Our family thoroughly enjoys attending comic and fan conventions, book signings, etc.. We have been to several over the last 8 years. We love meeting stars and authors, going to panels, and picking up new artwork of our favorite characters or new books from authors we discover.
Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve only been able to do some online fan events this year. While I appreciate ALL of the work that various groups have done to make these events happen, they are still no substitute for the real thing.
So if you are missing out on your usual con events this year, too, consider reading a book or two about the experience. I find these books bring back lots of fun Con memories (although I wish there were more for middle grade and adult readers). Here are some to consider:
Books for Older Kids/Teens
Con Quest! (LGBTQ+) – A pair of twins ditch their family at a comics convention while they try to win a huge scavenger hunt. This is the book that gave me the idea to do this post. I love books like this! This was written by Sam Maggs. ♥♥♥♥½
The Game Masters of Garden Place – A group of kids playing an RPG (role playing game, like Dungeons and Dragons) find their characters have come to life. This was SO fun! You can read my review here.
Princesses, Inc – From the MIX line by Aladdin about a group of girls who open up a service of princesses and pirates to babysit neighborhood kids. You can read my review here.
Secrets of a Fangirl – A girl trying to keep her “geek life” separate from her popular “jock life” has a chance to win a contest to go to the movie premier for her fandom. But she will have to go up against older competitors who question her fan cred, and she risks showing her peers this geeky side of herself. This one is on my TBR shelves.
Books for Teens/Young Adults
Bookish and the Beast (LGBTQ+) – Book 3 in the Once Upon a Con series. Vance Reigns, Hollywood royalty, is hiding from a tabloid scandal in a small town. Rosie lives in that small town, and when she and Vance cross paths, and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself having to work off the debt. She also finds out that Vance is a jerk. Beauty and the Beast, anyone? I thoroughly enjoyed this one! ♥♥♥♥½
Bookishly Ever After – A book nerd tries to use the characters from her favorite books to help her negotiate a romance. You can read my review here.
Don’t Cosplay with My Heart – A struggling teen finds strength in her cosplay character and community. You can read my review here.
The Improbable Theory of Ana & Zak – An unlikely pair of teens team up to find Ana’s younger brother at a fan convention when he sneaks away from a class trip. You can read my review here.
Eliza and Her Monsters – The anonymous creator of a popular webcomic loses her anonymity, and everything she has built starts to fall apart. I have this one on my TBR shelves.
Fangirl (LGBTQ+) – When two sisters who grew up immersed in a magical fictional world (Harry Potter-ish) start college, one wants to keep writing her fanfiction and stay connected to that part of their childhood while the other wants to make a complete break. I read this forever ago – while at a fan convention – and it was delightful. ♥♥♥♥♥
Geekerella – Book 1 in the Once Upon a Con series. Elle wants to win a cosplay contest for a reboot of her father’s favorite scifi show. Darian wants nothing more than to be in the reboot, but the fandom seems to have written him off completely. Maybe Elle can change all that. You can read my review here.
The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love – A guy plans how to tell his best friend he loves her – at New York Comic Con. I haven’t read this one yet.
Now a Major Motion Picture – When their grandmother’s famous book series is being turned into a movie, a teen and her younger brother are on set to watch the magic happen. Until things start to fall apart which puts the whole movie in jeopardy. You can read my review here.
The Princess and the Fangirl (LGBTQ+) – Book 2 in the Once Upon a Con series. In this Prince and the Pauper-like tale, a Starfield fan and the actress who is absolutely over the series must team up to find out who is causing trouble for the franchise. ♥♥♥♥½
The Pros of Cons (LGBTQ+) – A mix-up at a hotel hosting 3 different groups – a percussion convention, a fan convention, and a taxidermy convention – brings three teens together in an unexpected friendship. You can read my review here.
Queens of Geek (LGBTQ+) – Three teens at a convention find unexpected chances at love. I haven’t read this one yet.
Verona Comics (LGBTQ+) – Two teens who meet at a comic convention prom wrestle with personal issues and their feuding families (rival comics shop owners) as they grow closer together.
Books for Adults
Battle at the Comic Expo – A comics creator and a con security chief team up when a fan goes rogue and comes after the creator for revenge. This is a new title to me. I only heard about this one when I was doing research for this post.
Broken Genius – Book 1 in the new Will Parker Thriller series. In 2011, a coding error by young revolutionary CEO Will Parker cost a college student her life. His self-directed penance was joining the FBI Cyber Division. Years later, Will is on a case at a Midwest comic convention when he discovers the case involves tech from his pre-FBI life. You can read my review here.
The Con Artist – An illustrated mystery that takes place at San Diego Comic Con. I haven’t read this one.
Loathe at First Sight – As a joke, Melody shares an idea for an app starring male strippers in a survival game, but it quickly becomes her company’s hottest new project, and she’s running the whole thing. There’s a portion of this book that takes place at a gaming convention, some of my favorite scenes in the book. I just posted a full review for this here.
Pros and (Comic) Cons – An anthology of comics and prose focused on comic conventions. I haven’t read this one.
