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The Pros of Cons
A drummer, a fanfic writer, and an amateur taxidermist walk into a convention center, and the weekend that unfolds will change all of their lives. 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!
341 pages, Hardcover
First published March 27, 2018
26 people are currently reading
1832 people want to read
About the author
Alison Cherry
12 books208 followersAlison grew up in Evanston, IL. She is a professional photographer and spent many years working as a lighting designer for theater, opera, and dance. Now she lives in Brooklyn and writes young adult novels full time. She is represented by the lovely and amazing Holly Root of Root Literary.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 188 reviews
March 8, 2024
This quintessential Young Adult read is quirky, cubed. A mad mash-up of three (and a half) conventions under one roof results in a delightfully amusing tale that is not without substance. And it has a pretty great title, you know I love it when something can mean two things.
It isn’t Phoebe’s first time. She’s come before with her high-school percussion ensemble, to participate in the Indoor Percussion Association Convention. Perhaps there is a bit more pressure this time, though.
Vanessa is very excited to finally meet her girl-friend, face-to-face, for the first time. Sweetly naïve, she really does not know what to expect from the We Treasure Fandom con.
Callie came as her dad’s assistant for the World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championship, but she’s only here hoping he will see her as his daughter, instead.
The story starts properly, with a literal bang. A collision in the lobby leads to a shuffling and unnoticed exchanges of carrying cases. From that point forward, nothing goes as planned.
Phoebe finds that her mallet bag is actually filled with tools for Buchannan Taxidermy, definitely not the mallets she needs. But, she’s only thrown for a second. Since she has the xylophone solo, she has to improvise. She uses the scalpels.
Vanessa is feeling confused and out-of-place. People are different in real-life than online and she’s just beginning to figure that out.
Callie is bummed that her dad continues to treat her like a disappointing assistant, but when she realizes his cold-shoulder is just the tip of the ice-berg; she plots sweet, public revenge.
I learned a lot from The Pros of Cons. I hadn’t heard of half of the percussion instruments played, nor did I know that “critical listening” is different from “analytical listening. “Fan-fic” and “cons” were familiar terms, but I had no inkling of the depth. Or that it gave way to its own language. By the way, I also know what sock-puppeting means now. Oddly, I did know a bit about taxidermy.
This review was written for Buried Under Books by jv poore.
It isn’t Phoebe’s first time. She’s come before with her high-school percussion ensemble, to participate in the Indoor Percussion Association Convention. Perhaps there is a bit more pressure this time, though.
Vanessa is very excited to finally meet her girl-friend, face-to-face, for the first time. Sweetly naïve, she really does not know what to expect from the We Treasure Fandom con.
Callie came as her dad’s assistant for the World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championship, but she’s only here hoping he will see her as his daughter, instead.
The story starts properly, with a literal bang. A collision in the lobby leads to a shuffling and unnoticed exchanges of carrying cases. From that point forward, nothing goes as planned.
Phoebe finds that her mallet bag is actually filled with tools for Buchannan Taxidermy, definitely not the mallets she needs. But, she’s only thrown for a second. Since she has the xylophone solo, she has to improvise. She uses the scalpels.
Vanessa is feeling confused and out-of-place. People are different in real-life than online and she’s just beginning to figure that out.
Callie is bummed that her dad continues to treat her like a disappointing assistant, but when she realizes his cold-shoulder is just the tip of the ice-berg; she plots sweet, public revenge.
I learned a lot from The Pros of Cons. I hadn’t heard of half of the percussion instruments played, nor did I know that “critical listening” is different from “analytical listening. “Fan-fic” and “cons” were familiar terms, but I had no inkling of the depth. Or that it gave way to its own language. By the way, I also know what sock-puppeting means now. Oddly, I did know a bit about taxidermy.
This review was written for Buried Under Books by jv poore.
March 23, 2018
Full disclosure: I won a free ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
Wow! This impressed me much more than I expected it to. I mean, I expected it to be good and fun, and it was both of those, in spades, but it was also moving and compelling and had me grinning like a maniac at some times, and all but crying into my mustache at others. What I'm saying is that this ride is a heck of a lot more thrilling than it looked from the queue.
As the cover states, this book is set at a convention center in Orlando where several conventions are taking place at once (So this book is sort of the prose of cons. If it were set at a well known French film festival, it would be prose of Cannes. Sorry. The title does inspire puns …) Vanessa is looking forward to the We Treasure Fandom convention--WTFcon--and to meeting her fanfiction collaborator and online girlfriend, Soleil, in person for the very first time. Phoebe is there with her band classmates for the Indoor Percussion Association convention, where she hopes to win the solo competition. Callie is playing assistant to her father for the World Taxidermy Championships, but discovers a secret her father has been hiding from her …
Each girl is the main character in alternating chapters. I’m assuming that each of the three authors wrote one of the characters and there was probably a final pass by one of them to get it all blended together nicely. Normally, seeing so many names would give me pause. Books written by committee can be pretty awful. This one is a spectacular exception, probably due, at least in part, to its structure.
The plot itself isn't too surprising. Each of the girls faces a crisis, some relationship that's completely out of whack, and they help each other through it, bond, and become friends. But the details are what make it great, and everything plays out in a very satisfying fashion. Their seperate (at first) stories are cleverly and convincingly interwoven. Having been to a few similar conventions (except for the taxidermy one) myself, all of the setting details ring true. The characters feel three dimensional, and I found myself caring deeply what happens to all of them.
This book is a gem and a delight. Highly, highly recommended!
Wow! This impressed me much more than I expected it to. I mean, I expected it to be good and fun, and it was both of those, in spades, but it was also moving and compelling and had me grinning like a maniac at some times, and all but crying into my mustache at others. What I'm saying is that this ride is a heck of a lot more thrilling than it looked from the queue.
As the cover states, this book is set at a convention center in Orlando where several conventions are taking place at once (So this book is sort of the prose of cons. If it were set at a well known French film festival, it would be prose of Cannes. Sorry. The title does inspire puns …) Vanessa is looking forward to the We Treasure Fandom convention--WTFcon--and to meeting her fanfiction collaborator and online girlfriend, Soleil, in person for the very first time. Phoebe is there with her band classmates for the Indoor Percussion Association convention, where she hopes to win the solo competition. Callie is playing assistant to her father for the World Taxidermy Championships, but discovers a secret her father has been hiding from her …
Each girl is the main character in alternating chapters. I’m assuming that each of the three authors wrote one of the characters and there was probably a final pass by one of them to get it all blended together nicely. Normally, seeing so many names would give me pause. Books written by committee can be pretty awful. This one is a spectacular exception, probably due, at least in part, to its structure.
The plot itself isn't too surprising. Each of the girls faces a crisis, some relationship that's completely out of whack, and they help each other through it, bond, and become friends. But the details are what make it great, and everything plays out in a very satisfying fashion. Their seperate (at first) stories are cleverly and convincingly interwoven. Having been to a few similar conventions (except for the taxidermy one) myself, all of the setting details ring true. The characters feel three dimensional, and I found myself caring deeply what happens to all of them.
This book is a gem and a delight. Highly, highly recommended!
April 13, 2018
More, please! I sucked this down in a day- what fun it was! I want to see these characters grow until they are a feisty bunch of old dames. I miss them already. I’ve already put more work by the authors on my “to read” list.
to-read-so-bad-it-hurts
July 14, 2016Pro 1: Lindsay Ribar, pro 2: life-changing friendship, hell yesss.
July 9, 2023
rep; vanessa (mc) is mexican, queer, and has social anxiety. merry (sc) is gender-neutral. soleil (sc) is pansexual.
there are many things i like about this book; the representation (some of it anyway), the girl friendships, the owning up to your own faults and doing better, the fun of cons and fandom, the humor, how supportive everyone is, the actual communication that goes on instead of blown out of proportion misunderstandings for the sake of conflict/angst, the relationship or lack thereof between callie and her father is relatable - as is the relationship between/what went down with her parents, girls hating girls is called out, standing up to toxic people, lots of snape love, i appreciate that pansexual is defined as liking all genders (even if the pan character is trash), the one time vanessa’s social anxiety is visited it’s quite relatable: “i’d basically based it on how i felt every day at school. hanging off to the side, not really talking to anyone, not understanding how other people seemed to feel so comfortable around each other. i took a deep breath, trying to work up the nerve to claim credit for that scene—but by the time i got there, danielle was already talking again.”
this moment is adorable and makes me chuckle:
“‘man,’ i said. ‘you’re really hardcore. i hope you disinfected the crap out of your hands afterward. some of those scalpels were, um, inside a badger on monday.”
phoebe gazed at her palms in awe. ‘sweet, i’ve got hufflepuff hands!’”
there are also some things i don’t like about this book; the taxidermy (sorry you can say it all want but animals that die in zoos did not die of “natural causes” because being in a zoo is not natural for animals) or the “peta: people eating tasty animals” thing - peta is garbage but damn meat eaters are exhausting with their pettiness, soleil is the actual worst and it pisses me off that this is the second time an author writes a character meant to be disliked and makes them pansexual (interesting enough, both books are set at conventions), i would have liked to see soleil get some of that “i’ve been awful, i recognize it, i’m going to do better” development but whatever, the use of “more than/just friends" friendship is not less than thank you goodnight, a character (soleil; the worst) refers to a gender-neutral character as “a they,” a character (soleil; the worst) thinks mexican people only eat corn beef and cabbage and then gets mad when she’s called out for it, a character (soleil; the worst) fetishizes queer men, a character (soleil; the worst) uses polyamory/an anti-monogamy stance to appear more enlightened or progressive or interesting which is a shame because polyamory deserves to be accepted and represented rather than just used as a prop, there’s a comment about how a character cares about diversity in media “especially race and sexuality” which comes off to me as prioritzing certain representation over others, vanessa’s social anxiety is mentioned once and then never really visited again, and pretty much all the ships mentioned at this con are m/m ships which is...suspect. i know fandoms *cough* female shippers *cough* favor *cough* fetishize *cough* m/m relationships but throwing in some f/f ships or even just calling out the fetishization would have been nice.
this deserves it’s own paragraph: a character uses an allergen against another character. callie puts an ingredient her father is allergic to in a product he uses which makes his hands break out in welts to “get back at him” in a way that is supposed to be publicly humiliating. not only is this not funny, but it’s incredibly dangerous and not something that should be portrayed as funny in a book targeted at young people. this does not exist in a vacuum. people, usually kids, have actually died from having their allergen used against them by bullies, abusers, or just people who are trying to pull an “innocent prank.” it’s not fucking funny or okay.
one thing that i don’t like turned into a whole rant, so i had to give it its own little section lmao. that thing being callie’s relationship with her father.
callie blaming herself for her lack of relationship with her father because she didn’t “try hard enough”...honey no, he’s the grown ass adult who treated you as if you did not exist and that is on him. he didn’t even know your birthday! fuck him! that is not your fault!
and jeremy saying he doesn’t want to be involved with callie’s family drama, but then inserting himself to make excuses for her father...like, again, her father is the adult! he doesn’t get to have a child and keep that child away from her mother all while neglecting said child and have it be waved away with “he’s bad at feelings” and “he’s hurting too”! he. is. the. adult. he. is. the. parent. don’t have kids if you aren’t capable or willing to make them number one in your life.
and then, get fucking this, callie pours her heart out to her father on two separate occasions and he just says “sorry, i made mistakes, and i know i was harsh but it’s because you have potential” like? seriously? that’s it? no sorry for forgetting your birthday? no sorry for ignoring your existence? no sorry for treating you like garbage? no sorry for berating you in public? no sorry for being an ungrateful asshole? just a blanket “i’m sorry”? fuck this shit!
honestly this parent/child relationship is just so toxic and awful and a classic “parent can’t admit to wrongdoings and always has a reason.” and i’m so fucking pissed off that there is that shitty “redemption” for the father, because callie should have just gone to live her mother who actually wants callie in her life and expresses it because she’s a fucking parent who doesn’t neglect her kid and excuse it with work or being bad at feelings or being hurt.
i’m just really pissed about this, because callie was so set on living with her mother and said “it’s too late” for her father to suddenly start acting like her father, but then she does a complete turnaround and is all “we’re family and family doesn’t quit” fuck that. if a family member neglects you for years, something they previously drove away another family member with and thus did not learn from, fucking go. you don’t owe them anything. you are not obligated to work through it or shoulder the blame for the sake of family.
callie’s mother was neglected by callie’s father and she left. callie should have done the same. if he truly cares, it wouldn’t have taken him years, it wouldn’t have taken callie quitting her job with him, saying she’s leaving, then sitting him down and explaining how family works and how to be a father to him for him to remove his head from his beloved fucking turkey’s ass. if these characters were real people, all the effort (aka bare minimum; he literally just asks her about her day and spends some time with her, alert the media we have a father of the year over here) we see callie’s father make in that last chapter, would not last. it would taper off and he would be back to ignoring her and being selfish. trust me, i know.
so. while i have a problem with both the pan and social anxiety rep, among other things, i like this book overall. the fandom and friendship themes are very much appreciated. now that i think about it, i read a lot of fandom themed books. i could name six off the top of my head, not including this one. interesting.
there are many things i like about this book; the representation (some of it anyway), the girl friendships, the owning up to your own faults and doing better, the fun of cons and fandom, the humor, how supportive everyone is, the actual communication that goes on instead of blown out of proportion misunderstandings for the sake of conflict/angst, the relationship or lack thereof between callie and her father is relatable - as is the relationship between/what went down with her parents, girls hating girls is called out, standing up to toxic people, lots of snape love, i appreciate that pansexual is defined as liking all genders (even if the pan character is trash), the one time vanessa’s social anxiety is visited it’s quite relatable: “i’d basically based it on how i felt every day at school. hanging off to the side, not really talking to anyone, not understanding how other people seemed to feel so comfortable around each other. i took a deep breath, trying to work up the nerve to claim credit for that scene—but by the time i got there, danielle was already talking again.”
this moment is adorable and makes me chuckle:
“‘man,’ i said. ‘you’re really hardcore. i hope you disinfected the crap out of your hands afterward. some of those scalpels were, um, inside a badger on monday.”
phoebe gazed at her palms in awe. ‘sweet, i’ve got hufflepuff hands!’”
there are also some things i don’t like about this book; the taxidermy (sorry you can say it all want but animals that die in zoos did not die of “natural causes” because being in a zoo is not natural for animals) or the “peta: people eating tasty animals” thing - peta is garbage but damn meat eaters are exhausting with their pettiness, soleil is the actual worst and it pisses me off that this is the second time an author writes a character meant to be disliked and makes them pansexual (interesting enough, both books are set at conventions), i would have liked to see soleil get some of that “i’ve been awful, i recognize it, i’m going to do better” development but whatever, the use of “more than/just friends" friendship is not less than thank you goodnight, a character (soleil; the worst) refers to a gender-neutral character as “a they,” a character (soleil; the worst) thinks mexican people only eat corn beef and cabbage and then gets mad when she’s called out for it, a character (soleil; the worst) fetishizes queer men, a character (soleil; the worst) uses polyamory/an anti-monogamy stance to appear more enlightened or progressive or interesting which is a shame because polyamory deserves to be accepted and represented rather than just used as a prop, there’s a comment about how a character cares about diversity in media “especially race and sexuality” which comes off to me as prioritzing certain representation over others, vanessa’s social anxiety is mentioned once and then never really visited again, and pretty much all the ships mentioned at this con are m/m ships which is...suspect. i know fandoms *cough* female shippers *cough* favor *cough* fetishize *cough* m/m relationships but throwing in some f/f ships or even just calling out the fetishization would have been nice.
this deserves it’s own paragraph: a character uses an allergen against another character. callie puts an ingredient her father is allergic to in a product he uses which makes his hands break out in welts to “get back at him” in a way that is supposed to be publicly humiliating. not only is this not funny, but it’s incredibly dangerous and not something that should be portrayed as funny in a book targeted at young people. this does not exist in a vacuum. people, usually kids, have actually died from having their allergen used against them by bullies, abusers, or just people who are trying to pull an “innocent prank.” it’s not fucking funny or okay.
one thing that i don’t like turned into a whole rant, so i had to give it its own little section lmao. that thing being callie’s relationship with her father.
callie blaming herself for her lack of relationship with her father because she didn’t “try hard enough”...honey no, he’s the grown ass adult who treated you as if you did not exist and that is on him. he didn’t even know your birthday! fuck him! that is not your fault!
and jeremy saying he doesn’t want to be involved with callie’s family drama, but then inserting himself to make excuses for her father...like, again, her father is the adult! he doesn’t get to have a child and keep that child away from her mother all while neglecting said child and have it be waved away with “he’s bad at feelings” and “he’s hurting too”! he. is. the. adult. he. is. the. parent. don’t have kids if you aren’t capable or willing to make them number one in your life.
and then, get fucking this, callie pours her heart out to her father on two separate occasions and he just says “sorry, i made mistakes, and i know i was harsh but it’s because you have potential” like? seriously? that’s it? no sorry for forgetting your birthday? no sorry for ignoring your existence? no sorry for treating you like garbage? no sorry for berating you in public? no sorry for being an ungrateful asshole? just a blanket “i’m sorry”? fuck this shit!
honestly this parent/child relationship is just so toxic and awful and a classic “parent can’t admit to wrongdoings and always has a reason.” and i’m so fucking pissed off that there is that shitty “redemption” for the father, because callie should have just gone to live her mother who actually wants callie in her life and expresses it because she’s a fucking parent who doesn’t neglect her kid and excuse it with work or being bad at feelings or being hurt.
i’m just really pissed about this, because callie was so set on living with her mother and said “it’s too late” for her father to suddenly start acting like her father, but then she does a complete turnaround and is all “we’re family and family doesn’t quit” fuck that. if a family member neglects you for years, something they previously drove away another family member with and thus did not learn from, fucking go. you don’t owe them anything. you are not obligated to work through it or shoulder the blame for the sake of family.
callie’s mother was neglected by callie’s father and she left. callie should have done the same. if he truly cares, it wouldn’t have taken him years, it wouldn’t have taken callie quitting her job with him, saying she’s leaving, then sitting him down and explaining how family works and how to be a father to him for him to remove his head from his beloved fucking turkey’s ass. if these characters were real people, all the effort (aka bare minimum; he literally just asks her about her day and spends some time with her, alert the media we have a father of the year over here) we see callie’s father make in that last chapter, would not last. it would taper off and he would be back to ignoring her and being selfish. trust me, i know.
so. while i have a problem with both the pan and social anxiety rep, among other things, i like this book overall. the fandom and friendship themes are very much appreciated. now that i think about it, i read a lot of fandom themed books. i could name six off the top of my head, not including this one. interesting.
April 23, 2018
What do you get when you gather four different cons under one roof? You get a fun story of friendship, which simply charmed the pants off of me.
•Pro: Books featuring female friendships always rank high with me, and I really felt the love among these three. It didn't matter that they were so different from each other or not even attending the same convention, they saw someone in need, responded, and a friendship grew from there. Girls supporting girls for the win!
•Pro: The cons were pretty awesome. I learned so much "attending" the percussion competition and taxidermy convention. These are worlds I am not too well versed in, but the information was shared in such a way, that it was quite fascinating.
•Pro: WTFcon was also a ton of fun. This was more in my comfort zone, and I could totally relate to all the con related talk. The contests, the panels, the nerdy talk, and all the events brought back memories of all the fun conventions I have attended in the past, and it really made me want to attend an event again soon.
•Pro: The main characters in the book was simply wonderful. They were teens, who were still figuring stuff out. They made mistakes, and learned from those mistakes. Each character grew, and learned to see things a little differently, and be a little more open minded. They forgave and atoned, and I am all about people being able to do those things.
•Pro: The three authors did a wonderful job tying their three stories together. At first, each characters' story plays out on its own, but then, worlds collided, and that's were it took off for me. I enjoyed flipping between the three POVs and absolutely adored the interview portion of the story.
•Pro: There is like zero lag in this story. It was highly entertaining, amusing, heartwarming, and adorable.
•Pro: I love people who chase their passion, and these three each had something they were super passionate about. It was awesome to see them working towards these dreams, and was sort of inspiring too.
Overall: A heartwarming and hilarious story of female friendship, that kept a smile on my face.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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•Pro: Books featuring female friendships always rank high with me, and I really felt the love among these three. It didn't matter that they were so different from each other or not even attending the same convention, they saw someone in need, responded, and a friendship grew from there. Girls supporting girls for the win!
•Pro: The cons were pretty awesome. I learned so much "attending" the percussion competition and taxidermy convention. These are worlds I am not too well versed in, but the information was shared in such a way, that it was quite fascinating.
•Pro: WTFcon was also a ton of fun. This was more in my comfort zone, and I could totally relate to all the con related talk. The contests, the panels, the nerdy talk, and all the events brought back memories of all the fun conventions I have attended in the past, and it really made me want to attend an event again soon.
•Pro: The main characters in the book was simply wonderful. They were teens, who were still figuring stuff out. They made mistakes, and learned from those mistakes. Each character grew, and learned to see things a little differently, and be a little more open minded. They forgave and atoned, and I am all about people being able to do those things.
•Pro: The three authors did a wonderful job tying their three stories together. At first, each characters' story plays out on its own, but then, worlds collided, and that's were it took off for me. I enjoyed flipping between the three POVs and absolutely adored the interview portion of the story.
•Pro: There is like zero lag in this story. It was highly entertaining, amusing, heartwarming, and adorable.
•Pro: I love people who chase their passion, and these three each had something they were super passionate about. It was awesome to see them working towards these dreams, and was sort of inspiring too.
Overall: A heartwarming and hilarious story of female friendship, that kept a smile on my face.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
March 29, 2018
The cute, nerdy, multi-POV book of my dreams, really 😍 The perfect mix of angst, kissing, and shenanigans recommended for anyone who loves contemporary YA, especially of the fandom indulgent kind.
May 27, 2018
4.5 stars!
I loved this book please read it
RTC
I loved this book please read it
RTC
August 19, 2019
4.5/5
When three very different girls run into each other at a convention center, an unorthodox kind of friendship blooms between them. Callie is there as her dad's assistant for a taxidermy competition when it's the last thing she wants to do. Vanessa has come for the "We the Fandom" con or WTFCon. She's nervous since she'll be meeting her internet girlfriend for the first time in real life. Phoebe is a competing percussionist in IPAC. Things become awkward when the boy she thinks she likes unintentionally sabotages her during the ensemble.
This was an amalgamation of several seemingly unrelated things, and weird things like taxidermy, but it worked for me. I loved the girls even if sometimes they did something petty, yes I am looking at you Callie. The friendship that formed between the three of them was so natural and realistic, I couldn't help but love it.
The Pros of Cons is a book about second chances, communication and chasing after something you want. This five day con extravaganza was the perfect setting and it made for the best quirky yet serious backdrop. I don't know if I could pick a favorite narrator, but Phoebe made me laugh so hard by replacing swear words with animals.
A great contemporary and it really helped lighten my mood. Highly recommend.
When three very different girls run into each other at a convention center, an unorthodox kind of friendship blooms between them. Callie is there as her dad's assistant for a taxidermy competition when it's the last thing she wants to do. Vanessa has come for the "We the Fandom" con or WTFCon. She's nervous since she'll be meeting her internet girlfriend for the first time in real life. Phoebe is a competing percussionist in IPAC. Things become awkward when the boy she thinks she likes unintentionally sabotages her during the ensemble.
This was an amalgamation of several seemingly unrelated things, and weird things like taxidermy, but it worked for me. I loved the girls even if sometimes they did something petty, yes I am looking at you Callie. The friendship that formed between the three of them was so natural and realistic, I couldn't help but love it.
The Pros of Cons is a book about second chances, communication and chasing after something you want. This five day con extravaganza was the perfect setting and it made for the best quirky yet serious backdrop. I don't know if I could pick a favorite narrator, but Phoebe made me laugh so hard by replacing swear words with animals.
A great contemporary and it really helped lighten my mood. Highly recommend.
Read
February 6, 2019This was extremely fun and cute. I don't know why I love con books so much, but I do, and this one delivered it in spades along with a really enjoyable friendship story, a really cute budding queer romance, and some observations on social media relationships that hit way too close to home.
August 9, 2017
A YA book first and foremost about friendship: 1,000,000 points.
February 18, 2018
I adored THE PROS OF CONS. It's so full of fandom and friendship and quirkiness and girls supporting girls, and I basically grinned non-stop from start to finish.
May 26, 2018
Know that whole saying - never judge a book by its cover? Well, it's always a straight up lie. We always judge a book by it's cover it seems like in the book world. If it's pretty, we instantly want to pick it up and caress it gently BECAUSE PRETTY. And it's, well, not so pleasing? We might get a little sketched out by it.
For me? I was completely sold by the premise of this book, but I was a little bit sketched out by the stuffed mouse on the cover with some musical instruments and a witch hat. It wasn't, um, the thing I really wanted sitting on my bookshelf for all to see? But lemme tell you, I forever judged this book cover too harshly, because the insides were amazingggggggg.
This story features 3 very different girls in 3 very different cons having a bunch of different problems. Usually, I have a habit of leaning more toward one perspective in multiple POV stories, but this one, I was invested in every single one of their stories and each one of them. I wanted each one of them to succeed, and I also wanted all of them to have the happily ever after they deserved. They were wonderful heroines full of heart, smarts, and such brilliant wishes and passions - that's right, each character had a thought desire and passion that they eagerly pursued. I remembered years ago that I was complaining that no YA heroine seemed to have a passion or dream or hobby, but each of these girls were so wonderfully detailed and complex. I loved it so much, and I desperately enjoyed each of these. Also, each girl got to shine in their strength and fierceness, which was just so wonderful.
I also loved how seamlessly this was brought together. I really had no clue how they would all meet and connect, but the authors all managed to come up with an organic, realistic way for them to meet and combine all three storylines together. I'm still marveling at the genius that the way authors did it. SO impressed.
Speaking of the authors, I honestly had no idea who was writing who until the end. Their writing styles gelled really well with one another, and they did each others' characters just the way they were meant to be. I couldn't tell it was 3 different authors and smushing their books and characters together. It felt natural and cool and WAS SO GOOD.
Another thing that was so brilliant that the messages that was brought in the book. There were definitely some feminist and sexist themes that were brought up. The story also included some fantastic conversations about gender neutrality. One of the love interests was gender neutral. It was the first time that I had seen it really highlighted in a YA novel before (I know I've seen it being briefly mentioned in some books or in books I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet), but I felt this book really made it a point to highlight the importance of the right pronoun usage and more.
I was also so involved with a lot of the ships. The ships weren't all the main parts - it was a lot more focused on self-discoveries and journeys for our lovely, lovely heroines - but I was still allllllllllllllllll here for them. I also was super glad that not all of them had a ship that exactly worked out???? I thought it was so realistic, and again, showing us that we all don't need a love interest for a happily ever after.
Gosh, there was so much that I loved about this. It was so enthralling and easy to just lose myself in. The setting of each of the cons was absolutely brilliant, and I just eagerly flipped through page after page because I was so obsessed with it. Ugh, just a heartwarming book that got me a little misty eyed?????? What happened to the heartless book princess??? IDK, but this book GOT ME.
Overall, this was such an enjoyable, wonderful read. Despite loving this book so much, I feel like a little bit of me isn't completely sold as a favorite yet??? I'm still debating, but I really recommend this book so much. It was super cool - whether with the setting, the romances, the characters, or the writing. 5 crowns, and a Tiana rating!!!
For me? I was completely sold by the premise of this book, but I was a little bit sketched out by the stuffed mouse on the cover with some musical instruments and a witch hat. It wasn't, um, the thing I really wanted sitting on my bookshelf for all to see? But lemme tell you, I forever judged this book cover too harshly, because the insides were amazingggggggg.
This story features 3 very different girls in 3 very different cons having a bunch of different problems. Usually, I have a habit of leaning more toward one perspective in multiple POV stories, but this one, I was invested in every single one of their stories and each one of them. I wanted each one of them to succeed, and I also wanted all of them to have the happily ever after they deserved. They were wonderful heroines full of heart, smarts, and such brilliant wishes and passions - that's right, each character had a thought desire and passion that they eagerly pursued. I remembered years ago that I was complaining that no YA heroine seemed to have a passion or dream or hobby, but each of these girls were so wonderfully detailed and complex. I loved it so much, and I desperately enjoyed each of these. Also, each girl got to shine in their strength and fierceness, which was just so wonderful.
I also loved how seamlessly this was brought together. I really had no clue how they would all meet and connect, but the authors all managed to come up with an organic, realistic way for them to meet and combine all three storylines together. I'm still marveling at the genius that the way authors did it. SO impressed.
Speaking of the authors, I honestly had no idea who was writing who until the end. Their writing styles gelled really well with one another, and they did each others' characters just the way they were meant to be. I couldn't tell it was 3 different authors and smushing their books and characters together. It felt natural and cool and WAS SO GOOD.
Another thing that was so brilliant that the messages that was brought in the book. There were definitely some feminist and sexist themes that were brought up. The story also included some fantastic conversations about gender neutrality. One of the love interests was gender neutral. It was the first time that I had seen it really highlighted in a YA novel before (I know I've seen it being briefly mentioned in some books or in books I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet), but I felt this book really made it a point to highlight the importance of the right pronoun usage and more.
I was also so involved with a lot of the ships. The ships weren't all the main parts - it was a lot more focused on self-discoveries and journeys for our lovely, lovely heroines - but I was still allllllllllllllllll here for them. I also was super glad that not all of them had a ship that exactly worked out???? I thought it was so realistic, and again, showing us that we all don't need a love interest for a happily ever after.
Gosh, there was so much that I loved about this. It was so enthralling and easy to just lose myself in. The setting of each of the cons was absolutely brilliant, and I just eagerly flipped through page after page because I was so obsessed with it. Ugh, just a heartwarming book that got me a little misty eyed?????? What happened to the heartless book princess??? IDK, but this book GOT ME.
Overall, this was such an enjoyable, wonderful read. Despite loving this book so much, I feel like a little bit of me isn't completely sold as a favorite yet??? I'm still debating, but I really recommend this book so much. It was super cool - whether with the setting, the romances, the characters, or the writing. 5 crowns, and a Tiana rating!!!
August 5, 2018
*4,3 stars*
This was so fun to read, I laughed a lot and honestly, I just really, really liked this one.
This was so fun to read, I laughed a lot and honestly, I just really, really liked this one.
April 16, 2019
My friend loaned me this book a while back, as we both enjoy YA novels. Initially, I wasn't sure this one would be up my alley, as I have no interest in drums or taxidermy. However, it was incredibly relatable and I learned some new things from reading it.
I have been to some conventions in the past; twice for Rocky Horror fans in the Midwest and twice for BookExpo. While I've never been to a comic con or anything along those lines, I think it would be fun to check out sometime. I also went to Repticon last year, which wasn't really up my alley but made me appreciate the taxidermy portions of this novel, for some strange reason. The drum parts reminded me of going to Theater Fest when I was in high school.
I felt a kinship with all three girls, but felt especially connected to Vanessa. Perhaps because what she was doing interested me the most. I enjoyed seeing how everyone's stories connected and overlapped with one another. There were some parts where I laughed out loud and other parts where I got teary-eyed (which I was not expecting to happen).
The only issue I had was that I didn't really understand the percussion terms and got a bit lost during the drum competition, but it was not a deterrent to my enjoyment of this novel. Overall, I really enjoyed it and hope these three authors will collaborate on another novel. Perhaps some of the side characters could have a spin-off story. (I found it especially interesting to learn which author was responsible for each of the main characters.)
Movie casting ideas:
Vanessa: Kayla Maisonet
Callie: Maude Apatow
Phoebe: Taylor Blackwell
Hamish (Callie's dad): Ethan Hawke
Jeremy: Jacob Anderson
Scott: Peyton Meyer
Brian: Zachary Gordon
Soliel: Olivia Holt
Merry: Bex Taylor-Klaus
I have been to some conventions in the past; twice for Rocky Horror fans in the Midwest and twice for BookExpo. While I've never been to a comic con or anything along those lines, I think it would be fun to check out sometime. I also went to Repticon last year, which wasn't really up my alley but made me appreciate the taxidermy portions of this novel, for some strange reason. The drum parts reminded me of going to Theater Fest when I was in high school.
I felt a kinship with all three girls, but felt especially connected to Vanessa. Perhaps because what she was doing interested me the most. I enjoyed seeing how everyone's stories connected and overlapped with one another. There were some parts where I laughed out loud and other parts where I got teary-eyed (which I was not expecting to happen).
The only issue I had was that I didn't really understand the percussion terms and got a bit lost during the drum competition, but it was not a deterrent to my enjoyment of this novel. Overall, I really enjoyed it and hope these three authors will collaborate on another novel. Perhaps some of the side characters could have a spin-off story. (I found it especially interesting to learn which author was responsible for each of the main characters.)
Movie casting ideas:
Vanessa: Kayla Maisonet
Callie: Maude Apatow
Phoebe: Taylor Blackwell
Hamish (Callie's dad): Ethan Hawke
Jeremy: Jacob Anderson
Scott: Peyton Meyer
Brian: Zachary Gordon
Soliel: Olivia Holt
Merry: Bex Taylor-Klaus
April 2, 2018
I love reading about incredibly specific subcultures, so this book was basically made for me. It's fun and sweet, while also digging into some intense issues--including some fandom-specific ones. There's a diverse female-led cast, and I think this is only the second book I've read with a non-binary character, and the first I've read where a non-binary character uses gender neutral pronouns. I'm so excited this book is middle school appropriate, because I can think of a few of my students off the top of my head who would love it.
October 28, 2018
DNF at about 20%. I usually give books the first fifty or so pages to catch my attention and this one just didn’t. It surprised me, because it sounds right up my alley with a diverse cast and a fun and unique setting. But the characters just didn’t win my heart. They all blended together in my head and didn’t feel like they had very distinctive personalities — which is strange to me, considering each of the protagonists was written by a different author. Ah, well. 2/5 for an interesting idea, but just not for me.
May 11, 2018
While I was reading this I just kept looking up at my husband and hitting him excitedly and shouting things like:
"I love this book! The teens are communicating!"
"They're learning from their mistakes!"
"OMG they're speaking up for themselves and avoiding toxic relationships!!"
"And building better and more loving ones and lasting friendships and there's character growth!" "OMFGBFEDHJSSHUFJEDHUFISD!!!!!"
So yeah, I love that!
"I love this book! The teens are communicating!"
"They're learning from their mistakes!"
"OMG they're speaking up for themselves and avoiding toxic relationships!!"
"And building better and more loving ones and lasting friendships and there's character growth!" "OMFGBFEDHJSSHUFJEDHUFISD!!!!!"
So yeah, I love that!
March 23, 2018
*I received an early DRC for free from edelweiss and the publisher. This does not affect my rating.*
Because this book takes place in Orlando at a convention center i couldn't help but picture the OCCC in my mind, I'm actually pretty convinced that it's based on the OCCC, but what evs. Anywaaaaay, i'm rambling... I really really liked this book! Women supporting women is my aesthetic!
Things i liked:
-How the 3 MCs were supportive of each other immediately and had each other's backs.
-the diversity!
-all the nerdy references, of course!
-FANDOM!
-the love stories didn't feel forced
-FRIENDSHIP!
-a lot more, but spoilers!
Things that bothered me, but that were also fixed within the book:
-the gender neutral character was called "she" twice but it was corrected right away, this is more of a warning for people that would hurt.
-Phoebe was VERY judgey about other girls, but she was called out on it, and she admitted that she was wrong, and apologized.
-Soleil basically says a lot of ridiculous stuff but is called out about it, specifically the one I'm remembering was about Vanessa being Mexican.
Things I didn't like:
-Soleil... but that was kind of the point! :p
All in all, I would definitely recommend this to anyone in a fandom! But do be aware of the things I mentioned above... Also, there is thorough talk on how to taxidermy a turkey, it wasn't graphic, but just in case you're sensitive.
Diversity:
-Vanessa is Mexican and queer.
-Merry (a side character) is gender neutral.
-Soleil is pansexual.
-various other ethnicities and sexualities are mentioned for side characters and other people attending the cons.
Because this book takes place in Orlando at a convention center i couldn't help but picture the OCCC in my mind, I'm actually pretty convinced that it's based on the OCCC, but what evs. Anywaaaaay, i'm rambling... I really really liked this book! Women supporting women is my aesthetic!
Things i liked:
-How the 3 MCs were supportive of each other immediately and had each other's backs.
-the diversity!
-all the nerdy references, of course!
-FANDOM!
-the love stories didn't feel forced
-FRIENDSHIP!
-a lot more, but spoilers!
Things that bothered me, but that were also fixed within the book:
-the gender neutral character was called "she" twice but it was corrected right away, this is more of a warning for people that would hurt.
-Phoebe was VERY judgey about other girls, but she was called out on it, and she admitted that she was wrong, and apologized.
-Soleil basically says a lot of ridiculous stuff but is called out about it, specifically the one I'm remembering was about Vanessa being Mexican.
Things I didn't like:
-Soleil... but that was kind of the point! :p
All in all, I would definitely recommend this to anyone in a fandom! But do be aware of the things I mentioned above... Also, there is thorough talk on how to taxidermy a turkey, it wasn't graphic, but just in case you're sensitive.
Diversity:
-Vanessa is Mexican and queer.
-Merry (a side character) is gender neutral.
-Soleil is pansexual.
-various other ethnicities and sexualities are mentioned for side characters and other people attending the cons.
October 12, 2018
Cherry, Alison. The Pros of Cons. Point, 2018.
Phoebe is a drummer and is really looking forward to this year's percussion conference and competition with her high school percussion group. Vanessa is excited about WTFcon, because she's attending as a fanfic writer and gets to meet her girlfriend IRL for the first time. Callie assists her father in his taxidermy business, and she agreed to go to the taxidermy convention with him in the hopes of having some father-daughter bonding time. These three conventions are happening at the same convention center, and the protagonists meet and get up to all sorts of hijinks and shenanigans.
This book is unbelievably hilarious. I started reading for the queer content, but they had me hooked when the Snape impersonator ran through the building in grey undies, twirling his robe above his head and screaming about putting a dark mark on Orlando. Each of the main characters has her own personal drama to deal with, and they end up becoming friends and helping each other (and a little pageant queen named Beige, but I don't want to spoil things for you). The characters are fun and relatable, the humor is splashed across every page, and once again I have found a book that my spouse and I each read in one sitting because it's just that good. Recommended.
Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: some language; discussion of sexual encounters; one main character is drunk at one point (she's possibly old enough to drink, but that isn't made clear)
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
Read-Alikes: Queens of Geek, Ship It, Tash Hearts Tolstoy
Phoebe is a drummer and is really looking forward to this year's percussion conference and competition with her high school percussion group. Vanessa is excited about WTFcon, because she's attending as a fanfic writer and gets to meet her girlfriend IRL for the first time. Callie assists her father in his taxidermy business, and she agreed to go to the taxidermy convention with him in the hopes of having some father-daughter bonding time. These three conventions are happening at the same convention center, and the protagonists meet and get up to all sorts of hijinks and shenanigans.
This book is unbelievably hilarious. I started reading for the queer content, but they had me hooked when the Snape impersonator ran through the building in grey undies, twirling his robe above his head and screaming about putting a dark mark on Orlando. Each of the main characters has her own personal drama to deal with, and they end up becoming friends and helping each other (and a little pageant queen named Beige, but I don't want to spoil things for you). The characters are fun and relatable, the humor is splashed across every page, and once again I have found a book that my spouse and I each read in one sitting because it's just that good. Recommended.
Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: some language; discussion of sexual encounters; one main character is drunk at one point (she's possibly old enough to drink, but that isn't made clear)
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
Read-Alikes: Queens of Geek, Ship It, Tash Hearts Tolstoy
January 12, 2019
Three teen girls, each attending separate conventions in the same location, meet, become friends, and help each other solve their respective problems.
Callie is working as her dad's assistant at the taxidermy convention as a way to spend more time with him and strengthen their familial bond after her mom left them, but her dad seems to only pay attention to her when scolding her.
Phoebe's percussion convention is off to a rough start when her bag gets mixed up with Callie's, forcing her to improvise drumsticks out of a pair of scalpels, and cutting up her hands in the process. Even more painful though is that she feels increasingly isolated from her best friends, and has an incredibly awkward encounter with a boy whom she might like.
Vanessa is meeting her online girlfriend and fanfiction co-author for the first time at the fandom convention, and discovers that she's not at all the person she was online.
This is a story about making friends, losing friends, and learning who your real friends are. Since it's a YA novel there is of course a bit of awkwardly stumbling through romantic issues, but it doesn't get sexually explicit. The writing is witty, funny, and engrossing - I laughed out loud at least four times while reading this, and devoured 90% of it in one day. Would heartily recommend to any fans of realistic or funny Young Adult books.
Callie is working as her dad's assistant at the taxidermy convention as a way to spend more time with him and strengthen their familial bond after her mom left them, but her dad seems to only pay attention to her when scolding her.
Phoebe's percussion convention is off to a rough start when her bag gets mixed up with Callie's, forcing her to improvise drumsticks out of a pair of scalpels, and cutting up her hands in the process. Even more painful though is that she feels increasingly isolated from her best friends, and has an incredibly awkward encounter with a boy whom she might like.
Vanessa is meeting her online girlfriend and fanfiction co-author for the first time at the fandom convention, and discovers that she's not at all the person she was online.
This is a story about making friends, losing friends, and learning who your real friends are. Since it's a YA novel there is of course a bit of awkwardly stumbling through romantic issues, but it doesn't get sexually explicit. The writing is witty, funny, and engrossing - I laughed out loud at least four times while reading this, and devoured 90% of it in one day. Would heartily recommend to any fans of realistic or funny Young Adult books.
November 14, 2019
The Pros of Cons was a sweet amalgamation of girls supporting girls, fandom references, character development, and queer romance. The story is split into the perspectives of three girls - Callie, Phoebe, and Vanessa, as they all attend separate conventions in the same centre. Each of them have their own problems to sort out over the week of the cons, and we get to see how they all develop and grow from themselves and each other.
I'm always going to be a fan of books in which women support one another, as it seems to be neglected in fiction. Seeing how the girls all became friends, and how much they cared for each other in such a short time, was truly reminiscent of many interactions myself and my friends have had with other girls. I especially loved the acceptance of Merry, a non-binary character, and how LGBTQ+ characters in general were written thoughtfully and respectfully. As someone who has spent the greater part of 6 years on Tumblr, I found the fandom references entertaining, but can understand that for people who haven't read Harry Potter, in particular, it might be a little bit confusing. All three conventions were well-researched, and it is clear that the authors themselves were passionate about the themes of the book.
This was a fun and pretty light-hearted read, and it elicited a sense of comfort within me. I'm a sucker for fandom books tbh.
I'm always going to be a fan of books in which women support one another, as it seems to be neglected in fiction. Seeing how the girls all became friends, and how much they cared for each other in such a short time, was truly reminiscent of many interactions myself and my friends have had with other girls. I especially loved the acceptance of Merry, a non-binary character, and how LGBTQ+ characters in general were written thoughtfully and respectfully. As someone who has spent the greater part of 6 years on Tumblr, I found the fandom references entertaining, but can understand that for people who haven't read Harry Potter, in particular, it might be a little bit confusing. All three conventions were well-researched, and it is clear that the authors themselves were passionate about the themes of the book.
This was a fun and pretty light-hearted read, and it elicited a sense of comfort within me. I'm a sucker for fandom books tbh.
June 1, 2018
One of my favorite parts of YA is the way it teases out experiences that I desperately wish happened to me when I was the age of the characters in these books. I've been on some rancid school trips, but not once did I happen to befriend some lovely strangers at those times that saved the day and taught me wonderful lessons. And more's the pity, really. I still wish that would happen, sometimes (and it has once or twice in my twenties, but that's another story). Three strangers at three disparate Florida conventions literally run into each other over the course of one weekend and find out they actually have things in common, and can help one another. This was the book I needed in a difficult stretch of weeks, and it made me miss some far-flung BFFs pretty hard. Definitely worth a look.
(Full disclosure, one of these three authors is a good friend.)
(Full disclosure, one of these three authors is a good friend.)
April 29, 2021
The Pros of Cons had the perfect mixture of friendship, teen drama, and fandom. This was such an engrossing read that swept me up right from the beginning. Callie, Vanessa, and Phoebe each have their own compelling problems that intersected in such interesting ways. The Pros of Cons was so hard to put down!
I do think the danger with books like this is that relying on lots of real-life pop culture references can end up making it feel a bit dated. While Harry Potter isn't one of the main fandoms celebrated in the book, it does appear a ton and left me feeling a little bit uncomfortable. The book was published in 2018, before we knew that JKR was a TERF, but if you would rather avoid Harry Potter entirely it might be worth passing on this one.
C/W:
I do think the danger with books like this is that relying on lots of real-life pop culture references can end up making it feel a bit dated. While Harry Potter isn't one of the main fandoms celebrated in the book, it does appear a ton and left me feeling a little bit uncomfortable. The book was published in 2018, before we knew that JKR was a TERF, but if you would rather avoid Harry Potter entirely it might be worth passing on this one.
C/W:
May 1, 2022
I picked this off my to-read pile because my husband and I will be going to a convention later this month, and I wanted to get in the zone for it. It's been several years since we've gone to one, and after the past couple years (our tickets had been originally for 2020), having to psych oneself up for that is definitely a thing.
While I cannot imagine four conventions happening at a hotel convention center all at once, this book was a great "popcorn" novel. The authors did a great job of making three stories come together seamlessly.
And funny! There were parts that had me guffawing, even cackling out loud. I don't want to give any spoilers, but some of the most hilarious parts come when the trio of protagonists are off talking to different people for something they're working on together.
This is a lovely book about friendship and working out issues through the help of others.
While I cannot imagine four conventions happening at a hotel convention center all at once, this book was a great "popcorn" novel. The authors did a great job of making three stories come together seamlessly.
And funny! There were parts that had me guffawing, even cackling out loud. I don't want to give any spoilers, but some of the most hilarious parts come when the trio of protagonists are off talking to different people for something they're working on together.
This is a lovely book about friendship and working out issues through the help of others.
June 16, 2018
I'm obsessed with this book.
As someone who goes to fandom conventions, this captured the essence of those conventions beautifully. Everything from the new friendships, to the atmosphere...all of it.
I loved the three different perspectives, they each had such unique characteristics and personalities. I devoured this story, and couldn't get enough of it.
Stay tuned for the epilogue as well. ;)
As someone who goes to fandom conventions, this captured the essence of those conventions beautifully. Everything from the new friendships, to the atmosphere...all of it.
I loved the three different perspectives, they each had such unique characteristics and personalities. I devoured this story, and couldn't get enough of it.
Stay tuned for the epilogue as well. ;)
September 17, 2018
More to come on my blogs, but I absolutely loved this book! The band chapters reminded me of high school (I was in chorus/theater, but they still resonated), and the fandom/Con chapters reminded me of my young adulthood past 13 or so years. :) As the daughter of an academic and a writer, the taxidermy chapters had some semblance to my life, although only loose. They also reminded me to be open to interests that are not my own. This is a great read, especially if you are a nerd of any kind.
October 7, 2021
I think I'm a little older than the intended audience but I still enjoyed it! I think this is a great book for young teens/tweens. I was also pleasantly surprised by it addressing and leaning away from the "not like other girls trope" and its positive portrayal of female friendship. As someone who is missing the convention scene, it was a nice little escape.
July 13, 2018
4.5 stars. This was so fun! I loved the con setting and the way three very different events drew these girls together. I loved all of the main characters - I can’t pick a favorite - and the way each one grows and finds her voice or her place.
September 4, 2018
Actual Rating: 4.25/5 Stars
This was so cute! I love reading books about fandoms/conventions and The Pros of Cons was really interesting as it focused on a number of different conventions taking place over a week. I also loved the female friendship between each of the main characters!
This was so cute! I love reading books about fandoms/conventions and The Pros of Cons was really interesting as it focused on a number of different conventions taking place over a week. I also loved the female friendship between each of the main characters!
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