THE FANGIRL PROJECT

Hoping to connect with her crush through fandom, a Welsh girl ends up finding herself.

Sixteen-year-old Cerys has been nurturing feelings for her best friend, Jake; she worries that they’ll grow apart as they move on to different secondary schools. As a way to stay close and convince him that she’s “his dream girl,” Cerys decides to engage with the Of Wrath and Rune fandom—OWAR is Jake’s favorite fantasy TV and book series. She’s disappointed that Jake’s new friend, Max, is always around for their watch parties and con outings and hopes that chatting one-on-one with Jake in the OWAR Discord channel will further her romantic agenda. But somehow, the deeper their online conversations become, the less available Jake seems in person—it’s almost as if he’s two different people. Meanwhile, Cerys is trying to fit in with a group of cool girls at St. David’s, her new school in Cardiff, which means hiding her now-sincere appreciation for OWAR. She slowly comes to realize that she has a lot in common with Anissa, a shy girl in her art class, who also loves OWAR. At the same time, her Discord correspondence with @runicrascal is a source of emotional connection and vulnerability. This solid, well-paced book explores relatable subjects like learning to be true to oneself and finding friends who like the real you. The realistic dialogue and strong character development will keep readers turning the pages. Main characters read white.

Fandom fans and romance lovers will rejoice!