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A review by hayleybeale
Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good by Nancy Werlin
4.0
Who is the real Zoe Rosenthal? Is she the dedicated cosplaying, con-attending Bleeders TV show fan? Or is it the serious student and girlfriend of straight arrow Simon? Well, the reader only gets to see the first Zoe as she attends her first con to see the Season 2 premiere of Bleeders and then goes to several other cons over the next year with her new friends as they dedicate themselves to securing a season 3 for their beloved show. Of course, we see hints of the second Zoe, and as she avoids telling Simon where she is and what she’s doing, we begin to see the chasm between the two Zoes. What will happen when her two worlds meet at Bean Con?
Identity is a popular theme for YA novels as it speaks to a time in a teen’s life where who they are is still plastic and they’re trying on new identities and deciding who they’re going to be. Ms Werlin takes this further by looping gender and sexual identity into the story. One of Zoe’s new friends identifies as nonbinary (or enby) and asexual, and the others are all very strict about giving their pronouns when they’re introduced.
Bleeders is a nonconforming scifi show as it is is run by a woman of color and the cast is almost all women of color playing scientists and doctors too. Is that why Zoe loves it? At least partially, but also because it’s a gripping story about a fast-killing and fast-spreading virus that’s taking over the universe (if there’s a metaphor in there, I missed it haha).
This is all presented in a light-hearted and funny novel. Zoe is extremely precise - she has a bullet-list journal which is a good device for keeping the reader up to date with where she is as she goes to each con - but she recognizes this in herself and understands its limitations. The rest of her Bloodygits, as Bleeders fans refer to themselves, are all well-developed and charmingly quirky characters, adding layers to the identity theme.
It’s not hard for the reader to see where the novel is headed - how will Zoe emerge when her two identities meet? But it’s a pleasure to go with her on her journey of self-learning and self-recognition.
Identity is a popular theme for YA novels as it speaks to a time in a teen’s life where who they are is still plastic and they’re trying on new identities and deciding who they’re going to be. Ms Werlin takes this further by looping gender and sexual identity into the story. One of Zoe’s new friends identifies as nonbinary (or enby) and asexual, and the others are all very strict about giving their pronouns when they’re introduced.
Bleeders is a nonconforming scifi show as it is is run by a woman of color and the cast is almost all women of color playing scientists and doctors too. Is that why Zoe loves it? At least partially, but also because it’s a gripping story about a fast-killing and fast-spreading virus that’s taking over the universe (if there’s a metaphor in there, I missed it haha).
This is all presented in a light-hearted and funny novel. Zoe is extremely precise - she has a bullet-list journal which is a good device for keeping the reader up to date with where she is as she goes to each con - but she recognizes this in herself and understands its limitations. The rest of her Bloodygits, as Bleeders fans refer to themselves, are all well-developed and charmingly quirky characters, adding layers to the identity theme.
It’s not hard for the reader to see where the novel is headed - how will Zoe emerge when her two identities meet? But it’s a pleasure to go with her on her journey of self-learning and self-recognition.