This is an awesome YA read. I wept onto my keyboard through the last chapter of this great novel about a foster kid finding herself and found family. The representation of both foster care and mental health are so beautifully done.

Gothic fashionista Jess is on a mission to reunite with her estranged biological mother—but is she willing to risk her new friends, cosplay championship, and even her future to do so? Bounced between foster homes since the age of seven, Jessica knows better than to set down roots. Until she meets Barbra, her new foster mom (who’s such a cool and surprising weirdo), and the geeky and tender Oscar, who wants to recruit her fashion skills for his amateur cosplay group, where she meets the fearless Emily and the mysterious Gerrit.

The title can be misleading. Yes, Jess is goth, but this is not a cutesy gothic story. It’s a thought-provoking, heartwarming and funny love letter to foster kids and found families. Written by Lindsay S. Zrull, a former foster teen, Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe is all about finding your own agency and embracing the family of your choice.

The writing style is more juvenile than I was expecting and, even though I enjoyed the nerdy and pop culture environment, I wish the author had described less the characters' costumes and skits. Despite that since this is definitely a character-driven book, LSZ made an excellent job of building and developing everyone’s personality and backstory.

Besides the MC being a plus-sized gothic foster teen, there’s so much more diversity, from culture and socioeconomic status to gender identity and sexual orientation. And, of course, I absolutely love how it addresses so many important topics, from mental health to body positivity.

But what struck me the most was the account of what it is like to grow up with a mentally unstable parent, that is not abusive but slowly falls apart and can’t fulfill their role of guardian. It was so emotional to watch Jess facing the truth of it and the fear of becoming like her biomom.

Thanks to NetGalley, Flux/North Star Editions and Lindsay S. Zrull for providing me with an eARC. I’m leaving this 100% honest review voluntarily. And I assure you, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in July!

I absolutely loved this. I thought it was adorable and fun whilst also tackling some pretty serious topics such as mental health. Its all done really well and I can't wait to see more! My sister is now reading this and I hope it helps her.

Thank you NetGalley, Flux, and Lindsay Zrull for providing this e-ARC for an exchange of honest review!

For some reason, I rated this book 4.5/5, but I decide I will round it up to 5, since I love this book so much.

The story is about a foster girl named Jess, who have been bounce between foster homes since a very young age because of her mother suffered from schizophrenia. Jess's goth style was popular on Insta, she has many followers there who praised her for her makeup and style. But it also make people bullied her IRL. And one day, it attracts two people to come to her. One is her new-school-mate: a geek boy named Oscar and, suprisingly, the other one is her biological mother, who suddenly appear on her Instagram comment section. All of it was new to Jess. She was never had a (proper) friend, and when Oscar propose her to join his team for a cosplay competition, the reason why she accepted it was she knew if Oscar's team won the competition, they'll go to NYC, where she can meet her biomom.

I have no expectation for this book, except how beautiful and exciting the cover is. Turns out i really love this book, and here's reasons why you should read this once it's published:

1. The representation of foster kids. I love how Lindsay wrote about Jess's feelings about being a foster kids. It's so realistic (and then i knew that Lindsay Zrull was once a foster teen herself). Jess's point of view was kinda cynical and sour, and she's clearly have a major trust issue toward foster families (and life, basically), but judging from her past, i think it's reasonable and it makes me want to hug her :( I just wished there are more Jess's past life that described in the story, because i think it will more elaborate her complicated nature.

2. The mental illnesses discussion: anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. I love how real and close it is to me. My best friend was suffered from anxiety disorder, so when Oscar tells Jess how is it like to live a life every day with anxiety burdened on his chest, i can't help myself from tear up. I love the portrayal of Jess as a kid who affected by her mentally-unstable mother. Although it hurts her many times, but deep down she still loves her so much, and she knows that it's not her mother faults she got the illness and have to leave her to the foster system, in order to protect Jess from herself. And also how Lindsay depict these illnesses, and repeatedly saying that is not a shame to have it, is so encouraging and heartwarming. I also like how Lindsay inserts Jess' opinion about mental illness in horror films. Because, as someone who doesn't like horror films, I feel enlightened by that knowledge.

3. The characters! Since i think this is a character-driven story, I love how well-written they are, how realistic and lovable they are all. Even Naomi, who only appears briefly! I bet you'll also love Emily, who's funny and charismatic. Gerrit, who sticks to his games, and Oscar, the nerdy, kind, and awkward Oscar! And Jess's foster mom, Barbra, who i love the most from all of the characters here. And also Cici, Gerrit's mother who gives big-aunty-energy. I LOVE their relationship, I love their chemistry. I love how they're all so care to Jess and to each other. I also love the diversity! Lindsay wrote about plus-size people and POC who often mocked especially in cosplay world, and she wrote about a community who are on mission to encourage them to keep working on their creative costumes and makeup. I love the genuine concern from the author and I love how she depicts that so good.
P.S. I have a LOT to say about Barbra, so I think i'll talk further about her in the next point.

4. THE NERDY CULTURE<3 As a nerd myself i love to read how excited the team to join the cosplay expo and to become one of them. There are many references from popular stories, such as Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, Star Wars, etc.

5. BARBRA. B-A-R-B-R-A. THE ANGEL. I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!! The only thing that keeping me from choosing Jess as my favorite character of this book is because her attitude towards Barbra (although I stated in the first point that she has her own reason). BUT Barbra is the most loving, caring (foster) mother that even I want to have her in my life (like, as an aunty). I love how she encourages every good thing that Jess did. I love how she back her up anytime no matter the circumstances. I love how she's so patient and quirky and thoughtful omg i genuinely wish i have someone like her in my life rn :"(

6. I love the ending, It might be not an ideal ending, but it's so real. And IMO it become the turning point for Jess's relationship with Barbra and her friends. The ending with Oscar? It makes me cry :(

So, overall, this book is a really good story, a thought-provoking and heartwarming one. The writing is good but it's kinda feels like this is more a middle grade book than a young adult one, but it's okay i think, i still enjoy the story!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe

Lindsay S. Zrull

Publication: July 19, 2022

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but I was happily surprised. While it covers some deep topics such as foster care, mental health issues, bullying, etc. it also had some funny, sweet, refreshing moments of finding your “people” and learning to trust. I love how real the characters were. How they learned to look beyond the outward appearance and really saw each other. What used to be seen as geeky is now cute and butterfly inducing. I applaud the author for not using “Ken & Barbie” perfectly toned, beautiful teens as the romantic leads and no one had to go through any drastic transformations!

If you are looking for a book with a bit of fluff mixed with some grit, this is for you!
4 Stars

Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe is a cute balance between two separate subcultures that I hold dear to my heart. Although I think it portrays both goth fashion and cosplay geek culture rather shallowly, and misses out on exploring the history of each niche, it is a younger book, and they're both treated with respect I don't often get to see. The characters deal with real conversations about mental illness and growing up in the way that I remember talking about it at the same age. A journey for reconciliation with blood family and self growth is embodied in Jessica, maligned ward of the state and instagram fashionista. Her reluctance to join a cosplay group is clear, but the bonds she makes with Oscar, Emily, and Gerrit ground her in a world she's often found so inconstant. This book moves a little fast, but the heart is there, and the ending is satisfactory.

In my nitpicky notes, the introduction to the book reads a little like Ebony Darkness Dementia Way's introduction, if the recognition is there. That may be related to the hope of representing Goth on the whole;s some pretension is natural. Some of the emotions throughout the book move a little quickly, but that may just be the genre. Some of the properties mentioned throughout are a little older than teens might know, but that may be a learning opportunity for them, or it may turn them off of the book. The concepts the book tackles and the story it tells is unique. I appreciate how the Spanish was included verbatim but still included quiet explanations within the text for non-speakers. It's simple Spanish that may help facilitate language lessons in the same age range.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ASC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was so good! The representation was amazing and the characters were interesting and well written. The plot was well done, and the characters' struggles were painfully relatable. The pacing was great and the comic-con cosplay aspect of it was thoughtfully done, and I adored the found-family in the book. Overall, 5/5 stars from me!

So many reasons to love! How this book deals with mental health and mental illness, bullying, representation, self-acceptance, family, and friendship... Personally, I learned about the perspective of someone in foster care and whose mother has schizophrenia. This character’s voice deserves to be heard and valued. Jess struggles with a lot of the thoughts and feelings teens struggle with, but she is strong and stays boss of her life, doesn’t let things get to her or make her feel sorry for herself. She learns the value of a good support system and how to make one for herself, as well as who to let in to her life. I really felt like I could meet all these characters. Like I could totally meet them on the street and instantly recognize them. A lot of representation! In terms of race, dis/ability, body type, sexuality, family models... And did not feel forced, all just helped strengthen the message of self acceptance and the importance of representation. It just had a lot of heart, it was really enjoyable to read and hugely empathetic. Always treating people's situations with respect and honesty. The only thing really holding me back from a hard yes on this one is, was the story too "perfect?" There were a lot of heavy, real topics in this book, and everything always went pretty smoothly - like there were never any major consequences, and a lot of situations ended up ideally. I can't decide if it felt like sugarcoating or a source of hope for anyone in those positions.

4.5 stars

This was an absolutely adorable and delightful book. It was diverse and well thought out. It also taught some valuable lessons about how you can choose your family and how true friendship is so important. I would definately recommend this book to everyone. It's a quick and cute read.

First impressions

Thought this was going to be a “oh im the goth chick in a sea of barbies im not like other girls” but i was wrong. The characters have great depth and personality. And I really enjoyed this story!


Jess is a goth chick, feels misunderstood, and especially out of place because of her foster care past. She meets Oscar, who needs a MUA and seamstress for his cosplay group. Together, with a gamer boy Gerrit and Emily a computer coder, they’re trying to won cosplay contests to get to NYC. Which is also where Jess’s biomom lives now. Cue creativity, adversity, and cute teenage bonding moments strewn in with real life drama. Will the cosplay skits work? Will the group learn some epic stuff about people different than them? Will Jess meet her biomom? Or will she learn that the friends she makes are all the family she needs?


I thought at first Jess was going to be such a pick me girl, but she’s actually very understanding, and doesn’t care what other people do or think as long as they let her do her thing.

Her new foster mom is so cute. She’s trying so hard to give Jess a healthy, happy space and encourage her sewing and creativity. I love it.

Oscar is a geek, wanting friends and wanting to set his own path on making cosplay armor as a career.

Emily wants to be a computer coder, making video games that actually have good representation.

I love them all.

If you like pop culture, nerdy cosplay culture, and seeing people from different backgrounds, representation of different bodies, different lifestyles, different pasts, then you’ll enjoy this book.

This is the story of Jess, a foster teen that just moved to a new area and school and joins a group to compete in a cosplay competition in New York. What she she doesn't tell them is that her bio-mom has contacted her and she real motive is to meet her bio-mom when they go the the NYC competition. I really enjoyed this story. The pace and writing was very nice. It is a nice story that addresses a diverse group of individuals from LGTBQA+, mental illness, body positivity and others. It also touches an area of being a teen like being in the foster system that I have not seen addressed before.

I absolutely loved Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe. This incredible book thoughtfully follows Jess as she navigates living in the foster care system, having a parent with a mental illness, and building trusting relationships. Jess and her new friends are easy to relate to, and their adventures in the cosplay world help strengthen their friendship bonds. Pop culture references and humor are sprinkled throughout, as are Jess’s “Foster Care Pro-tips”. Zrull shines a light on mental illness and the foster care system as seen through the eyes of a teen, making this an essential book for every YA collection. Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe will linger in my heart and mind for quite a while.

had a hard time settling on a rating and formulating my thoughts on this. The first half of the book was closer to a 2 start and the last half could be a 3 or 3.5. The reason being that this wasnt at all what i was expecting.
Sooo... dont do what i did and go into this thinking its all about goth. It has a goth MC but it is not about the fact she is goth. The title was misleading... The cover and writting was juvinial which lead me to believe it was Middle grade.
I thought this would be like a cutesy gothic story... its not. I also didnt expect Commic Con and constant pop culture/ pop culture references to play as big of a role in the story as it does.
I enjoy Comic Con so i think it is a cool aspect the the story. But i wish it wasnt basically the whole story. Aside from a romance, Comic Con and the characters skits are the entirety of the book and it started to irritate me a bit... it made certain scenes kind of corny.
Also the descriptions of the clothes were on going. It sometimes took hald a page to describe one persons outfit. (And we have to go into deep deep detail on all 4 characters outfits.) So that added to some of my annoyance. I think i would have liked this more if it was more of a contemporary without all the Comic Con stuff. But to each their own...
HOWEVER! I absolutely ADORED these characters! This is definitely a character based book and the author did an excellent job with character building. Every character was very different from the others and were very distinguished in their unique personalities. They all had different backgrounds and they were all very diverse.
Diversity. Thats the other thing that i appreciated about this book. The diversity! Heres an LGBTQ character, fat MC (and done in a positive way), neurodiversity. There was so much of it and i loved it.
As i mentioned before, their back grounds are all very different and i enjoyed getting to know them on such a deep level. I loved loved LOVED that this brings up discussions on foster kids/parents. And better yet, its own voices! I was in a foster home and because of that, i saw myself in the main character.
It has several other discussions as well. Everything from the stigma horror movies tend to bring on upon mental illness, the effects on a child after being plaved in foster homes, the effect mental illness has ones self and loved ones, body positivity/ fat shaming, so many impotant discussions! Discussions that i think a lot of young adults can relate to and learn a lot from. I think this book could really help a lot of kids!
Basically the characters, their backgrounds and the important topics were so very well done! I just wish that where its character based anyways that it had stayed character based and put in a more normal setting. It wouldnt feel so busy and could focus on the characters mout thats a personal preference. I think anyone who enjoys those kind of events, loves pop culture, darker but important topics or has been in the foster care system could really get a lot out of this book and end up loving it.
Finally, i want to send a huge Thank You to the publisher and author for sending me an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review! :)

“The geek universe is a multifaceted diamond, Jess. Embrace it.”

Jess is dropped into yet another foster home, wary of her foster mom Barbra and the new kids at her school. Her only true friends are the fans of her goth Instagram. Until she meets Oscar, a fantasy geek intent on entering cosplay contests, but he needs a makeup artist and costume designer. And Jess needs a way to get to NYC. Her bio mom reached out and that’s where she’s living. If Jess and Oscar can get their team to the World Cosplay Con, Jess can see her mom.

It’s a slow road for Jess learning to trust. Her biomom is schizophrenic. Jess has been in foster care since age 7 and even though foster mom Barbra seems nice, Jess has been burned before and is hesitant to open herself up to more hurt.

This book has incredible voice. Jess is a tough, snarky goth on the outside but a gooey cosplay feminist princess on the inside. She starts cosplaying as a way to get to New York but really falls in love with making costumes, dressing up, and acting out characters. I like that she addresses the worries she had about pretending to be someone else. Since her biomom often disassociates from reality. The difference? Jess knows it’s pretend.

The romance develops with a nice slow burn between two regular teens dealing with mental illness, family, and body issues in their own way. Some of my favorite scenes are at the cons. Lindsay does such a fantastic job of describing the costumes and characters, it feels like you’re really there. This is a must read if you loved Ashley Poston’s once upon a con series.

I got this book because I thought the cover was really pretty and I don’t often read books with a main goth character though they have a really interesting style.
The story is about Jessica, who arrives at a new foster home and has to go to a new school. Jess didn’t always have good experience with foster home so she has set a few rules for herself in order to keep a distance between herself and everyone. However, some people are persistent, like Oscar who asks her to be in his cosplay team. Not everything is pink though, as she receives a Instagram message from her bio mum.
I really loved the characters. Even though she seems a bit cold towards others, Jess is such a strong and loveable person. Oscar is also really cute and all of them are very supportive, especially Barbra, the foster mum. I enjoyed the talks about mental illness a lot, it was really interested. I like how this book pushes us to put into question how we view mental illness such as schizophrenia. I’m also a big fan of cosplay so what more could I ask for.
I recommend this book to anyone who feels left out or is interested in a story about mental illness.
4.5/5

I honestly don't have too much to say on this one. It was cute. It had loveable characters but it was just okay.

This book owns my heart.

While talking about mental health has become important in the recent years I honestly can’t recall a story where it is addressed in detail what it is like to grow up with a mentally unstable parent.

Not the physically abusive type, but the people who slowly fall apart and can’t fulfill the role of guardian anymore even if they wanted to keep their children. What kind of emotional roller coaster it can create for the kid who slowly realizes that they need to stand on their own feet from a young age because there is no one to fall back on or to count on for support.

Jess had known this from age 7 and she grew up into a teenager who keeps everyone at an arms length. Her various foster parents took advantage of her or tried to form her into something she is not so she doesn’t have high hopes about her new foster mom either and does her best to keep herself from getting attached to anything or anyone in her new life. Her one indulgence in life is goth make up and fashion and she found a safe space in the goth instagram community.

She is used to people mocking and bullying her about her fashion choices irl so she doesn’t even try to make any friends at school. So when the geeky Oscar asks her to join his cosplay group she isn’t entirely sold on the idea, although she could use the money if they managed to win some competitions at the local cons.

This changes when she gets a sudden insta message from someone claiming to be her biological mother and asking her to meet up. While Jess is aware what it means that they are messaging secretly- her mother is probably not stable enough for the government to allow them to meet up- she cannot say no to her. No matter how complicated and confusing their family is, she is still her mother and she still loves her. Family and blood is forever, for the better or worse. So Jess joins the cosplay team with the goal of using it as a way to get to her mom.

The characters are so well written! You can tell that this is a passion project because in every interaction you can feel what a great chemistry these characters have with each other and how well developed they are, with everyone having their backstory and struggles and little quirks.

Jess’s inner thinking is super fun and I love seeing the portrayal of fashion and make up as a way of enjoying someone’s creativity and self expression. I love her extra-ness when it comes to her “goth identity”. Oscar is an adorable blushing boy and they have such well written convos and I love all the sweet moments they share as they get to know each other. I love that they can share a hobby and goof off and pay attention to the other’s interests but above all else, they trust each other to open up about the serious things too and discuss it in a mature way, reassuring each other.

I like that the things that they are struggling with are written in a real way, in a way that sometimes hits home too close - Oscar struggles with anxiety and talks about it in detail how it impacts his every day life and Jess is worried that she might have inherited her mother’s schizophrenia. I adore the way the writing discusses these topics, Jess worries that cosplay and larping aka play pretend to be someone she is not might push her closer to her mother’s illness. Surprisingly though she can separate horror movies much easier from the topic which I thought would surely be the more risky comparison but I like how it was addressed in the book. I love how the kids talk about people and things they can relate to which helps them cope with irl struggles, that makes all of these discussions more real and raw and relatable.

I love, love, Emily and part of me wishes she and Jess had a thing. Barbra the foster mom is really awesome and I was curious to get to know her better. I don’t really have much on Gerrit as he spent the majority of his time chilling and playing games in the background, haha.

I understand that the last third of the book was focused on wrapping things up but I wish it still had some more of those sweet bonding moments squeezed in between the eventual end game. Probably my only complaint is that the book was shorter than I would have liked, having some more bonding time and maybe a bit more of sharing from Jess’ side would have made the final parts have a bit more impact.

Overall, a very awesome book with an important message, great characters and good communication!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think the message that your family is who you choose is really important and I think relevant for many of my students. There were definitely some stereotypically "goth" moments and cliches that I think could have been avoided, but it was a quick read with good themes. Something to add to the classroom library.

This was such a lovely book — it deals with serious themes like childhood trauma and the stigma around mental illness in smart, relatable ways. The cosplay references — Labyrinth! Princess Bride! Elm Street! — transported me back to my high school years, and will surely introduce young readers to a new favorite movie. The characters are all written with tons of complexity and warmth — Jess’s foster mom, Barbra, and new friend, Emily, were particular standouts.

While I would recommend reading this book whole-heartedly, I do have a few criticisms. One is that although Jess is written as fat character (and her love interest Oscar as well — the overall representation is fabulous!) and one of the book’s subplots involves fat positive cosplay, the book’s cover does not readily advertise this fact. As a fat woman who likes to see myself both on the page AND the cover, I would have no idea by seeing this book in the wild that it had fat positive themes.

My other (smaller) note is that there is NO WAY that Jess wouldn’t already know the basics of what cosplay is, as a goth teen who is active on Instagram. While most of the book’s narrative is charmingly realistic, it was hard for me to believe the scene where Oscar explains cosplay to a mystified Jess, because so much of goth culture and nerd culture naturally intersects online. I understand that the book needs a way to introduce cosplay to any readers who aren’t serially online, but there has to be a more realistic reason for this explainer.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.