The story is about Jess, who has moved between multiple foster homes since she was seven. She was taken into the system as her biomom suffers from schizophrenia.
Jessica has faced a lot of struggles in her life. Despite bad home situations and relentless bullying at school, Jessica faces challenges head-on with wit and strength.
I loved the foster mom Barbara, she created a beautiful natural bond with jess and supported her every decision from thrift store looks to sewing costumes for her side hobbies.

I'm a sucker for stories like this. As a huge geek myself, I enjoy books that explore nerd culture. Plus, it's fun and diverse. I got through this book so quickly and it warmed my normally cold and frigid heart.

What an absolutely adorable MG book! What’s not to love about a main character like Jess who is scrappy because she’s had to be and fiercely confident? Add to that super sweet male leads, a journey through the world of cosplay, and a foster mom who makes me wish we were IRl best friends!

Goth Girl was such a fun read. But, it wasn’t all candy-coated geekdom. Jess deals with some real trauma from growing up in the foster care system, and fear of inherited psychiatric disorders. She’s lacked stability and love, and for that reason, one could say she’s a little closed off.

Her foster mom Barbra is just about the coolest undercover geek, her new friends Oscar, Emily, and Geritt are such a supportive group of friends, and I would kill to have Jess’s design skills.

The bigger theme at work here is the one that I think many of us can relate to: your family doesn’t always have to be related by blood. Chosen family is still family if you’re willing to let them be.

Thank you to the publisher Flux/North Star and Netgalley for the ARC!

CW: Themes of mental health disorders and trauma

tws: foster care system, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder / on page panic attack x2, difficult mother/daughter relationships, bullying

Unfortunately, this was not the book for me. I so wanted to love it - I enjoy nerd culture and I know what it’s like to look for your biological family. I really was so excited to get this.

I’ll start with the pros!

This was ownvoices, as the author also was a foster kid, just like Jess, and there was plus sized representation, along with a diverse friend group.

I loved Barbra. I loved Vacation Vibes Link. I loved Cici.

I also enjoyed Jess’s commentary on the stigma of mental illness and how horror movies perpetuated this (in Chapter 16, while watching the scream queen movies). I think it was an excellent point and something more people need to be cognizant of.

I enjoyed the Scream Queens scene at the con and would have loved to see it actually played out.

And now on to the cons…

My excitement for this book fell through very, very quickly. Our main character is a stereotypical “I’m not like other girls, I’m quirky and unique” girl, and I can tell she would have thrived on the fandom side of tumblr in 2012. I also found Jess and her actions just very annoying and insufferable.

The author often goes into excruciating detail describing her outfits, that I jokingly referred to this book as My Immortal. The amount of detail used to describe her look made it feel like a self-insert style fanfic, rather than a published novel.

The language used and the overall phrasing of the sentences just reads very juvenile. I did for a point think that I imagined this being marketed as YA and was instead MG, but our main character is 16, attends high school, and joked about kinks, which confirmed that this was just a very juvenile YA book. The main character unironically described people as “normies” and the term “butthead” was used more than once.

Also, just a me thing, but the main character continuously used the term “Goddess” and it was driving me nuts. We get it, you’re goth, can we find a different word that we haven’t used a thousand and three times before? At about 50%, Jess thanked “the demons below,” which isn’t Goddess, so I guess!

Also, Jess needs therapy. Badly.

(Not a con but just a concern I couldn’t get over while reading: The main character was instagram famous and people would comment about her appearance, which is fine, except that she’s 16 and people on the internet are creepy. I hope everyone who commented on her posts were also minors and not weird adults.)

If you wanted to read a YA book about convention-culture, Queens of Geek or Geekerella are both better, less juvenile choices.

Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book to friends and I very much do not plan on reading any of the author’s future books.

(also as a side note- the Queen of Thieves from the book series that Oscar was obsessed with collects hearts in jars, and I just think Regina from Once Upon A Time did it first and better.)

Thank you to Netgalley, North Star, and Lindsay Zrull for an eARC in exchange for an honest review..

Interesting YA read that I think every one should read. It was a fast read and I am glad that I read it.

You know how Charles Dickens always wrote about poor kids that rose to fame and fortune. That was because that was what happened to him in his life. Perhaps we don’t think of Dickens when we think of representation, but his writing, at the time, was showing a side of the British Empire that the wealthy were ignoring.
As others have said many times before me, representation matters. And in this book, Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe, we have Jess, who is a kid in foster care, after her mother had a mental breakdown when she was seven. The one thing she has learned from this is to trust in herself, and not make friends, because she is constantly losing foster homes, and being moved on. She has created a persona around herself, of Goth Girl, which she uses as her shield against the painful world around her.

The author was a kid in foster care as well. She knows what Jess is going through, and it shows. Jess doesn’t make friends, because she doesn’t want to lose them. She doesn’t get close to foster parents, because they always get rid of her.

And then she moves in with Barbra, and goes to a new high school, where Oscar, who is a bit of a nerd, and loves cosplay and all things fan based, from Star Wars to Princess Bride, sees through her persona, and realizes what a great person she would be to do cosplay with, and thus the friendship begins, though not without Jess pulling back constantly, because, isn’t she supposed to not make friends?

I love this book so much. I was a nerdy teenager, so into conventions, and hanging out with other people that got it.

Wonderful book. Really. I stayed up late to finish sort of book.



<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Going to jump right into it, I loved this book. When the author wrote on the dedication page "This book is for the foster kids who are still looking for their forever families, and for Dixie and Kim, who found me when I was lost" I knew I was in for an emotional ride. This book not only was very relatable coming from foster care but also touched on mental illness and seeking help. hiding behind make-up and a certain aesthetic just to survive foster care. From the start Jess was very relatable even her first day at the new high school I completely cringed because it was spot on. I later fell for her foster parent Barbara, she was a breath of fresh air to read. She created this beautiful natural bond with Jess and in turn supported her every decision from thrift store looks to sewing costumes for her side hobbies. I cried and laughed and cried some more. Thank you Lindsay for writing such a beautiful masterpiece. for helping me heal some wounds I've ignored all these years. But mostly for allowing me to forgive myself like Jess and accepting help and happiness. I highly recommend this book to everyone, I guarantee it's a story you'll hold onto.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

This book wasn't my normal style however I really like that they talked about young people learning how to express themselves through sewing.

Jessica is a foster kid who has been going from foster home to foster home. She’s a goth girl and she’s very much not afraid to be who she is. When she moves into a new home with a really sweet new foster mom Jessica begins to feel her walls break, but suddenly she’s gotten a message from her biological mom wanting to get in touch again. Throw in new friends at school who introduce her to cosplay and making new friends and Jessica is in for a new year.. Jessica isn’t a likable character, for a goth kid she’s extremely judgmental of other kids and yes she’s been through some stuff but the way she treats other people who just want to help her or just be nice to her is just downright rude. For a goth kid I really don’t believe she would be someone to put down cosplayers or people who are into fantasy stuff... speaking as someone who was a goth teen it just doesn’t seem like something I’d ever do. Overall I think this would be a great read for young readers who enjoy stories about alternative girls making friends and discovering a found family for themselves.

*Thanks Netgalley and North Star Editions, Flux for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe by Lindsay S. Zrull is a light-hearted (despite it’s emotional subject matter) YA book about Jessica, the titular Goth girl who has bounced from foster home to foster home since she was seven years old. At school she is called a witch and bullied because of her Goth style yet on instagram, her followers fawn over her unique fashion creation. One day, she gets a DM from a woman claiming to be her biological mother. Is this some sort of joke and if not, what will Jessica find out about her mother and herself?

It is a good story but I had some issues. At first I really didn’t like Jessica. I know she’s been through some things but the way she treats the guy who wants her help with cosplay is just brutal. First of all, I don’t know any goth person who would make fun of someone who was into fantasy and cosplay. Especially a girl who is popular for her gothic makeup and clothes creations.

I also don’t feel like she is much of a loner with such a big following on Insta.

Young readers should really enjoy this and will find it amusing. I could see this as a graphic novel. That would be cool.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is perfect for anyone who has ever felt left out! Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe by Lindsay S. Zrull is a heartwarming YA book about girl who is constantly bullied but who carves out her own niche through her own strength and determination. The story revolves around Jessica, who has bounced from foster home to foster home since she was seven. At school, she's called a witch and bullied for her goth fashion. Meanwhile, online, her followers praise her fashion and make-up skills. One day, a woman messages her claiming to be her biological mother. Will their reunion be everything that she expects?

Here is a witty excerpt from Chapter 1, which introduces us to Jessica:

"I’d be safer if I tried to blend in, but I’ve never been the kind of person who hides.
My black lace-up boots announce my arrival at Detroit River High. I own the corridor like I’m a model on an ironic linoleum runway in New York City. To my left, a group of band nerds snicker and stare at my glossy black lipstick. It doesn’t matter. You learn a lot of rules as a foster kid who transfers between schools every few months. Want to know what the most important one is? Foster Care Pro-tip number one: The new girl is always a freak. Just embrace it."

Overall, Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe is a feel-good YA book that will appeal to fans of Raven from Teen Titans or Wednesday Adams. One highlight of this book is Jessica's character. Jessica has faced a lot of struggles in her life. Despite bad home situations and relentless bullying at school, Jessica faces challenges head-on with wit and internal strength. Honestly, she's one of the strongest heroines of any YA book I can remember reading. Another highlight of this book is the heartwarming story. I found Jessica's introduction to her new "friends" at school, like Oscar, to be hilarious and adorable. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA books, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in July!

DNF 5%

This 100% a case of not working for me, which is extremely disappointing because I couldn’t wait to start this book as soon as I saw the cover and read the synopsis. Two points are what pushed me to be unwilling to continue, though again this is 100% my qualms and your mileage may vary!

Point 1: Jess talks about gentrification of Detroit but doesn’t even mention how often gentrification in particular impacts communities of color, especially Black communities.

Point 2: Jess is a vegetarian and when her foster mom is being supportive of it, she mentions how she heard vegetarianism is better for the planet, and that is not wholly accurate because so much vegetarian fare is food stolen by colonialism and brought to white communities, leaving the communities of color who’ve always had it as part of their diets without access to it because it’s all been exported West.

I think this story has a lot of potential, but I don’t think I’m the correct audience for it because I personally feel if you’re going to touch on these topics, there needs to be more care for intersectionality…