Are you a fangirl or fanboy? Is fandom an essential part of your life? Do you mourn when your favorite fictional character dies? (I’m looking at you, Augustus Waters) Then, this book is for you.
We all know that moment of disbelief and pain when the main character of a book, movie or show that you love dies. So at that moment, you would do anything to bring them back to life. You would expect a sequel or for the author to change their mind.
Liv, the main character of this book is the same as us — a hardcore fangirl and maybe too sensitive and bit psychotic. However, again, that depends on the situation. Even you and I would act psychotic in such a case since I remember how mad I was at John Green after reading The Fault in our Stars.
Am I reading a story about myself?
The characters are so relatable and likable; you can’t hate them. Liv is so much like me. Some people might hate or dislike the obsession she has for StarVeil and how it affects her entire life, but I understood it because I feel the same sometimes.
She is a complete nerd-like and that is evident in the first chapter of the book. As soon as she sees her favorite character die in her favorite movie series, tears start rolling down her cheeks, and she does not understand how to come back to reality anymore.
Also, Xander who is the charming, gentlemanly best friend every girl should have is adorable beyond measure. I love him. He is a cosplayer and his entire personality shows how sweet he is. He helps Liv out with all her fandom-related things.
The best part about Xander is that he is unique. He wholly owns his personality and is unapologetic about it. He calls everyone ‘darling’ to go along with his cosplayer personality. He does get a bit creepy sometimes, but one can always forgive that.
Are you there?
Honestly, All the Feels is a feel-good book like many other contemporary books. I did find it a bit similar to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. However, while Fangirl has a fantastic plot and writing style, All the Feels is a bit behind.
The plot is just Liv trying to deal with the tragedy of a fictional character’s death while discovering more about herself. It is not too complicated. You will not find any plot twists or something along similar lines, but since it is a contemporary book, one has to deal with it. The coming-to-age element is present throughout but even that is not much intriguing or interesting to read about.
This book is what I call fluff. Sometimes you just read something because it is fun to do so. There is no special reason, the book is not that special, but you read it for the heck of it. All the Feels is one of them. At some point, you do wish that there should be an interesting story angle to it, but there is none.
Reasons why I love the book
The quotes on top of every chapter are from different fandoms. You will find quotes from Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Star Wars and so much more. While the narration of the book is nothing unique or special, those quotes gave the necessary effect to each chapter. They left an impact on the reader’s mind. Also, considering I was part of all those fandoms, I enjoyed it all the much more.
The writing style of Danika Stone is quite easy to read and like. She writes like people write fanfiction on the internet. It is not heart-touching, profound or what you can call beautiful but it is quirky and sweet. It matches the characters of the book and for most book lovers, bloggers, fangirls/fanboys, it is the most appropriate kind of writing style because it keeps you entertained. Since it was a feel-good contemporary book, it needed that light touch to be more relatable and enjoyable.
The less interesting parts of the book
The lack of plot can be a bummer for some people, and the inevitable romance line may ruin the fun for others. People who are not too much involved in fandoms might find this book to be flimsy, unbelievable or even stupid.
Liv’s thoughts about fandom are so obsessive that it affects her physical and mental health as well as her social life. The characters seem too immature to be college students. The book should have been set with high school student characters to make it more believable. The book borders on too quirky and fluffy to the point that it does get creepy at times.
When one compares it with other books written about fandom, All the Feels is way behind. It should have more than just fandom to attract readers.
Liv’s hatred for her crush’s girlfriend without any reason is also something readers might not like. There is something about the girl on girl hate that turns a reader off.
Summing it all up
Liv is a fantastic fan who goes into depression when her favorite character dies. She starts an online campaign to convince the writers of her favorite movie series to bring the style back to life, and she is quite aggressive in her approach.
Liv must balance it out with her college life; her bad SAT scores, her family’s disappointment at her obsession, her non-existent love life and on top of all that, the anticipation of DragonCon (much like real-world ComicCon).
I suggest you read this book when:
- you are having ‘the feels,’ and you don’t want to be alone
- you need something light and pleasant to read.
- the fangirl/fanboy in you feels lonely.
- your favorite character just died.
- reality just gets too much and you need to breathe
- you want to read about characters like yourself.
- or pick it up right now.
About the Author
Pallavi Sareen is an avid reader, a harsh critic, bibliophile, and a dreamer. Accustomed to telling stories, she spends her time amidst the pages of either a book or her diary.