Title: The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love
Author: Sarvenaz Tash
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Genres: Contemporary, Comedy, Romance
Pages: 252
Review copy: Purchased
Availability: On shelves now
Summary: John Hughes meets Comic Con in this hilarious, unabashedly romantic coming-of-age story about a teenager trying to get his best friend to fall in love with him.
Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy…
Archie and Veronica…
Althena and Noth…
. . . Graham and Roxy?
Graham met his best friend, Roxana, when he moved into her neighborhood eight years ago, and she asked him which Hogwarts house he’d be sorted into. Graham has been in love with her ever since.
But now they’re sixteen, still neighbors, still best friends. And Graham and Roxy share more than ever—moving on from their Harry Potter obsession to a serious love of comic books.
When Graham learns that the creator of their favorite comic, The Althena Chronicles, is making a rare appearance at this year’s New York Comic Con, he knows he must score tickets. And the event inspires Graham to come up with the perfect plan to tell Roxy how he really feels about her. He’s got three days to woo his best friend at the coolest, kookiest con full of superheroes and supervillains. But no one at a comic book convention is who they appear to be . . . even Roxy. And Graham is starting to realize fictional love stories are way less complicated than real-life ones.
Review: I truly appreciated the laughs and smiles Sarvenaz Tash provided me through this book. I’ve never been to a Comic Con, but have been to multiple Anime conventions with my youngest child. Panels, costume contests, Artist Alley, standing in lines and many other things reminded me of our experiences although we never ventured into speed dating. Clearly, other readers would appreciate the Comic Con setting more than this 40 something mom, but even if I missed some of the references, the book was a ton of fun. Graham and his friends are seriously geeky and they revel in it. This book is a complete celebration of geekiness.
The author did a great job with the setting. The characters are moving through a vivid place. I had to laugh when Graham walks toward a hot dog stand and “almost get my eyes gouged out by a selfie stick being flailed around by a guy running after an almost-seven-foot-tall Darth Vader, shouting ‘Lord Vader!'” There are many interactions with unique individuals and most of the interchanges are amusing. One in particular was hilarious and involves lines from The Princess Bride. No spoilers here, but rest assured, there are plenty of humorous references to comics, Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings, Dr. Who, Zelda, Sherlock and the like.
With such an environment, Graham’s plan seems foolproof. Their friendship began with shared readings of Harry Potter and graduated to creating comics together. The NY Comic Con is packed with so many of their shared obsessions and memories. What could possibly go wrong? Of course, many funny and not so funny things happen to throw off Graham’s plans and deal him some crushing blows. Through it all, Graham has supportive friends both new and old. This set of geeky friends are diverse and distinctly themselves. They’re charming more often than not and make this a wonderful book for a light summer read.
Recommendation: Buy it now if you’re even the slightest bit geeky and want a fun book for summer relaxation.
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