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Humor (Fiction.) Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. CLAIRE is a sixteen-year-old fangirl obsessed with the show Demon Heart. FOREST is an actor on Demon Heart who dreams of bigger roles. When the two meet at a local Comic-Con panel, it's a dream come true for Claire. Until the Q&A, that is, when Forest laughs off Claire's assertion that his character is gay. Claire is devastated. After all, every last word of her super-popular fanfic revolves around the romance between Forest's character and his male frenemy. She can't believe her hero turned out to be a closed-minded jerk. Forest is mostly confused that anyone would think his character is gay. Because he's not. Definitely not. Unfortunately for Demon Heart, when the video of the disastrous Q&A goes viral, the producers have a PR nightmare on their hands. In order to help bolster their image within the LGBTQ+ community�??as well as with their fans�??they hire Claire to join the cast for the rest of their publicity tour. What ensues is a series of colorful Comic-Con clashes between the fans and the show that lead Forest to question his assumptions about sexuality and help Claire come out of her shell. But how far will Claire go to make her ship canon? To what lengths will Forest go to stop her and protect his career? And will Claire ever get the guts to make a move on Tess, the very cute, extremely cool fanartist she keeps running into? Ship It is a funny, tender, and honest look at all the feels that come with being… (more)
User reviews
Claire is a junior in high school, so she makes some dumb, dick moves, but she’s also the best of young activism—passionate, articulate, and willing to learn from her fuckups. Forest is only eight years older, and he’s got a different interior life but also some of the same questions about who he is and how people see him, and whether he can exercise any control over either. His journey learning about who his fans really are (girls; more importantly, people) and what he really wants from his acting might actually be more affecting to me because his insecurities are tangled up, professional and personal, in a more adult way. Both Claire and Forest screw up because they haven’t thought enough about others’ own interests and plans, and they’re both understandable and ultimately likeable people, as is almost everyone else in the story (the showrunner plays the real villain, with a director in a secondary villain role). The actors’ perspectives on people writing porn about them/the characters they play, and the industry pressures that fans don’t often think about, get clear airing, though the book comes down firmly on the “the story belongs to anyone who cares about it” side of things.
I will say: As an enthusiastic fangirl, Claire is not how I want to be represented.
Ultimately, the measure of a great book, for me, is that I want to reread it over and over again. This is not a book I will reread.
I enjoyed this book a good deal, and was especially happy to find that I was equally interested in both point of view characters--the second pov is that of one of the actors on the show--especially as in books that switch povs that is often not the case. I liked the depiction of fandom, and there were passages where I felt super "seen," as we say now. The book wasn't without its flaws however, chief among them being some questionable behavior on Claire's part toward her love interest. I also wish the book had examined a little more thoroughly the questions it raised about fandom and what a show does or does not "owe" its fans. The story raises great questions, but it didn't always follow through as well as I would have liked. And ultimately I'm not sure I'm really on board with a lot of the conclusions it kind of sort of makes.
I loved that this was about fanfiction, about conventions and a girl coming to understand her sexuality. I also love Lundin, a fanfiction writer herself, writing an ode to slash fiction and it's place in the community. It features positive involved parents, which seem to be lacking in YA. These
The characters were all bullies or bullied into understanding, which I wasn't okay with. They also remained quite one note. The plot was kind hollow at best.
The message seemed to be the star of the book, marketed as such, and the thing is I have a BIG issue with the message. Yes, this is a book with a message. One which the author in an interview had said she hoped would bridge a gap of understanding, but with this message...I don't think that's accomplished in the most positive way.
Forced diversity isn't diversity. Sexuality shouldn't be reduced to fixation and fetishization, and there is a point where being the wrong kind of SJW can pull back movements instead of coax them further. I really am not okay with this being a book held up as any kind of example.
I did not. I wanted to, but just no.
No matter what reality screams from then on, Claire persists in trying to get the actors and producer to open the door to something romantic between the main characters. Meanwhile, she meets Tess at the Boise con and despite her fear of exploring her own sexuality, feels an attraction that grows and wanes, then grows again through the other two cons. Claire's reality and behavior are messy and borderline irritating at points in the story, but by the end, you can't help but want to pat her on the back for her determination.