Ship It

March 5, 2018
Claire Strupke, a high school junior from Pine Bluff, Idaho, spends her time writing fanfiction reimagining the relationship of the male leads of her favorite television show, Demon Heart. Claire “ships” Smokey (played by an actor named Forest) and Heart. Already famous within the fan community, Claire’s platform increases when she and Forest get into an argument at the Boise Comic-Con over whether or not the Smokey-Heart ship is part of the canon (i.e., the official version) of the show. Concerned over a possible backlash from the LGBTQ community, and recognizing the power that Claire has among fans, the show’s PR executives create a contest for Claire to win; her prize is to join the cast for the rest of their tour. While Claire hopes to show the cast what she sees in the program and change the canon, she ultimately learns about the people behind her favorite characters. Through the alternating perspectives of Claire and Forest, debut novelist Lundin, a television writer, gives readers a peek into what it’s like to be a fan and to have fans, while underlining what the two characters have in common. Though at times a bit inside-baseball, the story explores fandom while weaving in themes of first love, sexual identity, and acceptance. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jim Ehrich, Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston.  

May 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Claire, a teen fan fiction author, is beyond thrilled when the stars of her favorite TV show, Demon Heart, come to nearby Boise, ID, for a convention. But when she asks Forrest, the show's star, about the possibility that his character is gay, he calls her "crazy," and she leaves the room in tears. In an effort to repair this publicity nightmare, the show sends Claire on the rest of the convention tour, where she goes to increasingly desperate lengths to make her "ship" a reality. The book alternates between Forrest and Claire's perspectives, as Forrest confronts some internalized homophobia and Claire begins to explore her own queer identity through a romance with Tess, a fellow superfan. While the details of the plot are fairly implausible, this novel raises complicated issues, from the ethics of "real people" fan fiction to questions of privilege and personal responsibility within social justice movements. The novel's specific critiques of the Hollywood machine and the lack of diverse representation in popular franchises are especially relevant. This debut never seems to decide whether it is cynical or optimistic about fans and their influence on popular culture. However, the book's ending undermines some of its more complex ethical ambiguities in favor of a feel-good conclusion for Claire and Forrest that doesn't ring quite true. VERDICT A timely story about fans and fandom, recommended for teens who love Rainbow Rowell, Nina Lacour, Bill Konigsberg, and Becky Albertalli.-Molly Saunders, Homewood Public Library, AL

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2018
Fandom and creators collide when high schooler Claire attempts to make a popular ship from her favorite TV show a reality. When superfan Claire asks a panel of the creators behind Demon Heart (a stand-in for Supernatural and other shows notorious for queerbaiting) if the male protagonists, Heart and Smokey, will end up together, she is humiliatingly shut down. Desperate to boost their ratings, the showrunners save face by inviting Claire along on the rest of their convention tour. What follows is a battle of wills as Claire plots to convince the show's writer to canonize the "SmokeHeart" ship he's been teasing viewers with, while Forest, one of its stars, undermines her efforts to avoid a reputation that might hurt his career. Along the way, Claire gets close with fellow fan Tess--a black, homoromantic pansexual girl--and begins to question her own sexuality. First-person perspectives switch between Claire and Forest (who is a bit too ideal to be a believable 23-year-old actor) and are interspersed with Claire's Demon Heart fanfiction. Both characters follow a white default. In her debut, Lundin--herself a television staff writer--effortlessly speaks the language of conventions, fandom, and social media. If some plot points are implausibly convenient, it's forgivable for the sake of escapist fun. Skillfully interwoven are explorations of media representation and the line between fan and creator.Despite some shortcomings, this ship does more than just sail--it soars. (Fiction. 14-18)

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April 15, 2018
Grades 8-11 No one knows Claire in real life, but online she's a pretty big deal. Demon Heart may be a new show, but Claire is a popular fanfic writer for it. She ships Smokey and Heart, the enemy male leads who have undeniable, if unacknowledged, chemistry. At a Comic-Con Demon Heart panel, Claire goes for broke and asks Forest and Rico, the actors who play Smokey and Heart, about SmokeHeart. But this show is Forest's big break, and he responds less than gracefully. The show's publicity team deals with the PR disaster by hiring Claire, hoping her online presence will help influence the LGBT fans who now feel alienated. Forest starts to question some of the assumptions he's made, and more surprisingly, so does Claire. She's always thought of herself as straight, but there's a girl on the tour she can't stop noticing. In Forest's and Claire's alternating perspectives, this debut charmingly explores fan culture, internalized prejudices, and the importance of representation. Fandom stories are increasingly popular, and this one has wide appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)