Don't Cosplay with My Heart

by Cecil Castellucci

Overview

When Edan Kupferman dresses up like her favorite character, Gargantua, she feels tall and powerful. That's important right now, because her family is a mess, her best friend is gone for the summer, her crush is confusing, and Edan's feeling small and not sure which end is up.

When Edan's cosplaying, she can be angry, loud, and not the good girl everyone thinks she is. And when she's at conventions, she feels like she's found her own Team Tomorrow. But when her personal life starts to spiral out of control, Edan has to figure out whether she needs a sidekick, or if she has the strength to be the hero of her own story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338125498
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/02/2018
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Cecil Castellucci grew up in New York City and is the author of such young adult novels as Rose Sees Red, Boy Proof, and The Year of the Beast, as well as the comic books The Plain Janes, Janes in Love, and Shade: The Changing Girl. Currently, Cecil Castellucci lives in Los Angeles. You can learn more about her at misscecil.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/20/2017
In this introspective drama, a young woman seeks refuge from her dysfunctional life by cosplaying as her favorite comic book character. As hero and occasional villain Gargantua, Edan Kupferman feels confident enough to handle anything, including her father’s legal troubles. But as she immerses herself in costuming and conventions, she has to put up with toxic fandom and accusations of being a fake geek girl. Edan’s boyfriend turns out to be a jerk, but her new friend Kirk seems to really get her—and she’ll need all the help she can get as her father seems poised to go to jail. Castellucci (Stone in the Sky) infuses this story with a deep and abiding love of comics culture, while simultaneously addressing real sexism within the community. Interspersed passages detail the history of Gargantua’s series, Team Tomorrow (Castellucci takes some minor liberties, giving her team an African-American hero years before Marvel’s Black Panther showed up, for example), and the underlying themes of confidence, self-reliance, and feminism come through with a strength worthy of Gargantua herself. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Edan Kupferman’s family is falling apart. Her father will be indicted for misappropriating company money; her mother is disintegrating before her eyes; best friend Kasumi is away for the summer; and she is ambivalent about her new, first boyfriend, Yuri. The only time she feels good is when she cosplays, particularly as her favorite comic character Gargantua. In high school, she forms a student club for cosplaying with others who share this interest, including Kirk, who had helped her get into her first cosplay convention over the summer. She and Kirk have much in common, and, more importantly, she is comfortable with him. On the other hand, Yuri sometimes treats her with disdain and allows his friends to treat her badly. After some chapters, the reader is given brief histories about Team Tomorrow, the story of the comic and its characters Gargantua and Green Guarder, Kirk’s favorite. These mini chapters provide background information about its creation, characters, and fan popularity. Many issues are introduced here: coping with a beloved but possibly criminal parent, bullying, the loss of a best friend, illness in the family, and change in economic status. Edan is a geek and proud of it. When she dresses as Gargantua or any comic character, she feels empowered, and it is this—along with supportive family and, finally, the right boyfriend—that helps her get through life’s problems. This will appeal to cosplayers, geeks, and anyone who likes a good, finding-yourself relationship story. Reviewer: Jane Van Wiemokly; Ages 12 to 18.

VOYA, December 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 5) - Jane Van Wiemokly

10/01/2017
Gr 7 Up—Edan Kupferman, self-described nerd is thrilled that her favorite comic book, Team Tomorrow, is about to be turned into a movie. Unfortunately, her dad is dealing with a not-so-small legal problem and putting everyone on edge. Edan makes the best of the situation by donning a mask and learning how to cosplay, even starting a club at school with her lesbian best friend Kasumi. As she navigates the world of geekdom, she encounters male figures who put her down as fake or not nerdy enough. Castelluci writes that, "everyone is a nerd about something," because everyone has something they're passionate about. Edan looks to her favorite character Gargantua for empowerment, imagining herself, like her hero, growing in size in times of conflict. She hides behind her mask and struggles with her feelings, not just about her father but about two guys she is torn between. This contemporary coming-of-age novel appropriate for younger YA readers is filled with all things nerd: cosplay, comics, and conventions. Short chapters interspersed with information on Team Tomorrow make this a quick pick and good choice for reluctant readers. Characters are fully formed with unique identities and Edan undergoes tremendous growth. The plot is at times heavy-handed with obvious foreshadowing leading to an unsurprising but satisfying conclusion. For those who enjoyed Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde or Geekerella by Ashley Poston. VERDICT An entertaining selection filled with vivid characters; for general purchase where geek is chic.—Rebecca Greer, Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative, FL

School Library Journal

2017-09-18
A teen copes with home-life troubles by cosplaying her favorite comic-book character.Edan Kupferman's father is being sequestered during an inquiry into shifty accounting at his workplace. Needing an escape from reality, she heads to the Angeles Comic Con for a panel with the cast from the upcoming film of her favorite comic, Team Tomorrow. (Between chapters, history and analysis of the fictional comic book are given, including parallels to Edan's life.) At the con, she connects with her crush, Yuri, whose friends constantly quiz her to check her nerd-cred. In fact, Edan struggles throughout against geek sexism, objecting to the "fake geek girl" label and telling a male jerk that "cosplay is not content." A costume contest to be an extra in the movie's sequel prompts Edan to start a cosplay club at school. One member is Spanish-speaking Kirk Gomez, who is Han Solo-handsome and ethical enough for one of Yuri's goon friends to accuse him of being a "social justice warrior." Edan tries to ignore both Yuri's complacency in the sexism she faces and her growing connection with Kirk in a frustrating love triangle. A final plot twist that coincides with the revelation of her father's troubles is engrossing, but its resolution's glossed over in favor of the inevitable romantic conclusion. Edan and Yuri seem to be white, though people of color populate the diverse secondary cast.This authentically geeky and feminist romance nails the con scene. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews