Don't Cosplay With My Heart by Cecil Castellucci

Synopsis: When Edan Kupferman dresses up like her favorite character, Gargantua, she feels tall and powerful. That's important right now, because her family is a mess, her best friend is gone for the summer, her crush is confusing, and Edan's feeling small and not sure which end is up. 
When Edan's cosplaying, she can be angry, loud, and not the good girl everyone thinks she is. And when she's at conventions, she feels like she's found her own Team Tomorrow. But when her personal life starts to spiral out of control, Edan has to figure out whether she needs a sidekick, or if she has the strength to be the hero of her own story. 
Review: Don't Cosplay With My Heart was a cute book that had a number of good moments in it. As a character, Edan went from having a place of privilege to having barely any. Her father has been accused of stealing and her family no longer has the standing they used to. We get a small idea of who the other characters in the story are, but the main ones we really get to know are Edan, Yuri, and Kirk. Yuri becomes Edan's boyfriend and he's a dick. There isn't a polite way to say it. Kirk is the typical nice guy who does what he can to help Edan throughout the story. Sadly, none of them were particularly interesting to read about. One character I enjoyed quite a lot was Edan's grandmother. We do not spend a lot of time with her but, when we do, she's always ready to put Edan in her place.

This isn't so much a content warning, but if you're a female and you are into fandom culture, then you might find parts of this book bothersome. There's a good bit of the book dedicated to men around Edan who do not seem to think she is a nerd because she's a girl. Edan's boyfriend and his friends are the main people who have this attitude throughout the story, and it does grate on the nerves a bit. Thankfully, the book also shows off other women in fandom. There are a few other girls Edan spends time with who are a part of this culture. There is even some discussion about being a successful woman in comics as Edan gets a chance to meet one of her heroes. I thought this book did a good job of touching on lust versus love and how blind they can make a person. I do wish this book was a little longer and that it touched more on financial issues Edan's club was having. The end felt too sudden.

Don't Cosplay With My Heart had a lot of potential, but fell flat with its characters and predicable plot. It's still cute and I would recommend reading it if you want to see how women are very often treated in fandom culture.

3 howls