[BR] Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe by Lindsay S. Zrull #39

By anakdenesor - April 02, 2022

Bounced between foster homes since the age of seven, Jessica knows better than to set down roots. Most of the kids at her new Michigan high school think she’s a witch anyway (because, you know, goth). The only one who gives her the time of day is geeky Oscar, who wants to recruit her fashion skills for his amateur cosplay group. But Jess is fine showing off her looks to her Insta fans—until a woman claiming to be her biological mother barges into her DMs. Jess was claimed by the state when her bio mom’s mental illness made her unstable. While their relationship is far from traditional, blood ties are hard to break. There’s only one problem: Jess can’t reunite with her mom in New York City without a bunch of paperwork and she worries her social worker will never approve the trip. That’s when she remembers Oscar’s cosplay group, which is aiming for that big convention in New York . . . So, Jess joins Oscar’s team—with every intention of using them to get to her mom. But her plan gets complicated when she discovers that, actually, cosplay is pretty great, and so is having friends. And Oscar, who Jess thought was just a shy nerd, can be as gallant and charming as the heroes he pretends to be. As the big convention draws near, Jess will have to decide whether or not chasing a dream of “family” is worth risking the family she’s built for herself.

All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream, Edgar Allan Poe.

The opening of each chapter in this book is with a quote from Edgar Allan that turns out to be a role model to our beloved heroine in this story, Jess. Jess appears to like to dress up as a Gothic girl with smokey eyes make-up and a pair of black lace-up boots. She thinks she could protect herself from any feelings by not showing her feelings to others. Her look is her armor.

The truth is, Jess is a foster kid. She has been spent an entire of her life bouncing from one foster home to another until now. She even made a foster care pro-tip and always plays by her rules but what she didn't know is her life will be 360 degrees different when she meets a bunch of talented children in her school that apparently appears to be her most trustworthy clan and her great foster mom Babra.

When you think things will go accordingly your way, don't get your hopes too high, you might get disappointed. The conflict begins when Jess got a massage from her biomom. Starting from that, her focus is distracted, and her relationship with Babra (her foster mother) is affected which will cause her lifetime trusty. Babra felt betrayed and Jess's relationship with her teammate also change.

I should read more books like this. Mental health is the main theme in this book. It is devastating seeing people still lack awareness about mental health. This isn't funny. We should spread the awareness more. Mental health is as important as physical health. This book opened my eyes about mental issues and give me a different point of view regarding the custom event. They're not bunch of geek but they're actually a genius.

Thanks To netgalley and the publisher for this amazing copy.