Chaotic Good by Whitney Gardner -ADVISABLE

Gardner, Whitney Chaotic Good, 249 pages. Knopf (Random House). $18.  

Language: PG13 (2 swears: both F); Mature Content: PG (dating, kissing); Violence: G.

MS, HS – ADVISABLE

Cameron has a lot going on in her life. Her family just moved to a small town away from all of her friends, her cosplay blog is becoming a negative forum for haters, she has to complete a fashion portfolio for costume design school before the end of the summer, and to top it off, her best source of ideas for this, comics, are difficult to research because the guy that runs the comic book shop seems to hate women.  Then she has the idea to dress as a boy (she has a twin brother after all) and that way she can browse the comic book shop without fear. But when she ends up making a group of dungeons and dragons friends, as a boy, is puts her in a quandary both in friendship and in love.

This was a charming book with very little swearing. It will appeal to geek girls, like myself, who like comics, cosplay, dungeons and dragons, and fashion. The author does a great job creating believable characters and a fun scenario. Lots of interesting lessons about gender, friendship, and online safety. Portions of the gaming story are in comic book format for added fun. Just two little swears, and not by the main characters.  

Stephanie, Elementary School Librarian & Author