Ship It

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.