Feature: Con Books in Honor of San Diego Comic Con
In another timeline, Kelly, Jana, and I would all be con-ing it up in San Diego right now. See, we had this big trip together planned, where we would spend 5 days at SDCC and follow it up with a birthday celebration at Disneyland.
But this is not that timeline. In this timeline, SDCC is doing an at-home version where you can watch panels, participate in challenges, and even create your own experience with the sounds of Hall H and home badge pickup area. To celebrate, we are sharing some of our favorite con books to get you in the spirit of SDCC!
Con Books in Honor of San Diego Comic Con
Revisiting SDCC 2019
Kelly and I had a BLAST last year and are super sad we aren’t at SDCC right now. Let’s revisit some of our fav moments! See our full coverage here.
Con Books in Honor of SDCC
Con Quest!
by Sam MaggsPublished by: Imprint
on June 23, 2020
Pages: 256
Audible
Goodreads
Cat and Alex are excited to be at the world's most popular comics convention--and they're even more excited to compete in the Quest, a huge scavenger hunt run by an anonymous organizer. The big prize: a chance to meet their favorite nerdy celebrity!
The twins ditch their older sister Fiona and set off to find geeky clues, tackle nerdy challenges, and cross as many items as possible off their Quest list, which includes volunteering at an Artist Alley booth, gathering cosplayers in enough colors to make a double rainbow, and actually finding something healthy to eat in the convention center!
Can the twins work together even when they disagree on how to compete? Will Fiona find the Cat and Alex before their parents realize they're missing? Most importantly, can these ultimate fans complete the Quest?
The Pros of Cons
by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar, Michelle SchustermanPublished by: Point
on March 27, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 352
Audible
Goodreads
Drummer Phoebe Byrd prides herself on being one of the guys, and she's ready to prove it by kicking all their butts in the snare solo competition at the Indoor Percussion Association Convention.Writer Vanessa Montoya-O'Callaghan has been looking forward to the WTFcon for months. Not just because of the panels and fanfiction readings but because WTFcon is where she'll finally meet Soleil, her internet girlfriend, for the first time.Taxidermy assistant Callie Buchannan might be good at scooping brains out of deer skulls, but that doesn't mean it's her passion. Since her parents' divorce, her taxidermist father only cares about his work, and assisting him at the World Taxidermy and Fish-Carving Championships is the only way Callie knows to connect with him.When a crazy mix-up in the hotel lobby brings the three girls together, they form an unlikely friendship against a chaotic background of cosplay, competition, and carcasses!
Geekerella (Once Upon a Con, #1)
by Ashley PostonPublished by: Quirk Books
on April 4, 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 320
Audible
Goodreads
Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.
Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.
Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.
Comics Will Break Your Heart
by Faith Erin HicksPublished by: Roaring Brook Press
on February 12, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 340
Audible
Goodreads
Miriam's family should be rich. After all, her grandfather was the co-creator of smash-hit comics series The TomorrowMen. But he sold his rights to the series to his co-creator in the 1960s for practically nothing, and now that's what Miriam has: practically nothing. And practically nothing to look forward to either-how can she afford college when her family can barely keep a roof above their heads? As if she didn't have enough to worry about, Miriam's life gets much more complicated when a cute boy shows up in town . . . and turns out to be the grandson of the man who defrauded Miriam's grandfather, and heir to the TomorrowMen fortune.
In her endearing debut novel, cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks pens a sensitive and funny Romeo and Juliet tale about modern romance, geek royalty, and what it takes to heal the long-festering scars of the past (Spoiler Alert: love).
The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love
by Sarvenaz TashPublished by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
on June 14, 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 252
Audible
Goodreads
Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. Archie and Veronica. Althena and Noth.…Graham and Roxy?
Graham met his best friend, Roxy, when he moved into her neighborhood eight years ago and she asked him which Hogwarts house he’d be sorted into. Graham has been in love with her ever since.
But now they’re sixteen, still neighbors, still best friends. And Graham and Roxy share more than ever—moving on from their Harry Potter obsession to a serious love of comic books.
When Graham learns that the creator of their favorite comic, The Chronicles of Althena, is making a rare appearance at this year’s New York Comic Con, he knows he must score tickets. And the event inspires Graham to come up with the perfect plan to tell Roxy how he really feels about her. He’s got three days to woo his best friend at the coolest, kookiest con full of superheroes and supervillains. But no one at a comic book convention is who they appear to be…even Roxy. And Graham is starting to realize fictional love stories are way less complicated than real-life ones.
Conventionally Yours (True Colors, #1)
by Annabeth AlbertPublished by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
on June 2, 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Audible
Goodreads
When two "big name fans" go head-to-head at a convention, love isn't the only thing at stake.
Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all...but in reality, he's scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control.
Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection...but even he can't help but feel a little broken inside.
When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way―even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.
