions in the nerd community.


If you're a nerd and have been to a con, or even are aware of cons, this book is for you. It's a fantastic middle-grade novel, but I (very much an adult) found the book so fun and celebratory of the joy of being part of the nerd community as well. Buy it for yourself or for a younger fandom-obsessed person in your life!