Name: Down With This Ship
Rating: 3 (3 reviews)
ISBN: 9781635830682

Katie Kingman

In this funny, flirty, and geeky rom com, teenage fanfic writer Kole must come to terms with internet fame, her insecurities, and a crush she never saw coming.

Down With This Ship

Aldara Kamey

This book was read thanks to NetGalley. This is a cute YA story, it has all the details young love, problems that for the protagonist feel like the biggest issue of the world. I love this kind of stories when the protagonist are so human and feel so sensitive about her issues. Kole has anxiety and she has to deal with it. There is a sort of a love triangle but at the same time it isn't because she has chemistry with them, so is nice to see. Give this book a chance you won't regret it.

Candyce Kirk

My inner fangirl really enjoyed Down with This Ship. I mean I loved looking up fanfiction for some of my favorite shows a few years ago (before I got really back into reading again). It's fun reading what other people think up for the characters you've come to love. And sometimes take twists you would've liked more than what actually happen.

Kole is one of these characters that took her favorite TV show into her own hands and created the ships she wanted to see. Her blog has become incredibly popular and it brings in the bad with the good. No one knows at first that she's behind this popular blog/story. When Kole wins an important competition her story becomes even more popular. 

Her story Spacer becoming so popular doesn't work out well for Kole when fellow students in her creative writing class figure out that she writes the story. They use it against her and make her do things for them she doesn't want to do. This situation was hard to read and there is not other word to use for them except bullies. It was heartbreaking reading about how much anxiety Kole felt about her identity being revealed. Her relationship with her mother doesn't make this any easier, but I will say I loved how this ended up playing out. The growth of how they interact was a really good thing.

It was interesting to see Kole battle with not wanting to give up her identity, but also being very proud of her story. I loved how she became more and more confident and decided it was her story and she was going to tell it as she saw fit. I think that's so important, because when it comes to fandoms we all have our own ideas on how things should play out. All are valid.

I loved the little pieces of the fanfiction weaved into this story and even though it's not something real it was interesting to read. Kole's best friend is also really awesome and made me laugh. Down with This Ship deals with some more serious issues, but is also lighthearted and fun. The last thing I want to mention is the romance. I do like how it ended, but the drama throughout the book wasn't something I really enjoyed. The whole live triangle and dating that came out of the blackmail just didn't work for me.

All in all, Down with This Ship was a fast and fun read. Some things didn't work for me, but other things did. The end of the story did leave a smile on my face and I hope this author gives us more books that involve fanfiction and fandoms.

Down With This Ship

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