Release Date - June 7, 2016
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received from publisher for an honest review**
College freshman Liv is more than just a fangirl: The Starveil movies are her life… So, when her favorite character, Captain Matt Spartan, is killed off at the end of the last movie, Liv Just. Can’t. Deal.Every fangirl can relate to that all encompassing obsession that your favourite TV show, book, movie or video game can instill. All The Feels not only a look at fandoms, but celebrates the power fans hold. It celebrates passion behind them as a momentous thing. Danika Stone has written a love letter to both fandoms and the people within it and it's a joy to read.
Tired of sitting in her room sobbing, Liv decides to launch an online campaign to bring her beloved hero back to life. With the help of her best friend, Xander, actor and steampunk cosplayer extraordinaire, she creates #SpartanSurvived, a campaign to ignite the fandom. But as her online life succeeds beyond her wildest dreams, Liv is forced to balance that with the pressures of school, her mother’s disapproval, and her (mostly nonexistent and entirely traumatic) romantic life. A trip to DragonCon with Xander might be exactly what she needs to figure out what she really wants.
It becomes evident early on that Danika Stone is a fangirl herself. She cares deeply about some of the pop culture references and has experienced the various sides of fandom first hand. It's a book that leaves you feeling happier than before you read it, and a large part of that is a direct result of the way Danika has written her story. She has combined likeable characters, a sweet plot, and a feeling of belonging to something and whipped it into a novel with a realistic love story at its core.
The various highs and lows of belonging to a fandom are explored within these pages to perfection. The excruciating pain when a beloved character dies, the feeling of rage when someone dares tell you 'but it is just a movie (book/TV show/etc)', the delirious high of awaiting a new release, and the feeling of not being understood by those not in the fandom. Danika uses relationships to flesh out these various elements to great impact. The relationship between Liv and her mother was especially well explored. Liv's mother is not supportive but instead of painting her as one dimensional the author gave her reasons and had those concerns come from good intentions. She made it easy to see it both from Liv's point of view and from her mother's standpoint.
Liv is your average fangirl who doesn't feel like she quite fits in. She is often more comfortable talking to people online than in real life. She is immediately recognizable and that makes the reader instantly connect with her. Fangirls know what it is like to connect with like minded people over something we love. Liv dreams big and puts her heart and soul into something when she really cares, and that embodies the theme of this novel. Do not stop striving and dreaming because sometimes you can initiate change. If you want something bad enough, work for it. This may, on the surface, be about fandoms, but the message could easily be applied to anything.
Xander is a charming, and loyal, best friend. The sparks between Liv and Xander are immediately evident and those who love the best friends to more trope will be swooning with every interaction they share. The relationship is paced well though, so be prepared to wait for the spark to ignite even though it is more than worth it when it finally does.
Fangirls everywhere will recognize a little of themselves within this novel. It truly is a sweet celebration of all things fandom and the relationships we form within them. It's a quick, delightful summer read that will leave you eager to read some fanfiction and explore your favourite tumblr tags.
