Chaotic Good

Gr 9 Up—Cameron Birch, rising high school senior, has just made the move from Portland to Eugene, OR with her family. She's eager to escape before even arriving, but cosplay and CalArts, the art school of her dreams, may be her ticket out. She needs the comics from the local comics shop in order to continue her designs, but sexist employee and owners' son Brody makes things difficult. Cameron dons a male disguise to avoid Brody's prejudice, and boy-Cameron is welcomed into the world of comics, fandom, and Dungeons & Dragons. This book realistically explores the pitfalls of modern girl geekdom, and how women must prove the legitimacy of their geek cred to a higher standard than their male counterparts. It also unapologetically touches on the emotional harm that accompanies online harassment and doxing that is often targeted at women. Love interest Lincoln serves as a progressive and open-minded counter to Brody. Lincoln isn't perfect but learns from his mistakes, and is used to explore gender and agency issues, including a compelling scene illustrating the concept of consent. While the writing is generally solid, occasional instances of clumsy storytelling and overly silly situations can detract from the underlying message. In particular are six sets of comic panels (representing in-story D & D play) interspersed in the prose that try to add character depth, but largely come across as superfluous.