All The Feels Review
I once said that I never related to a book as much as I do Fangirl and the character of Cath. Those days may be over though as I have found a new book and character that I related to in more ways than one. That is Danika Stone's book, All The Feels.
All The Feels follows the story of Liv Walden, a fangirl whom adores the Starveil movie franchise. After her favorite character is killed off and she finds out that there will be no more Starveil movie's, Liv flees to the internet and the Starveil fandom to campaign to bring her favorite character back to life. With the help of her friend, Xander, she is able to help start a #SaveSpartan campaign to save her beloved character.
As I said in my introduction, I have almost never related to a book more than I do this one. It seemed that every few pages I was putting the book down because I could not believe how relatable it was to the way I feel about fandom and my involvement in them. I knew how Liv felt when a fan favorite dies, I understood how she acts online is different than how she acts in real life, talking to her fandom friends, and more. I could relate even to how Liv felt in regards to relations with her mother and the highs and lows of going to cons. I just related to her so much, which made this just one of the many reasons I loved this book.
Something else that I enjoyed about this book was that it showed the good and the bad of being in a fandom and going to conventions. The book reminded readers that not everyone can be as friendly as you think and that sometimes celebrities you love can end up being not as great as their characters. It showed fangirls and fanboys whom were outgoing and social and fangirls and fanboys whom were shy and anxious. Neither was shown as being in a negative light either, which I appreciated very much. While the Dragon Con in the book had a lot more events and things to do than the cons I was used, I really loved both the realism and creativity that Stone used to bring the convention to life. I was able to relate some of what Liv goes through at the convention to my own fandom and con going life, which is always exciting. Though it did make me yearn and wish I could be at Heroes and Villains Fan Fest this weekend (oh well, at least I have Book Con in June).
Besides Liv's "Fandom Life," her life outside the fandom was interesting to see and in a way comparable with my own and I am sure many other fangirls. Liv's mom does not understand her her love of being in a fandom and Liv does spend time throughout the book going back and forth between trying to give up fandom to focus on her grades at her mother's request and actively being a part of the fandom. One of the few criticism I have for this book however, is the fact that between when Liv decides to go to the con and when she actually goes to the con there seems to be a large time jump. Between the last face to face conversation we see with her mother and when she tell hers mom about an exciting opportunity she gets because of the convention, we seemed to miss a few key moments. I felt like her mom went from being mad to being happy about her fandom involvement and we didn't get to see much development in between. There was possibly some in the last scene they physically have together, but that was really it. I was hoping for more scenes of development between Liv and her mother.
The only other thing that bothered me in the book is not technically a complaint, but more attributed to Stone's writing. I loved the characters so much, especially Liv and Xander. I really enjoyed the bi representation in the book. The character of Xander is bisexual and I thought it was great that she stated he was Bi and did not gloss over the fact, but also not make it the only thing about Xander. Xander was a character that was fun, well written, and also happens to be bisexual. That is great LGBT+ rep in my opinion. Anyway, when I got to the epilogue I almost wanted to cry because I wanted more honestly. I needed more of Liv, Xander, Liv's con friends, to see Liv working at her internship, where it leads, etc. I wanted to see more and was so sad when it ended. I would have loved the epilogue to maybe be longer or give us a few more details pre and/or post internship. Even if I did not get all the content I wanted though, I was happy with the story that I read.
This story is one that every fangirl and fanboy will love. It has relatable characters, familiar situations for active fandom members, great heart, bisexual representation, and more. Even if you are just interested in the fandom life I recommend picking it up. As I said above, my only concerns would be that I wish it was longer and had more details of Liv's relationship with her mom.
