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Gena/Finn
The story follows the unlikely friendship of two young women forged via fan fiction and message boards, and is told entirely in texts, chats, and blog posts.
Gena (short for Genevieve) and Finn (short for Stephanie) have little in common. Book-smart Gena is preparing to leave her posh boarding school for college; down-to-earth Finn is a twenty-something struggling to make ends meet in the big city. Gena’s romantic life is a series of reluctant one-night-stands; Finn is making a go of it with long-term boyfriend Charlie. But they share a passion for Up Below, a buddy cop TV show with a cult fan following. Gena is a darling of the fangirl scene, keeping a popular blog and writing fan fiction. Finn’s online life is a secret, even from Charlie. The pair spark an unlikely online friendship that deepens quickly (so quickly it scares them both), and as their individual “real” lives begin to fall apart, they increasingly seek shelter online, and with each other.
Gena (short for Genevieve) and Finn (short for Stephanie) have little in common. Book-smart Gena is preparing to leave her posh boarding school for college; down-to-earth Finn is a twenty-something struggling to make ends meet in the big city. Gena’s romantic life is a series of reluctant one-night-stands; Finn is making a go of it with long-term boyfriend Charlie. But they share a passion for Up Below, a buddy cop TV show with a cult fan following. Gena is a darling of the fangirl scene, keeping a popular blog and writing fan fiction. Finn’s online life is a secret, even from Charlie. The pair spark an unlikely online friendship that deepens quickly (so quickly it scares them both), and as their individual “real” lives begin to fall apart, they increasingly seek shelter online, and with each other.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published May 17, 2016
About the author
Hannah Moskowitz
24 books1,868 followersHannah Moskowitz wrote her first story, about a kitten named Lilly on the run from cat hunters, for a contest when she was seven years old. It was disqualified for violence. Her first book, BREAK, was on the ALA's 2010 list of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, and in 2013, GONE, GONE, GONE received a Stonewall Honor. 2015's NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED was named the YA Bisexual Book of the Year. SICK KIDS IN LOVE was a Sydney Taylor Honoree, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and one of both Kirkus and Tablet Magazine's Best Books of the year. She lives in Maryland with several cats, none of whom are violent.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 687 reviews
June 9, 2023
I really enjoyed this book!
Honestly this book opened as super relatable (follows a friendship that started online through love of a mutual fandom) and then it ended SUPER DEEP.
very impressed.
Honestly this book opened as super relatable (follows a friendship that started online through love of a mutual fandom) and then it ended SUPER DEEP.
very impressed.
June 5, 2020
“I’ve always had a fandom. I’ve always had characters who live in my head and mess with my heart and tell me stories, and I love it.”
This review contains *spoilers*.
The first half of this book pleasantly surprised me with how much I liked it. Reading it was so much fun, I’ve never read a book that contains blog posts, emails, texts and even fanfics with fanart. The format of this book was just altogether great.
This follows the online friendship between Gena (short for Genevieve) and Finn (short for Stephanie), who share a passion for Up Below, a buddy cop TV show with a hilarious and devoted fan following.
I did get a bit confused at first about who Gena and who Finn was, but once I got that sorted the story unraveled smoothly.
And I just loved how natural their conversations felt at the beginning.
Another great highlight was when the two of them met up at the Up Below convention in Chicago. And Finn got to meet her favorite!!
And when they were sitting at the Zack and Toby panel (where the stars talk about the show and acting and answer questions from the audience), and Toby said, “In the back there. Isn’t that Genny Goldman?” my mouth opened so widely and even more so when Zack followed Genna. Turns out Genny Goldman played the little sister on Man of the House with Zack.
I really liked that he kept in touch with her after the convention and that they remained friends:
“from: Genevieve Goldman
to: Zack Martocchio
date: Thursday, July 17 3:39 PM
subject: RE: :D
you know what i wish? And it’s dumb as shit.
from: Zack Martocchio
to: Genevieve Goldman
date: Thursday, July 17 3:42 PM
subject: >;)
Is it an autograph because I can make that happen.
from: Genevieve Goldman
to: Zack Martocchio
date: Thursday, July 17 3:44 PM
subject: ○_○
dick.”
It was starting to feel like the perfect combination between Fangirl and Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, but then that ending happened…
It just felt completely out of place for me because everything was going so well for a time and then we got this terrible dead that I had no idea what to take from (I still don’t).
And, of course, everyone just decides to do a 180 without any explanation, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in novels— I was really close to DNFing this book, but I was holding on for that spark to return.
And it did return for the very last page— when Gena returned to blogging. And I was finally hopeful, only to turn to the next page and see that the story was over. Damn, this has happened just too many times.
Overall, this book was not what I was expecting, for better or worse.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Gena/Finn, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
This review contains *spoilers*.
The first half of this book pleasantly surprised me with how much I liked it. Reading it was so much fun, I’ve never read a book that contains blog posts, emails, texts and even fanfics with fanart. The format of this book was just altogether great.
This follows the online friendship between Gena (short for Genevieve) and Finn (short for Stephanie), who share a passion for Up Below, a buddy cop TV show with a hilarious and devoted fan following.
I did get a bit confused at first about who Gena and who Finn was, but once I got that sorted the story unraveled smoothly.
And I just loved how natural their conversations felt at the beginning.
Another great highlight was when the two of them met up at the Up Below convention in Chicago. And Finn got to meet her favorite!!
And when they were sitting at the Zack and Toby panel (where the stars talk about the show and acting and answer questions from the audience), and Toby said, “In the back there. Isn’t that Genny Goldman?” my mouth opened so widely and even more so when Zack followed Genna. Turns out Genny Goldman played the little sister on Man of the House with Zack.
I really liked that he kept in touch with her after the convention and that they remained friends:
“from: Genevieve Goldman
to: Zack Martocchio
date: Thursday, July 17 3:39 PM
subject: RE: :D
you know what i wish? And it’s dumb as shit.
from: Zack Martocchio
to: Genevieve Goldman
date: Thursday, July 17 3:42 PM
subject: >;)
Is it an autograph because I can make that happen.
from: Genevieve Goldman
to: Zack Martocchio
date: Thursday, July 17 3:44 PM
subject: ○_○
dick.”
It was starting to feel like the perfect combination between Fangirl and Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, but then that ending happened…
It just felt completely out of place for me because everything was going so well for a time and then we got this terrible dead that I had no idea what to take from (I still don’t).
And, of course, everyone just decides to do a 180 without any explanation, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in novels— I was really close to DNFing this book, but I was holding on for that spark to return.
And it did return for the very last page— when Gena returned to blogging. And I was finally hopeful, only to turn to the next page and see that the story was over. Damn, this has happened just too many times.
Overall, this book was not what I was expecting, for better or worse.
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Gena/Finn, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
August 13, 2023
I really didn't want to give this book a low rating. The concept intrigued me so much that I bought it almost as soon as it was out. I am a sucker for stories about online friendships, being someone who spends a lot of time on the Internet herself, and I've always loved books written in unusual formats (especially informal ones like texts and emails.) So I read the synopsis and thought, what could possibly go wrong?
And, truth to be told, the book starts off in the best way possible. The online fandom is represented in an extremely accurate way (and I bet I'm not the only one who thought it really, really resembled the Supernatural fandom. We are on a whole new level of crazy!), with all the fanfictions, fanarts and fandom wars. That's the way it is. I also liked how the two main characters, Gena and Finn, had different approaches to the fandom; while Gena was fairly popular and people in real life knew she was a part of it, Finn had quite a lot of unpopular opinions, and didn't tell anyone about her "double life." I feel like, at some point in our lives, most of us have been both.
So, things were going well. Gena and Finn get to know each other, and they each have their own problems to solve; Gena is about to start college, and has a complicated relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and Finn struggles to find a job, and is trying to balance her fandom life with her real life and her boyfriend. I must say that I never felt any kind of romantic chemistry between the two. They worked well enough as friends, but to me, they never felt like anything more. (And all the relationships in the book were... kind of strange. Most of them were really unhealthy, based on lies and manipulation, which is another thing I really disliked.)
But still, up to this point, I was enjoying the book alright. I mean, I didn't go into it thinking it was going to be a life-changing novel, and it met my expectations of a cute and sometimes funny book.
And then the thing happened; I call this The Fault in Our Stars Complex. Which is, basically, when you have a funny unpretentious book and then the author goes out of their way to turn it into a huge pile of DRAMA. And I fucking hate drama. It is, in fact, the main problem I have with contemporary in general. I'm not saying that horrible things do not happen in real life, because they do, and pretty often too. What I'm saying is, that going into a book like this one, the reader clearly does not want to read about depressing things like death, illness and loss. You just don't want to. Authors need to pick a goddamn genre. You either write a cutesy love story or a dramatic and meaningful one, but you can't turn the first into the second so suddenly that you leave your readers confused, and having no idea what just happened. And the drama lasted for so damn long. There was a lot of terrible poetry on Gena's part (which made me think about the time I read November 9... and we don't talk about that) and, in the end, Finn also resulted extremely selfish and silly.
I'm giving this book two stars instead of one solely because I enjoyed the first half of it, but right now I am feeling truly disappointed. I do not recommend it.
(2016 read)
And, truth to be told, the book starts off in the best way possible. The online fandom is represented in an extremely accurate way (and I bet I'm not the only one who thought it really, really resembled the Supernatural fandom. We are on a whole new level of crazy!), with all the fanfictions, fanarts and fandom wars. That's the way it is. I also liked how the two main characters, Gena and Finn, had different approaches to the fandom; while Gena was fairly popular and people in real life knew she was a part of it, Finn had quite a lot of unpopular opinions, and didn't tell anyone about her "double life." I feel like, at some point in our lives, most of us have been both.
So, things were going well. Gena and Finn get to know each other, and they each have their own problems to solve; Gena is about to start college, and has a complicated relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and Finn struggles to find a job, and is trying to balance her fandom life with her real life and her boyfriend. I must say that I never felt any kind of romantic chemistry between the two. They worked well enough as friends, but to me, they never felt like anything more. (And all the relationships in the book were... kind of strange. Most of them were really unhealthy, based on lies and manipulation, which is another thing I really disliked.)
But still, up to this point, I was enjoying the book alright. I mean, I didn't go into it thinking it was going to be a life-changing novel, and it met my expectations of a cute and sometimes funny book.
And then the thing happened; I call this The Fault in Our Stars Complex. Which is, basically, when you have a funny unpretentious book and then the author goes out of their way to turn it into a huge pile of DRAMA. And I fucking hate drama. It is, in fact, the main problem I have with contemporary in general. I'm not saying that horrible things do not happen in real life, because they do, and pretty often too. What I'm saying is, that going into a book like this one, the reader clearly does not want to read about depressing things like death, illness and loss. You just don't want to. Authors need to pick a goddamn genre. You either write a cutesy love story or a dramatic and meaningful one, but you can't turn the first into the second so suddenly that you leave your readers confused, and having no idea what just happened. And the drama lasted for so damn long. There was a lot of terrible poetry on Gena's part (which made me think about the time I read November 9... and we don't talk about that) and, in the end, Finn also resulted extremely selfish and silly.
I'm giving this book two stars instead of one solely because I enjoyed the first half of it, but right now I am feeling truly disappointed. I do not recommend it.
(2016 read)
December 31, 2015
Huh. Okay. Well....
This was a really quick read, first of all. I probably could have read this in a day if I wasn't also taking college classes (though I did read it in 2 days), mostly because it's told through blog posts and Facebook-like IM's and text messages and emails so there's never complete full pages of text.
This book was a little odd for me, honestly. I started out with no expectations at all. I actually didn't even mean to read it--Chronicle Books sent it to me for review (and thank you lovely people for that) and I was curious and meant to read the first pages but read half the book yesterday, so I suppose that's a good thing. It just ended up being addicting at first. And Gena and Finn's friendship started progressing and it got interesting. I liked the fandom element, being lowkey involved in that kind of stuff myself. But the ending was weird for me. The book was light and fun and then suddenly got very, very serious. It was a turn I wasn't expecting and I'm not sure if I am a fan of that part. It worked with what was brought up earlier in the novel, I guess, but I'm not sure if it felt like it fit. And the ending was just disappointing. I mean, god.
I thought this book would have gay girls and bisexual girls but it just ended up being confusing and I'm kind of upset about this. Not sure if this counts as spoilerly but I'll tag it anyway. . Yeah that was spoilerly and very long and ranty and about sexuality, so.
This was a fun read. I enjoyed myself even though the ending honestly made me upset in a not-good-way (see above spoiler for spoilery details), but it was fun. If you like fandom and YA you'll probably like this. If you like representation of sexualities other than heterosexuality, this will probably make you mad. I liked how it represented Internet friends and how they can be (and most of the time really are) *actual* friends. That was nice. And showing how much two people can bond over a simple thing like a TV show. But there was a chance to have something really cool and important for teen girls to happen in this book and the authors just evaded it, which sucks. This probably won't be a go-to rec for me. A fluff book with a vaguely disappointing ending.
This was a really quick read, first of all. I probably could have read this in a day if I wasn't also taking college classes (though I did read it in 2 days), mostly because it's told through blog posts and Facebook-like IM's and text messages and emails so there's never complete full pages of text.
This book was a little odd for me, honestly. I started out with no expectations at all. I actually didn't even mean to read it--Chronicle Books sent it to me for review (and thank you lovely people for that) and I was curious and meant to read the first pages but read half the book yesterday, so I suppose that's a good thing. It just ended up being addicting at first. And Gena and Finn's friendship started progressing and it got interesting. I liked the fandom element, being lowkey involved in that kind of stuff myself. But the ending was weird for me. The book was light and fun and then suddenly got very, very serious. It was a turn I wasn't expecting and I'm not sure if I am a fan of that part. It worked with what was brought up earlier in the novel, I guess, but I'm not sure if it felt like it fit. And the ending was just disappointing. I mean, god.
I thought this book would have gay girls and bisexual girls but it just ended up being confusing and I'm kind of upset about this. Not sure if this counts as spoilerly but I'll tag it anyway. . Yeah that was spoilerly and very long and ranty and about sexuality, so.
This was a fun read. I enjoyed myself even though the ending honestly made me upset in a not-good-way (see above spoiler for spoilery details), but it was fun. If you like fandom and YA you'll probably like this. If you like representation of sexualities other than heterosexuality, this will probably make you mad. I liked how it represented Internet friends and how they can be (and most of the time really are) *actual* friends. That was nice. And showing how much two people can bond over a simple thing like a TV show. But there was a chance to have something really cool and important for teen girls to happen in this book and the authors just evaded it, which sucks. This probably won't be a go-to rec for me. A fluff book with a vaguely disappointing ending.
January 10, 2020
I wasted two hours reading this. WTF.
Read
October 1, 2015Once upon a time I met my best friend through fandom, and we wrote a book about two girls who meet their best friend through fandom.
We wrote this back and forth through emails and gchats. There's this one line near the end of the book that's in a note one of Kat's characters writes to one of mine. This one line, and when she sent it to me, I read it and said...okay. So this is our book. This is what we need to live up to in our later drafts. This is the bar Kat's set for us.
It's a really beautiful line.
We wrote this back and forth through emails and gchats. There's this one line near the end of the book that's in a note one of Kat's characters writes to one of mine. This one line, and when she sent it to me, I read it and said...okay. So this is our book. This is what we need to live up to in our later drafts. This is the bar Kat's set for us.
It's a really beautiful line.
Read
May 25, 2016Wh....?? What????
This is going to be a rambly mess because I just mainlined this book in about two hours and I'm Very Angry and Very Queer and...what?
So...this is a fandom book. I come from fandom. I met my wife in MUCH the same way Gena meets Finn: I was younger than she was, we were separated by a LOT of distance. I was beginning college, she had had a stint with it and decided it wasn't for her. We actually met in the Supernatural fandom, which makes this triply freaky because GENA/FINN's Up Below is pretty clearly based on SPN. Which I love! The book is neither TOO referential to SPN in the way Rainbow Rowell's Simon Snow is too referential to Harry Potter, nor not referential enough for us fandom geeks to feel like the inherent weirdness and infighting and meta write-ups and till-death-do-us-part friendships are glazed over.
The only thing I found weird about the fandom aspect was that there was NO mention of shipping whatsoever. Gena's fic is all gen, and there's no mention at all in any of the fandom entries/comments/etc about shipping, which seems super implausible when you're talking about a show with two dudes on it at the same time.
The blog/texts/IMs formatting worked well—I expected there to be some issues, but nope, not really! Also, pretty stoked we got to see Gena's fic and Finn's art in the book. That's something I can't recall having seen in a fandom book before.
What sucks is I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK. A lot. Up until, like, 75%.
Then I got angry.
Jesus. I'm so burned, because honestly the first 75% was SO GREAT. I had my damn Chapters app open so I could buy the hardcover! Something told me to wait till I finished reading the Kindle version, and then consider buying the hardcover. And now, unfortunately, I'm glad I waited. :(
This is going to be a rambly mess because I just mainlined this book in about two hours and I'm Very Angry and Very Queer and...what?
So...this is a fandom book. I come from fandom. I met my wife in MUCH the same way Gena meets Finn: I was younger than she was, we were separated by a LOT of distance. I was beginning college, she had had a stint with it and decided it wasn't for her. We actually met in the Supernatural fandom, which makes this triply freaky because GENA/FINN's Up Below is pretty clearly based on SPN. Which I love! The book is neither TOO referential to SPN in the way Rainbow Rowell's Simon Snow is too referential to Harry Potter, nor not referential enough for us fandom geeks to feel like the inherent weirdness and infighting and meta write-ups and till-death-do-us-part friendships are glazed over.
The only thing I found weird about the fandom aspect was that there was NO mention of shipping whatsoever. Gena's fic is all gen, and there's no mention at all in any of the fandom entries/comments/etc about shipping, which seems super implausible when you're talking about a show with two dudes on it at the same time.
The blog/texts/IMs formatting worked well—I expected there to be some issues, but nope, not really! Also, pretty stoked we got to see Gena's fic and Finn's art in the book. That's something I can't recall having seen in a fandom book before.
What sucks is I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK. A lot. Up until, like, 75%.
Then I got angry.
Jesus. I'm so burned, because honestly the first 75% was SO GREAT. I had my damn Chapters app open so I could buy the hardcover! Something told me to wait till I finished reading the Kindle version, and then consider buying the hardcover. And now, unfortunately, I'm glad I waited. :(
January 13, 2016
I really loved the first half of this book. The characters felt real and their fannishness was so true to my experience of fandom--in terms of talking about emotions by discussing fandom events and fannish favorite characters, the intensity you can build in a relationship with someone online, how distancing it can be to keep aspects of your fannishness secret from a non-fannish partner as Finn does keeping her fannish intensity from Charlie... all of that rang SO true. The depiction of a character, Gena, who has a handle on managing her mental illness and past trauma was also really refreshing.
I hated the middle development and especially the ending. Learning that Gena was a child star who had costarred on a tv show with the actor who plays one of the two dudes on her fannish-obsession tv show felt very forced. There's a lot to say about how fans interact with their fannish objects, but this made it feel weird to me, and the emotional weight of the book lost a lot of steam as Finn and Gena's correspondence and relationship took a back seat to plot about Gena's upcoming guest appearance on their show.
The last quarter of the book pulls even further away from the emotional core of the novel. We learn that an explosion happened on set the day Gena was there. We're not sure how it happened, but the actor she had known and who played one of the show's main characters dies, and Gena is hospitalized and spends the rest of the book pretty much incapacitated with trauma from it while Finn and Charlie host her and try their best to keep up with her medical bills.
I don't have a problem with the notion of putting characters through the wringer in a novel. However, in this case the trauma distances the characters from one another and obscures the ways their relationships chance to one another in response. We see Finn journaling with increasing anxiety about Gena's health, and Gena's pieces of the book descend into poetry (I personally don't like poetry, particularly as narrative device, so I didn't bother to put in the work reading between the lines on her bits). We don't see them come through this difficult situation together--instead, they're awkwardly living together at the end of the book, emotionally estranged, and instead of taking an opportunity to explore the possibilities of deep platonic attachment and love between two people (which is very common in fandom!), we see a weird ending where the two women no longer have fandom in common and only know how to relate to one another in spiky anxiety anymore. It felt like an emotional cop-out from either having an actual queer romance or having an interesting relationship, and felt like the end result is that fandom might just not be worth it anyhow?
I dunno. I think think there are so many interesting stories to tell about fandom and the people who create it. We didn't need this story to resort to Gena knowing the actors personally to explore the emotional connection two women can build over a shared interest. We didn't need the actor to die and Gena to be implicated in the explosion to explore mental illness, trauma, PTSD, and the fannish network of survival, found family, and care. These plot devices detracted from rather than supporting the strengths of this book.
Also, side note--I know it's a YA novel and we have to Keep Those Clean or whatever, but... why do we always have fannish representation that is afraid to engage with sexually explicit fanfic and the ways people connect to it? It seems like every mainstream novel about fangirls is keen to make sure their characters only write gen. Which, many people DO only write gen! But.
This book was SO readable, the characters sparkled at the beginning and felt SO true to fannish life, and was set up SO well. I'm disappointed that the authors chose to go the dramatic direction they did rather than keep with a good thing.
I hated the middle development and especially the ending. Learning that Gena was a child star who had costarred on a tv show with the actor who plays one of the two dudes on her fannish-obsession tv show felt very forced. There's a lot to say about how fans interact with their fannish objects, but this made it feel weird to me, and the emotional weight of the book lost a lot of steam as Finn and Gena's correspondence and relationship took a back seat to plot about Gena's upcoming guest appearance on their show.
The last quarter of the book pulls even further away from the emotional core of the novel. We learn that an explosion happened on set the day Gena was there. We're not sure how it happened, but the actor she had known and who played one of the show's main characters dies, and Gena is hospitalized and spends the rest of the book pretty much incapacitated with trauma from it while Finn and Charlie host her and try their best to keep up with her medical bills.
I don't have a problem with the notion of putting characters through the wringer in a novel. However, in this case the trauma distances the characters from one another and obscures the ways their relationships chance to one another in response. We see Finn journaling with increasing anxiety about Gena's health, and Gena's pieces of the book descend into poetry (I personally don't like poetry, particularly as narrative device, so I didn't bother to put in the work reading between the lines on her bits). We don't see them come through this difficult situation together--instead, they're awkwardly living together at the end of the book, emotionally estranged, and instead of taking an opportunity to explore the possibilities of deep platonic attachment and love between two people (which is very common in fandom!), we see a weird ending where the two women no longer have fandom in common and only know how to relate to one another in spiky anxiety anymore. It felt like an emotional cop-out from either having an actual queer romance or having an interesting relationship, and felt like the end result is that fandom might just not be worth it anyhow?
I dunno. I think think there are so many interesting stories to tell about fandom and the people who create it. We didn't need this story to resort to Gena knowing the actors personally to explore the emotional connection two women can build over a shared interest. We didn't need the actor to die and Gena to be implicated in the explosion to explore mental illness, trauma, PTSD, and the fannish network of survival, found family, and care. These plot devices detracted from rather than supporting the strengths of this book.
Also, side note--I know it's a YA novel and we have to Keep Those Clean or whatever, but... why do we always have fannish representation that is afraid to engage with sexually explicit fanfic and the ways people connect to it? It seems like every mainstream novel about fangirls is keen to make sure their characters only write gen. Which, many people DO only write gen! But.
This book was SO readable, the characters sparkled at the beginning and felt SO true to fannish life, and was set up SO well. I'm disappointed that the authors chose to go the dramatic direction they did rather than keep with a good thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2016
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for a fair an honest review.
**EDIT - I just didn't feel right with my original rating of 3.5 stars, marked as 4 stars on here. So I've downgraded it to 3 stars.
I'm marking this as a 3 star rating. The first half was SO fantastic and just read like all the amazing conversations I've had with my very best online friends. I was literally LOL'ing and smiling at that beautifully familiar magic you find in true internet friendships.
The format of the book is also very creative and lovely. All of it is told through blog posts (in a tumblr/live journal sort of style), emails, text messages, letters, physical journals, instant messaging, etc. It made the pages fly by and I LOVED it.
Until we got about halfway through. I think I would be less upset if this hadn't been advertised as a queer read with implied romance between the two main characters. I mean we all know the meaning behind "name / name" do we not? But this is not a queer read, let a lone a queer romance. It's a story of intense friendship and confusing relationships, yes. The involved parties wonder at a point if it's something more than that. They start to think it is, but does it ever become that? No.
Instead a series of tragic events (including Gena's struggles with mental illness) leads us from a classic love triangle (where of course one of the two girls (Finn) was already in a straight relationship and must question everything as her friendship and bond to the other girl (Gena) grows), to an odd situation where the straight relationship gets its feet back under it and Gena is treated and even referred to as their child/kid.
Gena and Finn seem to regain BFF status by the end of the story, but I just walked away feeling so confused and without resolution. Are we seeing the beginning of a polyamorous situation? That wasn't discussed in the book, but would be more satisfying than the other options I'm seeing. Is Finn just stringing both Charlie and Gena along because she doesn't want to choose between them? Did the epic potential love brewing between these two really get downgraded to a return-to-heteronormativity with a quirky, disabled bestie? Did we really just go there??
A 3 star rating might seem high for a book that made me want to flip all the tables, but I want to give a fair review and acknowledge that besides the ending, this book had me rolling around in fangirl ecstasy. So while the ending might have made me give this as low as a 1-2 star rating, I gave it another star for the love I had for the first half as well as the unique and well executed narrative format.
**EDIT - I just didn't feel right with my original rating of 3.5 stars, marked as 4 stars on here. So I've downgraded it to 3 stars.
I'm marking this as a 3 star rating. The first half was SO fantastic and just read like all the amazing conversations I've had with my very best online friends. I was literally LOL'ing and smiling at that beautifully familiar magic you find in true internet friendships.
The format of the book is also very creative and lovely. All of it is told through blog posts (in a tumblr/live journal sort of style), emails, text messages, letters, physical journals, instant messaging, etc. It made the pages fly by and I LOVED it.
Until we got about halfway through. I think I would be less upset if this hadn't been advertised as a queer read with implied romance between the two main characters. I mean we all know the meaning behind "name / name" do we not? But this is not a queer read, let a lone a queer romance. It's a story of intense friendship and confusing relationships, yes. The involved parties wonder at a point if it's something more than that. They start to think it is, but does it ever become that? No.
Instead a series of tragic events (including Gena's struggles with mental illness) leads us from a classic love triangle (where of course one of the two girls (Finn) was already in a straight relationship and must question everything as her friendship and bond to the other girl (Gena) grows), to an odd situation where the straight relationship gets its feet back under it and Gena is treated and even referred to as their child/kid.
Gena and Finn seem to regain BFF status by the end of the story, but I just walked away feeling so confused and without resolution. Are we seeing the beginning of a polyamorous situation? That wasn't discussed in the book, but would be more satisfying than the other options I'm seeing. Is Finn just stringing both Charlie and Gena along because she doesn't want to choose between them? Did the epic potential love brewing between these two really get downgraded to a return-to-heteronormativity with a quirky, disabled bestie? Did we really just go there??
A 3 star rating might seem high for a book that made me want to flip all the tables, but I want to give a fair review and acknowledge that besides the ending, this book had me rolling around in fangirl ecstasy. So while the ending might have made me give this as low as a 1-2 star rating, I gave it another star for the love I had for the first half as well as the unique and well executed narrative format.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2016
BookTube-A-Thon Challenege 2016 #3
Read a book you discovered through BookTube. (I found this over with Regan from Peruse Project).
I wanted to like this book more. This novel began with a friendship that started online over a fandom. I found the text of the book to be different and interesting as it was made up of blog posts, emails, and text messages. The ending was really deep but I had a hard time connecting to the story. It was an incredibly easy read. I probably could have read it in a day if I wasn't so busy this week! :(
Read a book you discovered through BookTube. (I found this over with Regan from Peruse Project).
I wanted to like this book more. This novel began with a friendship that started online over a fandom. I found the text of the book to be different and interesting as it was made up of blog posts, emails, and text messages. The ending was really deep but I had a hard time connecting to the story. It was an incredibly easy read. I probably could have read it in a day if I wasn't so busy this week! :(
April 20, 2017
3.5 stars
Stories change in memory and in the retelling, and you write and rewrite them until they're what you want them to be, but this is one story I want you to remember the way it happened. I want you to remember the people we are now, the times I was there for you and the times I let you down. I want you to love me weak like I loved you crazy, and when we're both on top again we'll remember that we did it.
I expected for this book to be a cute little fluffy guilty pleasure.
Never have I thought it'd be...good.
My eyes are full of tears.
Damn.
Stories change in memory and in the retelling, and you write and rewrite them until they're what you want them to be, but this is one story I want you to remember the way it happened. I want you to remember the people we are now, the times I was there for you and the times I let you down. I want you to love me weak like I loved you crazy, and when we're both on top again we'll remember that we did it.
I expected for this book to be a cute little fluffy guilty pleasure.
Never have I thought it'd be...good.
My eyes are full of tears.
Damn.
May 12, 2019
3,5 Sterne
Ich habs geliebt - für mich auf jeden Fall ähnlich zu Fangirl von Rainbow Rowell von der Thematik usw. aber viel besser umgesetzt. Jedoch nur 3,5 weil mir das letzte Drittel wiederum nicht so gefallen hat und es dann recht eintönig war. Dennoch eine Empfehlung von mir!
Deutscher Titel bei cbt: Okay, Leute, kriegt euch wieder ein
Ich habs geliebt - für mich auf jeden Fall ähnlich zu Fangirl von Rainbow Rowell von der Thematik usw. aber viel besser umgesetzt. Jedoch nur 3,5 weil mir das letzte Drittel wiederum nicht so gefallen hat und es dann recht eintönig war. Dennoch eine Empfehlung von mir!
Deutscher Titel bei cbt: Okay, Leute, kriegt euch wieder ein
November 28, 2016
I'm mad. I'm angry because this book had so much promise to be a ground-breaking LGBTQ+ book. There were so many things wrong with it though. Let's just dive right in.
This book immediately starts off on a bad foot. The author (well, there are two, but I'm just gonna use singular) throws the reader immediately into a post written by Gena about the show that she's obsessed with. A show called Up Below. It seems to be some sort of cop show involving two guys that are really (really) close, but not really in a homosexual relationship. Just enough to make the audience infatuated with their "friendship." There isn't much else that the reader is able to comprehend about this show. That's not good. If you're going to include chapters of fan fiction and have people chatting about events on the show, you might want to explain the actual premise of the TV show. Just sayin'.
Then we have the insta-friendship between Gena and Finn. Here's my main problem with this: they became friends out of their love for Up Below. Which is totally fine. However, they had nothing else in common and I found it hard to believe that Gena would just start telling Finn her deepest, darkest secrets immediately. I mean, the girl said she was open, but it's literally a day after they begin talking and she's like "oh, just so you know my full name is Genevieve, I'm sex buddies with some lacrosse player, and I occasionally have hallucinations." What?!
There was only one point in the book where I enjoyed myself and thought this book was taking a turn for the better! It was when Finn is talking to Gena more than she's talking to her boyfriend of three years, and he's not too happy about it (although he takes it better than most would). Gena and Finn text each other and there was one text that reminded me of that quote from Brokeback Mountain. You know it. When Jack says he wishes he could just quit Ennis. That quote broke my heart a little bit. I thought this book was going to involve something that I rarely see in YA. A heterosexual relationship falling apart due to more feelings leaning toward someone of the same sex. However, that idea in my head fell apart quickly.
'Cause then stuff gets really weird. Something happens (I don't want to spoil), but Gena starts writing more and more poetry, and none of it makes freakin' sense, which my frustrating as all get out. I understand that poetry can be very eccentric, but it has to be able to interpret. Like I can't tell you what half of her poems were reflecting or what their purpose was. Then really weird dynamics start happening between Charlie and Gena and Gena and Finn, and I wanted to rip my hair out because it was like the whole book turned upside down.
Here's what I think the core of the problem is: the book started out all sunshine and rainbows. The reader probably thought they were getting into something like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Which is fine! I don't mind a fluffy/cheesy read. But then the author decided, well this is much too happy!, and made the ending one bad thing after another until the reader had no idea where one problem started and ended. I don't know what the heck the relationship is between Jake/Zack and Gena is, and who the hell is this Alanah girl? That one poem that Gena wrote made her out to seem like a horrible person, but I have no idea what she did because GENA'S POETRY MAKES NO SENSE.
I'm sorry. Gena/Finn let me down in almost every category. I can't find something that I liked about it that didn't get ruined along the way to the point of no return. I really wanted to enjoy this book. I haven't read a lesbian book in a long time, and this one is written in such a cool way (in texts, e-mails, and blog posts), but this book left me with a feeling of confusion and anger.
This book immediately starts off on a bad foot. The author (well, there are two, but I'm just gonna use singular) throws the reader immediately into a post written by Gena about the show that she's obsessed with. A show called Up Below. It seems to be some sort of cop show involving two guys that are really (really) close, but not really in a homosexual relationship. Just enough to make the audience infatuated with their "friendship." There isn't much else that the reader is able to comprehend about this show. That's not good. If you're going to include chapters of fan fiction and have people chatting about events on the show, you might want to explain the actual premise of the TV show. Just sayin'.
Then we have the insta-friendship between Gena and Finn. Here's my main problem with this: they became friends out of their love for Up Below. Which is totally fine. However, they had nothing else in common and I found it hard to believe that Gena would just start telling Finn her deepest, darkest secrets immediately. I mean, the girl said she was open, but it's literally a day after they begin talking and she's like "oh, just so you know my full name is Genevieve, I'm sex buddies with some lacrosse player, and I occasionally have hallucinations." What?!
There was only one point in the book where I enjoyed myself and thought this book was taking a turn for the better! It was when Finn is talking to Gena more than she's talking to her boyfriend of three years, and he's not too happy about it (although he takes it better than most would). Gena and Finn text each other and there was one text that reminded me of that quote from Brokeback Mountain. You know it. When Jack says he wishes he could just quit Ennis. That quote broke my heart a little bit. I thought this book was going to involve something that I rarely see in YA. A heterosexual relationship falling apart due to more feelings leaning toward someone of the same sex. However, that idea in my head fell apart quickly.
'Cause then stuff gets really weird. Something happens (I don't want to spoil), but Gena starts writing more and more poetry, and none of it makes freakin' sense, which my frustrating as all get out. I understand that poetry can be very eccentric, but it has to be able to interpret. Like I can't tell you what half of her poems were reflecting or what their purpose was. Then really weird dynamics start happening between Charlie and Gena and Gena and Finn, and I wanted to rip my hair out because it was like the whole book turned upside down.
Here's what I think the core of the problem is: the book started out all sunshine and rainbows. The reader probably thought they were getting into something like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Which is fine! I don't mind a fluffy/cheesy read. But then the author decided, well this is much too happy!, and made the ending one bad thing after another until the reader had no idea where one problem started and ended. I don't know what the heck the relationship is between Jake/Zack and Gena is, and who the hell is this Alanah girl? That one poem that Gena wrote made her out to seem like a horrible person, but I have no idea what she did because GENA'S POETRY MAKES NO SENSE.
I'm sorry. Gena/Finn let me down in almost every category. I can't find something that I liked about it that didn't get ruined along the way to the point of no return. I really wanted to enjoy this book. I haven't read a lesbian book in a long time, and this one is written in such a cool way (in texts, e-mails, and blog posts), but this book left me with a feeling of confusion and anger.
June 3, 2016
I am a fan. It's not just something I do, it's something about the way I'm wired. It's not like this is the first time this has happened. I've always had a fandom. I've always had characters who live in my head and mess with my heart and tell me stories, and I love it.
I don't know what's the matter with me, but everytime I pick up a contemporary hoping for something light and fluffy, it ends up dealing with some darker themes that I didn't expect. Not that I'm complaining—so far, I've only had amazing reads.
Gena/Finn is about two girls, Genna and Finn (duh) who meet on the internet on some sort of Livejournal-ish website where they discuss their favorite trash TV show. They become fast friends, because they understand each other in a way that no one in their real lives did, and it's all pretty intense.
I honestly didn't think this book would impress me a lot. For starters, there's the format: it's told entirely through blog posts, emails, text messages and the like. It's a very fun way to write a book, and definitely entertaining all on its own, but in my experience, when the story is told entirely through this mixed-media format, either the characters or the plot (or both) ends up being underdeveloped. Luckily, though, in this book both of those aspects are explored very well, and the different format the story was told ended up being just a plus on the creative side, and not something that interfered with it in any negative way.
Both the authors deserve a round of applause, because Gena and Finn were well-rounded and developed characters, and that's something very hard to do in a book told this way! I loved them, and I honestly can't pick a favorite. They were both extremely realistic. The plot also surprised me a lot. I thought I had it figured out before I even started reading—girls meet, girls fall in love, drama ensues, girls are happy together/bitter and separated at the end. And it's kind of like that, yes, but it's also definitely not. I know I'm being a little confusing, but believe me, it's better if you go into this not knowing a single thing about what happens.
The way this book deals with mental illness, especially depression, was SO beautiful. And I loved even the side characters, although I still don't understand what the heck was wrong with Gena's parents for them to act like they did. But apart from that (slightly unrealistic) thing, the rest of them were just as believable as the main girls, especially Charlie, who's probably one of the most adorable males I've ever read about in comtemporary YA.
I literally only docked a star because, throughout the book, we see the drawings Finn makes, and the fanfics and the poetry Gena writes. And while I loved the fanfics and the fanart, I thought Gena's poetry was really bad. I usually don't comment or review poetry when I read it because I think it's very subjective and that I'm not really qualified to analyze it, but hers were just bad, I'm sorry. I wanted to skim most of them but then I couldn't, because they were directly connected to her character development and I'd miss out on a lot by not reading them (I guess that's the downside of this kind of format).
This is a really quick read, I finished it in one sitting in under two hours, and yet it still manages to deliver a deep plot and characters development, and it's really, really good. I definitely recommend it.
Shelved as 'defcon-3'
November 13, 2015*stars in my eyes* Bi girls, possibly? BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 22, 2016
This book is such an accurate portrayal of being a fangirl and meeting friends on the internet.
I really loved the style that this book was written and I loved the characters even more.
It did get a little slow for me at times but it wasn't necessarily boring.
I was kind of surprised by the direction that this book took and the end didn't really fit with the story, in my opinion. And even though I loved Gena and Finn, I was really confused by them and I think that they could have been written better. Or at least given a better ending.
I did think this book was a lot of fun and I really liked it but I think that a few things could have been changed and/or written better.
I really loved the style that this book was written and I loved the characters even more.
It did get a little slow for me at times but it wasn't necessarily boring.
I was kind of surprised by the direction that this book took and the end didn't really fit with the story, in my opinion. And even though I loved Gena and Finn, I was really confused by them and I think that they could have been written better. Or at least given a better ending.
I did think this book was a lot of fun and I really liked it but I think that a few things could have been changed and/or written better.
April 29, 2016
I don't know what to THINK about this book. I read it in a day. Was engrossed the whole time-- like, Harry Potter level engrossed where I couldn't stop thinking about it even if I stopped reading, and got mad at anyone who interrupted me. So it was good. Really really good. Unexpected. Funny. Intense.
... I'm going to need to give this some space before I write a full review though. Man. Idk why it affected me in this way, but. It did.
... I'm going to need to give this some space before I write a full review though. Man. Idk why it affected me in this way, but. It did.
May 19, 2016
Okay, I'm just hiding this entire thing because most of what I want to talk about contains spoilers. The more I think about it the more I feel pretty misled by the marketing and even the title and the summary of this book. Maybe I'm just weird, but generally I don't expect a HOT PINK book to contain themes of death and heavy trauma. I think it upsets me more because the book is about fandom, and clearly understands fandom well. The summary is in the form of a fanfic header. But any reasonable fanfic writer would have tagged this story with warnings for: secondary character death, serious trauma and grief, PTSD, and extensive depictions of mental illness.
The authors clearly love and understand fandom. The first half or so of the book is fantastic and made me feel like I was reading about people I knew. I loved the development of Gena and Finn's relationship. But then things kinda of ... veer off course. First we find out Gena was a child star who acted with one of the main actors of the show they both fangirl for. That's ... weird. And the explanation for how she ended up in the fandom anyway is not that believable to me. I could have rolled with that though. Unrealistic yet awesome coincidences are a fanfic staple, so that would be okay. But then.
We get to the point where Zack is killed and Gena is hospitalized. This is where the story kind of went off the rails for me. First of all, horrible death and trauma just straight up were not what I was expecting from this book and that felt like a bit of a bait and switch. See above, hot pink book, etc. Gena then spends the rest of the book essentially non-functional due to understandable PTSD. And I just don't think that did any favors for the narrative. Like, listen, I am ALL ABOUT realistic depictions of mental illness and trauma, but this particular trauma felt out of place in this story. Just as we get to what I felt was a turning point in Gena and Finn's relationship that relationship is thrown completely out of whack by what happened. I think if the authors were going to deal with this level of trauma, the book should have been like 50% longer. There was not enough time to really go through a trauma and recovery arc that would resolve Gena and Finn's relationship in any meaningful way.
And then there's the title. Look, we all know the slash denotes a romantic and/or sexual relationship. These authors for sure know fandom well enough to know that. The title literally expresses that there will be a romantic relationship between these two characters. But there isn't. Not really. There's a lot of confusion about what their relationship actually is, but it never resolves into anything. And by the end, Finn is happy with her boyfriend again. And their ... 18 year old "child" that she might also be in love with? There were also kind of a hint of heading towards a poly thing, but that wasn't followed up either. I honestly just don't understand what their relationship was supposed to be by the end of the book. Why are Finn and Charlie paying Gena's medical expenses etc? Gena has family who have offered financial support and apparently had enough money from her child acting gig to put herself through expensive boarding school. I don't know. I just found the whole thing baffling. I don't know what I was supposed to think by the end of this book, but I basically felt confused and disappointed.
I guess I just wanted this book to be something else, which is on me (but, see again misleading marketing/descriptions). But I also think the conclusion just wasn't that well developed.
The authors clearly love and understand fandom. The first half or so of the book is fantastic and made me feel like I was reading about people I knew. I loved the development of Gena and Finn's relationship. But then things kinda of ... veer off course. First we find out Gena was a child star who acted with one of the main actors of the show they both fangirl for. That's ... weird. And the explanation for how she ended up in the fandom anyway is not that believable to me. I could have rolled with that though. Unrealistic yet awesome coincidences are a fanfic staple, so that would be okay. But then.
We get to the point where Zack is killed and Gena is hospitalized. This is where the story kind of went off the rails for me. First of all, horrible death and trauma just straight up were not what I was expecting from this book and that felt like a bit of a bait and switch. See above, hot pink book, etc. Gena then spends the rest of the book essentially non-functional due to understandable PTSD. And I just don't think that did any favors for the narrative. Like, listen, I am ALL ABOUT realistic depictions of mental illness and trauma, but this particular trauma felt out of place in this story. Just as we get to what I felt was a turning point in Gena and Finn's relationship that relationship is thrown completely out of whack by what happened. I think if the authors were going to deal with this level of trauma, the book should have been like 50% longer. There was not enough time to really go through a trauma and recovery arc that would resolve Gena and Finn's relationship in any meaningful way.
And then there's the title. Look, we all know the slash denotes a romantic and/or sexual relationship. These authors for sure know fandom well enough to know that. The title literally expresses that there will be a romantic relationship between these two characters. But there isn't. Not really. There's a lot of confusion about what their relationship actually is, but it never resolves into anything. And by the end, Finn is happy with her boyfriend again. And their ... 18 year old "child" that she might also be in love with? There were also kind of a hint of heading towards a poly thing, but that wasn't followed up either. I honestly just don't understand what their relationship was supposed to be by the end of the book. Why are Finn and Charlie paying Gena's medical expenses etc? Gena has family who have offered financial support and apparently had enough money from her child acting gig to put herself through expensive boarding school. I don't know. I just found the whole thing baffling. I don't know what I was supposed to think by the end of this book, but I basically felt confused and disappointed.
I guess I just wanted this book to be something else, which is on me (but, see again misleading marketing/descriptions). But I also think the conclusion just wasn't that well developed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2017
A copy of this novel was provided by Chronicle Books for review via Edelweiss.
Gena/Finn is the story of two girls who meet online via their mutual love for a TV show (called Up Below, which REALLY reminded me of Supernatural because it’s about two guys and their extreme devotion to each other and their willingness to do anything for the other – you see what I mean).
It was absolutely fucking brilliant to read about this, because I have made some of my best friends on the internet, through book blogging and fandom. And to see this portrayed in a book – to see something that is such a huge part of my life and who I am – was beautiful. Seriously. The mentions of fandom and fanfic and fanart (even though I don’t make it, I appreciate it) were like vegan chicken soup for my soul. I didn’t know how much I needed a book that wrote about that part of me until I read Gena/Finn.
Gena and Finn kind of form this extreme bond with each other, and they also kind of fall in love. And this is where a little bit of disappointment on my side came in. Because there’s this massive build-up of their relationship, and I was wondering if they were going to get together. If Finn was going to break up with her boyfriend, Charlie, to be with Gena. Because the way she referenced Gena and wrote about her were really intense. She even says she loves her. And then this ~thing~ happens, and it just … stops. Finn becomes this kind of mother/best friend figure to Gena, and the love that I thought was there between them just kind of … disappears.
I feel like there needed to be more exploration of their sexualities. I mean … were they both bi? Was Finn actually in love with Gena? Was Gena even in love with Finn? I know it would have been hard to REALLY explore this because of the way the story was written, but it was never touched on at all. I wanted there to be more discussion, I wanted there to be more exploration. I felt like the queer aspect of this book was kind of … not there at all, really.
But literally everything else was lovely, which is why I still adore this book, even though the queer aspect let me down. I teared up so many times, and I wanted both of these girls to get their happily ever afters. The way they cared about each other, romantic or not, was incredibly real and beautiful and heartbreaking.
I also really want to read Gena/Finn again, because my e-ARC’s formatting was royally screwed (and missing all the art), and I want to read it the way it was meant to be read.
If you’re looking for a book about fandom, how online friends can mean the world to you, and how one thing can change the course of your entire life … reader, meet Gena/Finn. Gena/Finn, meet reader.
© 2016, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity . All rights reserved.
trigger warning: death by fire/explosion, use of psychotropic medication (prescribed), self harm, and absent parents in this novel
Gena/Finn is the story of two girls who meet online via their mutual love for a TV show (called Up Below, which REALLY reminded me of Supernatural because it’s about two guys and their extreme devotion to each other and their willingness to do anything for the other – you see what I mean).
It was absolutely fucking brilliant to read about this, because I have made some of my best friends on the internet, through book blogging and fandom. And to see this portrayed in a book – to see something that is such a huge part of my life and who I am – was beautiful. Seriously. The mentions of fandom and fanfic and fanart (even though I don’t make it, I appreciate it) were like vegan chicken soup for my soul. I didn’t know how much I needed a book that wrote about that part of me until I read Gena/Finn.
Gena and Finn kind of form this extreme bond with each other, and they also kind of fall in love. And this is where a little bit of disappointment on my side came in. Because there’s this massive build-up of their relationship, and I was wondering if they were going to get together. If Finn was going to break up with her boyfriend, Charlie, to be with Gena. Because the way she referenced Gena and wrote about her were really intense. She even says she loves her. And then this ~thing~ happens, and it just … stops. Finn becomes this kind of mother/best friend figure to Gena, and the love that I thought was there between them just kind of … disappears.
I feel like there needed to be more exploration of their sexualities. I mean … were they both bi? Was Finn actually in love with Gena? Was Gena even in love with Finn? I know it would have been hard to REALLY explore this because of the way the story was written, but it was never touched on at all. I wanted there to be more discussion, I wanted there to be more exploration. I felt like the queer aspect of this book was kind of … not there at all, really.
But literally everything else was lovely, which is why I still adore this book, even though the queer aspect let me down. I teared up so many times, and I wanted both of these girls to get their happily ever afters. The way they cared about each other, romantic or not, was incredibly real and beautiful and heartbreaking.
I also really want to read Gena/Finn again, because my e-ARC’s formatting was royally screwed (and missing all the art), and I want to read it the way it was meant to be read.
If you’re looking for a book about fandom, how online friends can mean the world to you, and how one thing can change the course of your entire life … reader, meet Gena/Finn. Gena/Finn, meet reader.
© 2016, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity . All rights reserved.
trigger warning: death by fire/explosion, use of psychotropic medication (prescribed), self harm, and absent parents in this novel
July 29, 2016
This is my third Moskowitz book this year… and the first I didn’t enjoy. I just… I’m so confused about what to think about this book. I cannot stress enough how conflicted I’m feeling at the moment. I had felt every emotion possible when reading this book - both the good and the bad ones. I think that I will just have to talk about each part of the book separately so you’ll understand why I’m feeling so conflicted and messy about this:
Part One - 5 stars. This first section was perfection. It made me so emotional. It seriously tore my heart out because it was just so relatable! I think the plotline couldn’t have been better. I don’t know about you, but I adore relatable protagonists and Gena and Finn definitely fit that mold for me. I actually enjoy stories 100% more if I can imagine myself as the protagonist and engage in the story on such a personal level - and that’s exactly what happened with this part. At its core, this book is about fandoms and online friendships. If you didn’t know - which you wouldn’t because I don’t really tell people - but I have a Tumblr account that I write fanfics for. I’m involved in fandoms on a daily basis. I have a online friends that mean the world to me. I get these characters’ lives because it’s my life too. It is also just brilliantly written - simultaneously sweet & hilarious - and the set-out is so well done It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be, reading only through email, DMs, texts etc.
Part Two - 3 stars. The story really lost its traction in the second part. I no longer knew which direction the story was trying to take. It started becoming… quirkier? We lost touched with the characters. I think some of their chats were left out of the book? Obviously, not every single one of their online interaction was included in the book, but we were left to fill in the blanks and I know longer felt that I understood the character’s motivations or their relationship because of the things we missed out on. I did like the little twist we found about one of the characters, but it was kind of downhill from there...
Part Three - 0.5 stars. … and then we just lost the plot. What the frack was this meant to be? To put it bluntly, it was bloody awful. The writing made me cringe. I didn’t enjoy this bit in the slightest - there’s seriously not one positive thing I have to say about it. The characters became shells of what they were. We had no connection to them. Their relationships became forced and awkward. I didn’t care about them anymore, and I no longer found their relationship or situation believable. Replacing Gena’s sections with poetry looked pretty, but they were way too abstract. I honestly had no idea what they were on about! The ending sent me into a rage. How dare we get left with a cliffhanger/weird open ending after everything we were forced to endure in this awful part! *Growls* I’m not happy.
... overall? I don’t know. How do I rate this book? I don’t know what to think! I loved the first part so bloody much yet I hated the last part so bloody much. Do I keep it neutral? I don’t know. I’m still not sure how I’ll rate this book or if I even should. I’m so conflicted...
Part One - 5 stars. This first section was perfection. It made me so emotional. It seriously tore my heart out because it was just so relatable! I think the plotline couldn’t have been better. I don’t know about you, but I adore relatable protagonists and Gena and Finn definitely fit that mold for me. I actually enjoy stories 100% more if I can imagine myself as the protagonist and engage in the story on such a personal level - and that’s exactly what happened with this part. At its core, this book is about fandoms and online friendships. If you didn’t know - which you wouldn’t because I don’t really tell people - but I have a Tumblr account that I write fanfics for. I’m involved in fandoms on a daily basis. I have a online friends that mean the world to me. I get these characters’ lives because it’s my life too. It is also just brilliantly written - simultaneously sweet & hilarious - and the set-out is so well done It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be, reading only through email, DMs, texts etc.
Part Two - 3 stars. The story really lost its traction in the second part. I no longer knew which direction the story was trying to take. It started becoming… quirkier? We lost touched with the characters. I think some of their chats were left out of the book? Obviously, not every single one of their online interaction was included in the book, but we were left to fill in the blanks and I know longer felt that I understood the character’s motivations or their relationship because of the things we missed out on. I did like the little twist we found about one of the characters, but it was kind of downhill from there...
Part Three - 0.5 stars. … and then we just lost the plot. What the frack was this meant to be? To put it bluntly, it was bloody awful. The writing made me cringe. I didn’t enjoy this bit in the slightest - there’s seriously not one positive thing I have to say about it. The characters became shells of what they were. We had no connection to them. Their relationships became forced and awkward. I didn’t care about them anymore, and I no longer found their relationship or situation believable. Replacing Gena’s sections with poetry looked pretty, but they were way too abstract. I honestly had no idea what they were on about! The ending sent me into a rage. How dare we get left with a cliffhanger/weird open ending after everything we were forced to endure in this awful part! *Growls* I’m not happy.
... overall? I don’t know. How do I rate this book? I don’t know what to think! I loved the first part so bloody much yet I hated the last part so bloody much. Do I keep it neutral? I don’t know. I’m still not sure how I’ll rate this book or if I even should. I’m so conflicted...
July 19, 2016
Ok, I feel like I should maybe actually give this book a lower rating, but I can't take off my fangirl goggles and put objective criticism goggles on (if those are even a thing that exist). I would say, even though this is sort of spoilers territory: don't get your hopes up too much about the romance. I know, I know, you see it's tagged glbt, you see the title is Gena/Finn AND you see Finn is short for Stephanie and you're a fangirl and you know what that slash means, but...don't expect the happy ending you're thinking of. I can't believe I'm saying this, but: read the book anyway. If you liked Fangirl, if you liked The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy, if you liked Secret Loves of Geek Girls, you will like this. It's not perfect (epistolary novels, even modern mixed-media ones, always suffer from some awkwardness when the characters actually meet in real life, and the switch to journaling and poetry was mostly well-done and emotional but still felt a little stilted), and I'll admit I wanted the romance to go a slightly different way. But there is so much there that felt true, about fandom and mental illness and friendship and starting college/starting the real world, that I think it's definitely more good than bad. (Also I cried a lot. I know, surprise surprise).
I got an ARC from Netgalley and/but will 100% be picking up the real thing when it comes out. Mostly because the photographs of characters and the fanart was still all marked TK when I got my e-copy and I NEED to see them.
Edited to add: don't worry guys I got your back, I used my "in" with the publisher (lol that's a joke idk if they even read these things) to send this note in the "Add a note to the publisher" section on Netgalley: "My only note is...I'm not sure about listing this in stuff as LGBTQIA. I mean, it's hard to say, because I'm a fangirl AND a lesbian so I probably would have read it either way. I see why you might think you'd get to a bigger audience this way. Which might be true! But it does seem a tiny bit unfair to the LGBT YA audience to advertise this as such when it really isn't, and I can see people getting upset if they feel like there was false advertising. There are still plenty of fangirls who will read this even if it's not listed in lists of queer books, so you don't have to worry about that! This will definitely pull in the Rainbow Rowell, Sam Maggs, etc. crowd."
I got an ARC from Netgalley and/but will 100% be picking up the real thing when it comes out. Mostly because the photographs of characters and the fanart was still all marked TK when I got my e-copy and I NEED to see them.
Edited to add: don't worry guys I got your back, I used my "in" with the publisher (lol that's a joke idk if they even read these things) to send this note in the "Add a note to the publisher" section on Netgalley: "My only note is...I'm not sure about listing this in stuff as LGBTQIA. I mean, it's hard to say, because I'm a fangirl AND a lesbian so I probably would have read it either way. I see why you might think you'd get to a bigger audience this way. Which might be true! But it does seem a tiny bit unfair to the LGBT YA audience to advertise this as such when it really isn't, and I can see people getting upset if they feel like there was false advertising. There are still plenty of fangirls who will read this even if it's not listed in lists of queer books, so you don't have to worry about that! This will definitely pull in the Rainbow Rowell, Sam Maggs, etc. crowd."
May 3, 2016
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
3.5*
My fangirl heart could not get enough of this book. I was so invested, because I could relate to so many of the things that Gena and Finn talked about and went through. Fandoms, balancing real life with an internet-based hobby that takes up tons of time, befriending other fabulous people who love the same stuff you do- it was not only fun to read about, it was a scarily accurate portrayal! I feel like it's some combination of my actual blogging life mixed with all the Tumblr blogs for The 100. And those are my favorite things!
So I liked Gena and Finn as characters quite a bit. The whole story was told via emails, texts, blog posts, even journal entries, and I loved it. Sometimes it is hard for me to connect to characters in this type of book, but not so in this case. I felt a definite connection to them both, but especially Finn. I found that I related to her on a lot of levels, and both characters really felt authentic. I also enjoyed the dynamics of Gena and Finn's relationship, both online and then when they meet in person. The story flowed well, and since I definitely enjoyed the whole online friends/convention aspect of it, I was hooked on the plot.
So, what went wrong? The ending. Yeah, the thing I cannot talk about. Well, I can a little I guess, right? So I just felt like it didn't fit with the story, nor was it realistic. I felt like it basically negated the point of the book, and frankly I felt let down by it for a lot of reasons.
Bottom Line: If I was reviewing the first ninety percent of this book, it would be 5 stars for awesome characters and a plot that any fanperson would appreciate. But I can't ignore the last ten percent, and the disappointment it left me with.
**Copy provided for review
3.5*
My fangirl heart could not get enough of this book. I was so invested, because I could relate to so many of the things that Gena and Finn talked about and went through. Fandoms, balancing real life with an internet-based hobby that takes up tons of time, befriending other fabulous people who love the same stuff you do- it was not only fun to read about, it was a scarily accurate portrayal! I feel like it's some combination of my actual blogging life mixed with all the Tumblr blogs for The 100. And those are my favorite things!
So I liked Gena and Finn as characters quite a bit. The whole story was told via emails, texts, blog posts, even journal entries, and I loved it. Sometimes it is hard for me to connect to characters in this type of book, but not so in this case. I felt a definite connection to them both, but especially Finn. I found that I related to her on a lot of levels, and both characters really felt authentic. I also enjoyed the dynamics of Gena and Finn's relationship, both online and then when they meet in person. The story flowed well, and since I definitely enjoyed the whole online friends/convention aspect of it, I was hooked on the plot.
So, what went wrong? The ending. Yeah, the thing I cannot talk about. Well, I can a little I guess, right? So I just felt like it didn't fit with the story, nor was it realistic. I felt like it basically negated the point of the book, and frankly I felt let down by it for a lot of reasons.
Bottom Line: If I was reviewing the first ninety percent of this book, it would be 5 stars for awesome characters and a plot that any fanperson would appreciate. But I can't ignore the last ten percent, and the disappointment it left me with.
**Copy provided for review
February 6, 2018
MINIRECENZIA NA BLOGU
Hromada potenciálu, ktorý úplne zabila posledná tretina. 60% sa kniha tvári ako nádherne všedný príbeh zo života: Genu zvalcuje šok pri príchode na výšku, Finn dospelosť po nej, platenie účtov a (z jej strany) nuda v dlhodobom vzťahu. Prešla som si recenzie a ľudia samozrejme frflú na celkom nesprávne veci - že je tam fanfiction na fiktívny seriál, ktorý autorka nikdy poriadne nevysvetlí a musia si veci domýšľať (gasps of horror!), a že jedna z hrdiniek je bisexuálka a
Každopádne - ak by príbeh skončil niekde na tých 60%, bola by som nadšená z krásneho realistického príbehu. Aaale nie, niekde vtedy príde dramatický Zvrat s veľkým Z, dokonca sa zmení štýl, všetky predchádzajúce problémy sa zametú pod koberec a... neviem. Kapitola, v ktorej si Finn číta hromadu nudných mailov, ktoré sú jedna zamietavá odpoveď na žiadosť o zamestnanie za druhou, ma dostala oveľa viac ako dráma v celej poslednej tretine. 6/10
Hromada potenciálu, ktorý úplne zabila posledná tretina. 60% sa kniha tvári ako nádherne všedný príbeh zo života: Genu zvalcuje šok pri príchode na výšku, Finn dospelosť po nej, platenie účtov a (z jej strany) nuda v dlhodobom vzťahu. Prešla som si recenzie a ľudia samozrejme frflú na celkom nesprávne veci - že je tam fanfiction na fiktívny seriál, ktorý autorka nikdy poriadne nevysvetlí a musia si veci domýšľať (gasps of horror!), a že jedna z hrdiniek je bisexuálka a
Každopádne - ak by príbeh skončil niekde na tých 60%, bola by som nadšená z krásneho realistického príbehu. Aaale nie, niekde vtedy príde dramatický Zvrat s veľkým Z, dokonca sa zmení štýl, všetky predchádzajúce problémy sa zametú pod koberec a... neviem. Kapitola, v ktorej si Finn číta hromadu nudných mailov, ktoré sú jedna zamietavá odpoveď na žiadosť o zamestnanie za druhou, ma dostala oveľa viac ako dráma v celej poslednej tretine. 6/10
May 29, 2016
I’m just not sure what to make of this book. I have really mixed feelings. It was a quick read, so that was good.
I was so invested in this book. For the first half or so. Then there’s a major event, and I felt the transition from the first half to the second was really awkward and not well done in my opinion. I wanted to stay invested because I really liked these nerdy, adorable, smart characters in the beginning. The book went from being really cute to being REALLY serious and dark practically out of nowhere. I think the dark stuff was important too, but the transition was so hard and quick that it could’ve given you whiplash.
I also think that the book was marketed as something that it definitely wasn’t. In my opinion, they made it seem like it would be this epic, adorable LGBTQIAP+ book and while it does hint at that a little bit, the overall story is very heteronormative, especially in the end. SPOILER: The authors had a real opportunity here with how they set up these characters to work with their sexuality, but nothing happens with it. It ended up just being really confusing and weird.
You guys know how much I love books that are made of alternative storytelling methods, and this one has it all – blog posts, texts, emails, fan fiction, and there’s not a single page that has a normal page of text. I loved that format. I also loved the fandom stuff and the fact that they become friends online and then friends IRL.
The bottom line: A cute, fluffy read in the beginning all about fandom and online friends that turns into a dark, serious read very quickly. I liked it overall, but there were some disappointing factors.
I was so invested in this book. For the first half or so. Then there’s a major event, and I felt the transition from the first half to the second was really awkward and not well done in my opinion. I wanted to stay invested because I really liked these nerdy, adorable, smart characters in the beginning. The book went from being really cute to being REALLY serious and dark practically out of nowhere. I think the dark stuff was important too, but the transition was so hard and quick that it could’ve given you whiplash.
I also think that the book was marketed as something that it definitely wasn’t. In my opinion, they made it seem like it would be this epic, adorable LGBTQIAP+ book and while it does hint at that a little bit, the overall story is very heteronormative, especially in the end. SPOILER: The authors had a real opportunity here with how they set up these characters to work with their sexuality, but nothing happens with it. It ended up just being really confusing and weird.
You guys know how much I love books that are made of alternative storytelling methods, and this one has it all – blog posts, texts, emails, fan fiction, and there’s not a single page that has a normal page of text. I loved that format. I also loved the fandom stuff and the fact that they become friends online and then friends IRL.
The bottom line: A cute, fluffy read in the beginning all about fandom and online friends that turns into a dark, serious read very quickly. I liked it overall, but there were some disappointing factors.
December 12, 2016
DNF
I just couldn't get into the story.
Maybe it's because of an earc and the format where it looked really messy, but I couldn't make myself to read it.
I just couldn't get into the story.
Maybe it's because of an earc and the format where it looked really messy, but I couldn't make myself to read it.
August 22, 2017
This book is in equal turns beautiful and heartbreaking. It took me a little while to get what the fandom Gena and Finn love was about, but once I got that under wraps, it was impossible to put down. I could be wrong, but I think the Jake and Tyler relationship was very loosely based on Supernatural (not that anything that happens on Up Below is the same as Supernatural...in my experience anyway, but the idea of two main male characters, who have a huge fandom that is biased toward one character more than another? Yeah, that is parallel at least.)
Best thing about this book is the idea that online friendships can be and are real.... Gena doesn't have anyone except for Finn, so when things get kinda crazy, I love that these two female characters were there for each other, even when it means sacrificing, possibly things in their "real" life.
Whether you're part of one or multiple fandoms, whether you write, read, or stay clear of fanfic, you have to give this one a try. Seriously.
And, like my previous fave book by Hannah Moskowitz, (and maybe still my fave) Gone, Gone, Gone, there is a big emotional aspect to this story. If that kind of thing works for you, then you don't want to miss this unique book.
Best thing about this book is the idea that online friendships can be and are real.... Gena doesn't have anyone except for Finn, so when things get kinda crazy, I love that these two female characters were there for each other, even when it means sacrificing, possibly things in their "real" life.
Whether you're part of one or multiple fandoms, whether you write, read, or stay clear of fanfic, you have to give this one a try. Seriously.
And, like my previous fave book by Hannah Moskowitz, (and maybe still my fave) Gone, Gone, Gone, there is a big emotional aspect to this story. If that kind of thing works for you, then you don't want to miss this unique book.
August 19, 2021
4.5/5 - this was so much better than I expected! I picked this book up because I wanted something really quick to read and since this book is told in emails, texts, letters, etc., it seemed like the perfect book to read. I was expecting just a cute little story, nothing special. But this book completely surprised me. This book was sort of light and fun at the beginning and then about half way through, everything changed. It was sad and heartbreaking and beautiful. I loved the characters, even the one that I originally did not like but who really changed by the end. My only little tiny problem was the ending because it left me wanting to know more about what would happen with the characters now. Overall, that was such a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read and an amazing story. :-)
Read
April 14, 2016It’s not often that I feel representations of fandom in YA are realistic and honest, but Gena/Finn was almost too real at times. Each awkward conversation and emotional email were reminders of my own early days in fandom, and though my story diverges from Gena and Finn’s in a few ways, the intersections are powerful. Moskowitz and Helgeson stay true to their fandom experiences and in doing so, provide an excellent mirror to what teens and young adults are encountering on the screen and in real life. If nothing else, Gena/Finn made me appreciate the way my fandom friendships burgeoned into the strongest support system I’ve ever known.
— Angel Cruz
from The Best Books We Read In March: http://bookriot.com/2016/04/04/riot-r...
— Angel Cruz
from The Best Books We Read In March: http://bookriot.com/2016/04/04/riot-r...
September 21, 2016
Mary just witnessed me angrily flinging down this book upon finishing it. Five stars for the first 100 pages and zero stars for everything after that. What.. was that... and how did the last two thirds of it just go so completely off the rails? should someone have stopped this from happening? also I'm hesitant to describe this as "rampant queerbaiting" but also.. rampant queerbaiting? Why couldn't they have just been two queer fangirls in love? What was with the weird ménage a trois at the end? Who was Steven and what.. why? Why was there so much terrible self-important angsty poetry? Why does everyone just get married? Why was Evie so annoying? WHY DID THE LAST PARTS OF THIS BOOK BETRAY THE BEAUTIFUL PREMISE OF THE FIRST PART? I HAVE MANY QUESTIONS
November 19, 2017
I liked the format of the book and the friendship. I can kind of relate to the fandom stuff, but what really stood out was how confusing becoming best friends can be.
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