Carrie (brightbeautifulthings)'s Reviews > The One True Me and You

Fanfiction writer Kay is ecstatic to be spending the week at GreatCon with their fandom friends. On their to-do list is to try out they/them pronouns to see how they fit and kiss a girl for the first time. Little do they know, the hotel is also hosting the Miss Cosmic Teen USA pageant, and their own personal bully is Miss North Carolina. If Madison connects Kay to their online persona, she could out them to their entire town. Teagan is Miss Virginia, and she badly needs the pageant prize money to go to her college of choice. She’s also a major GreatCon fan and a closeted lesbian, and for some reason, Miss North Carolina seems to have targeted her as her biggest competition. Teagan can’t afford to lose this pageant, but when she sneaks into a con event and meets Kay on the first night, sparks fly. It’s only a weekend, but it could change everything for both of them. I received an invitation to read a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at St. Martin’s Press. Trigger warnings: bullying, homophobia, forced outing.

I’m so glad I got an invitation to read this book because I’m not sure I would have found it on my own, and it’s one of my favorite YA romances so far this year. As a Tumblr person myself, I always love it when the fandom elements of internet culture are accurately represented in fiction, and hanging out with Kay and their fanfiction-writing, cosplaying, Sherlock- (basically) loving friends feels a lot like hanging out with my own fandom friends. I love the way fandom culture gives the characters a safe space to be their truest selves and how supportive they all are of each other (which isn’t to say that fandom doesn’t have its ugly sides, but this isn’t the book for that negativity). I’m not as familiar with the pageant side of things, so I can’t speak to its authenticity, but I feel like England tries hard to balance the obviously negative sides with some of the positives that people may not know about, like the platforming for their causes or how empowering it is for Teagan. I enjoyed getting to know more about both worlds.

It’s fairly fast-paced, or maybe it was just that I didn’t want to put it down. The stakes are high enough on both sides to keep the tension up, since while fandom culture may be a safe place to come out, the real world often isn’t, and Kay and Teagan may both face a backlash if their identities become public. The romance is a little fast (as expected, since the book takes place over a weekend), but their connection never feels forced. These are not perfect characters, and I like that the story gives them space to make mistakes, say the wrong things, and let their own biases come out (sometimes in ways that are extremely hurtful), and then learn to apologize and be more accepting. It’s a cute, positive, and ultimately hopeful read, and I can think of at least one fandom friend in my life who needs a copy.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.