“Down with This Ship” is an adorable contemporary young adult novel that focuses on a talented girl dealing with anxiety, romance, high school, and blackmail, and it was very entertaining!

I loved Kole and thought she was the highlight of the story. It was interesting to see how she deals with her anxiety and fear of talking in the convention and revealing her identity. As if that is not enough, she also has to deal with her crushes and her awkwardness around Noah. Furthermore, she also fears being outed as the owner of the fanfic by Damien. Kole shares sweet moments with her mom and Will that made the story so charming.

Similarly, I also enjoyed the cute YA romance in the story. Kole shares excellent chemistry between Noah and Colin, and it was interesting to see who she would choose in the end. Some of the scenes that Kole shares with them are adorable and romantic. Moreover, the author also wrote the negative characters like Damien and Hailey in a deliciously evil manner, where you loathe them for how they blackmail Kole.

Moreover, there are also some minor things that I appreciated the author for including, the use of challenging SAT words, as well as Pippa’s story arc in the fanfic. It was interesting to see how Pippa’s storyline progressed and reflected Kole’s anxiety. I also enjoyed how the author toggled between formats and read the comments of fans over the fanfic posts. Finally, I loved the scenes in the Dance and thought it was the highlight of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed “Down with This Ship” and look forward to reading more works by the author in the future.

This wasn't one of my normal reads, per se. But with that being said, I didn't hate it!
I loved that this high school girl was taken for a big ride after it was discovered that she was the writer of a popular fanfic blog.

This story was fun with all the different twist and i found myself anticipating what was going to happen next!!

Such a great read.

This is perfect for readers and writers of fan fiction.

Kole Miller has a secret: she’s the writer of the top fan fiction blog for her favorite sci-fi show. She’s not ready for anyone at her high school to know. But then two things threaten her secret: she gets invited to speak on a panel at a con and a fellow student finds out and starts blackmailing her.

Meanwhile, Kole’s personal life is a mess. She falls instantly for the boy who moves in next door, Noah, even though they don’t have much in common. But there’s also Colin, the smart kid in school known as the Curvebreaker, who seems to want to get to know her better. And her old friends group, who ships a different pairing for their fave TV show, takes every opportunity to make Kole’s life difficult. After the whole school becomes divided along ship lines, Kole has to decide just how important her favorite ships are to her.

The characters are delightfully teenage, with stakes like college admissions and who’s taking who to the dance. I loved the fact that every chapter ended with a bit of Kole’s fan fiction, giving us a story within a story.

This was a fun read.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Kole's fanfic wins an award it seems great, until she notices some of her classmates taking about it, and then suddenly people know. Everyone at the school is talking about her fanfic, and who they ship, after a while the shipping isn't limited just to her fanfic but Kole herself. With thing seemingly out of control she has to figure out how to act and do what's best for her.

The plot to this story was interesting for sure, The characters were good. Honestly the thing that was the most unrealistic was pretty much her whole high school knowing, and liking Space Wars. There were some pretty big stereotypes, with the 'nerds' 'geeks' and 'jock' characters but overall it was really great. There was some subtle but nice LGBTQ rep and the main character was described as a size eleven. Overall the book was nice I just didn't think there was anything super special about it.


Thank you for the opportunity to review!

If you're looking for a cute, over the top high school rom com with a LOT of geek culture... Read this book! Sure, if you're looking for something realistic to actual high school drama, this isn't the book for you. But it's so much fun! Kingman gives you ridiculous characters and plotlines, but she also makes fun of them! I couldn't help reading this in one sitting!

I really wanted to like this book, but there were so many grating factors working against it. It was difficult to get engrossed in a book with bullying so severe; there came with a warning about 'light bullying', but honestly it was enough to make me feel physically sick. I ended up DNF because despite being compelled by the main storyline, it was so uncomfortable I couldn't continue. I completely agree with opening up conversations about bullying and the impact it has, but I don't feel this book handled it well at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flux Books for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own!

Holy wow! This book was so freaking cute! I can't get over it. This book is the book I wish I had as a teen who was obsessively in the Twilight and Buffy fandom. The validation this makes me feel as someone who has written fan fiction and read fan fiction.. I can't get over it. This made my heart flutter, made my heart hurt and made my heart burst with pride.

Kole and Collin are literally the two most adorable beings on this planet. I love how instead of feeling ashamed or embarrassed by their nerdiness or geekiness, they embrace it. They live and breath it. It's such a breath of fresh air to see people who love being smart or love "geeky" things genuinely enjoying them with no remorse. Kole as a main character is such a lovely person. Her ability to take embarrassment, rejection, and pain in stride in high school is admirable. She really grows and finds herself throughout the book and it's a great journey. Collin is one of my favorite love interests I've read recently. He's patient, kind, and intelligent and unapologetic for it. His ability to write the way he does and to show his true self, especially to Kole warmed my heart.

The voice used in this book helps it flow, be relatable and gives you the feelings the main characters are feeling as you read. I think the plot was well done and fleshed out. The pacing was great and realistic in the context and setting of high school and I thought the character development and arcs were incredible well done. this novel is so well put together and I absolutely adored it.

If you've ever been in a fandom, love enemies/rivals to lovers, been the "smart kid" or love YA contemporary, this is absolutely for you! This is one you won't want to miss!

I HAD A CRUSH ON COLIN RIGHT FROM THE START! I loved how this book had a nerd and geek romance going on. Very different from the typical good girl & bad boy, or smart nerd and favourite jock. I also love how the novel touches on the challenges of social media, and the dealing of trolls and online bullying. It was interesting to have this book surround around characters in a honours creative writing program, while also getting touches from everybody's favourite jocks (Will and Nick). Damian and Hailey really need some help. Seriously. Like, what is wrong with them? How can these creative writers be so aggressive? SMH. Jealousy at its finest. I loved Michaelah though, she is so supportive and an amazing friend overall. I also love the character development of Kole's mom, as she learns to realize that Kole is perfect the way she is. A beautiful story. I ALSO LOVE FANFICTION, SO MY FANGIRL HEART WAS JUST SO EMOTIONAL THE ENTIRE TIME AHHHH.

Fun book about fandoms and finding yourself and I love the messages on bullying!

The only problem I had with it was the main character. She's rude to everyone in her life and she's so dramatic. I know she has anxiety but it's not portrayed well and she just comes off as a b****. Also, a lot of the bullying and drama felt very middle school to me.

But I loved Colin, I loved all her real friends, and I loved seeing the fictional Tumblr-verse in this book! It reminded me a lot of my own fandom obsessions and tumblr page back when I was in junior high!!

An enjoyable read, I only wish it was more realistic.

The book is billed as Teens & YA, and Kole Miller is a junior in high school, but from page 1 on, it felt middle grade level.

I read the first 10%, but wasn't feeling invested in the characters or the story. Should the book continue like it did for the first portion, and had it been aimed at middle grade (throw her in 7th grade) or the text matured, it would be three stars, just a good time. It needed more substance.

I am absolutely weak for fluffy, fandom related stories, and Down With This Ship really hit the spot. It was adorable, nerdy, and campy in all the right ways. As a former high school fanfic writer I really related to Kole and all her hopes and fears surrounding her story. we may love fandom but sometimes it doesn't love us back, and that's conveyed really well here.

Where do I get myself a nerd like Colin? He was so so sweet. I liked him so much it made me a little annoyed that so much time was spent on Noah. Yeah, I may have some toxic fangirl tendencies. I know the ship wars were awful but damn if I wasn't on team Colin from the jump.

There were some moments where I got confused about what was going on plot-wise (there was a lot happening!), but I had an issue with the ARC where it kept skipping the final pages of chapters, so I may not be the best judge there.

Down With This Ship may have been over the top and dramatic to the point of unrealistic in some ways, but in a much bigger way it was wonderfully escapist. It made me laugh and smile and wait breathlessly in the moments leading up to a possible kiss. I 100% recommend it.

I received an ARC of Down with this Ship by Katie Kingman thanks to the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
If you were anything like me when you were younger you either read or wrote fanfiction. Taking these characters and worlds and shaping them into something that is more appealing to me (or looking for stories that went in the direction I wanted) solidified by love of reading. It held me over in the years where I had moved away from chapter books, like Magic Tree House, but wasn't quite read to tackle young adult books. Why didn't I read middle grade? Great question. I honestly had no idea what it was or that it even existed. I went from Magic Tree House to Harry Potter (which when I first tried I hated). Instead I read what was assigned in school (Fever 1793, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Bridge to Terabithia, etc.). While I loved most of these stories, they were 'work'. Fanfiction gave me back the power. of choice when it came to reading. It also gave me an outlet when I had no one else to talk to. While this has nothing to do with Down with the Ship, it is important to know my stance on the fanfiction matter of the book might be a bit biased.

If you couldn't guess, Down with the Ship includes some aspects of fanfiction. Actually, the framework of the story is based around fanfiction. Specifically, the writing of fanfiction and how insane fans can be (of the fanfiction and the story it is based on). If you could not guess by what I've said about the book so far, Down with Ship refers to character pairings, or ships, which can become a brutal battle between shippers (think Team Edward and Team Jacob fans for Twilight).

The writing is funny and sweet. The characters are fantastic. I found myself laughing at multiple points because of the geeky humor. I loved reading the fanfiction 'inserts' that Kole was writing, although I do wish those scene were longer. I would loooove to see Spacer as a full novel. Like taking those scenes out of Down with the Ship and releasing a companion novel.

Overall, the story was fantastic. I enjoyed the feelings of nostalgia that it gave me.

DOWN WITH THIS SHIP is an intriguing YA contemporary read about pursuing your dreams and embracing yourself. Kole is a fanfiction writer for The Space Game, a popular show about space pirates, and she dreams of writing TV shows someday. When she finds out that she has won a major award for her fanfiction, her webpage views skyrocket and the resultant attention is a difficult combination of positive and negative. The new criticism leads her to doubt herself and her writing.

When people at school figure out who she is online and hold her blog hostage, Kole has to face down her inner turmoil and conflicts at school. At the same time, her own love life is getting more interesting with ships moving from the fanfic to her actual life.

What I loved: A strong element of this book is the reflections on confidence and social media that are present throughout. Kole gets a lot of attention, and while she expects the good things to come her way from the award, she does not anticipate the windfall of criticism and negative comments. The way that these can really get under someone's skin are illustrated really well in the story. Kole learns about herself and self-confidence throughout the book, which something that will resonate with YA readers. The love triangle and high school crushes were fun overall, even though there were some bumps in the road along the way.

What left me wanting more: The book really slows down in the middle, and I would have appreciated a faster pace to hold attention. There are places where the plot does not seem to advance much. While it was cool to see some of her fanfiction, there was quite a bit of it, and I think additional context would have been needed to really enjoy it, as it did not quite reflect the story or help the reader to understand the plot better.

Final verdict: DOWN WITH THIS SHIP is an interesting YA contemporary read with messages about social media, criticism, and self-confidence.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher, Flux Books for providing me with an E-ARC of this novel through Netgalley. I will be posting this review on Goodreads, my Instagram page (@mysterious_bookshack), Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles closer to the publication date. The following review is based on my thoughts and is completely honest.

Rating ~ 4 / 5 stars

I enjoyed every single second of this book! I've been reading more books based around fanfiction and fandoms and so far, this one is truly one of the best ones I have read. The themes of friendship, being unique, high school pressure, bullying, and the steps it takes to truly accept who you are is so well written in this novel. I was getting all the feels and the best part is that I can really relate to the main character. We both hide things from everyone else because we both don't want to be put on the spot. The only difference is that her secret was discovered and mine hasn't. The way that she handled her secret coming out was exactly how a teen would handle it nowadays. High school is rough and not to mention social media, but Kole did her best and she tried to stay true to herself as much as possible when things were quickly falling out of control around her.

Overall, this is the perfect read for cosplayers, geeks, nerds, fanfiction lovers, and anyone who struggles with self-confidence like me. From start to finish, I loved Kole and how her struggles made her stronger and better at the end. It's basically a story everyone needs to read because this book is a really good portrayal of how most teens feel at school nowadays. Amazing job and I can't wait for this book to release!

Kole has a secret; she’s the writer behind the wildly popular fan-fiction series, Spacer, a twist on the science-fiction TV show The Space Game -- with a non-canon ship that is taking the internet by storm. When Kole wins an internet contest for Best Fan Ship, she’s catapulted into geek infamy, her blog getting millions of hits overnight -- and the mean comments and haters that come with it. Then a classmate figures out her secret, and Kole has a decision to make: be blackmailed and keep the life she’s known, or let the school -- and the world -- know she’s the voice behind science-fiction’s most popular story.

I was so excited to read this story. I ship so many pairings, canon and non-canon, from books to TV to film and comics, and to find a book that focuses on that special part of geekdom, fanfiction? So cool. But this one was a letdown. Kole is a wholly unrelatable protagonist, her decisions questionable, and her motivation unclear. On top of that, she somehow has not one, not two, but THREE different boys all up in her business, all at the same time. A love triangle is hard enough to do successfully, but a love quadrangle will not be easily bought.

Which brings me to my biggest issue with this story: the utter suspension of disbelief it takes to engage in this world. No matter how mainstream a pop culture topic can get, there is no way an entire school would go to war over a fictional story, especially not when the topic is initially presented as being something so niche-ly nerdy and NOT mainstream at all. And adults joining in on the battle? I might’ve bought it if it was presented as an alternate-reality similar to our own, but it’s very clear the world of the story is our own contemporary existence.

And it just wasn’t believable.

I’d say the prime audience for this book is a few years younger than the high schoolers it portrays; Kole’s character is inexperienced and it comes across both in her narrative and in the fanfiction snippets we’re shown. Snippets that don’t serve the story in any way; they don’t move the story along, or add to Kole’s inner monologue. And they’re often superfluously rehashed in dialogue.

Though a shorter novel, it’s somehow still too long. Every single detail of Kole’s actions is spelled out, to an unnecessary degree; I’d much rather have her and the secondary characters be fleshed out. The book’s villains are copy-cat bad guys you’d find in any high school film from the early 2000s -- but Regina George is memorable.

I’d recommend for ages 10-14, for those readers that are as crazy into the fanfiction world as Kole, and less concerned with a believable world.

Review currently live as part of May 2021 monthly round-up on thepaperbackcollector.com

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fun read, even if I did have a couple problems with it. It was mainly pretty lighthearted and cute, but at points I just didn't really like the characters. The main character just seemed like she was being a bit unnecessarily rude to the people around her, which I just found annoying. The middle seemed like it really wasn't believable to me, and it was a bit annoying in my opinion. In the end, it was a bit annoying at parts, and I see how others might not have liked it, but at parts they did a pretty good job.

I did my best to try and read the book. I just couldn't get past 35% of it. It just didn't read as easily as i expected, i got bored at times and would leave the book for days at a time. I'm giving up on this one for the time being but i may try to reread it when i have more time, it just wasn't the right time to read it.
Also, it really reminded me of Fangirl, and i felt the snippets of what Kole was writing was a little boring.
The book felt unrealistic at some points, and it made it even harder to read.
Thanks for the opportunity anyway, if i end up reading the whole book and change my mind i will change my review of it but for the time being i'm DNFing it.

I had never heard of the term "ship," or "shipping," but I soon realized that I had been doing this with my favorite television, book, and movie characters for as long as I've been conscious to those things, I just didn't know that there was a term for it. I've never read fan-fiction, or attended a convention regarding my favorite show, but this book made me want to do all of that and more!

First things first, a HUGE thank you to Netgalley and Flux for allowing me the opportunity to read this book before it's publication day, in expectation of my honest review.

Kole Miller does one thing really well: write fanfiction for the show The Space Game. Everything else is a struggle: like managing her anxiety, frequent crushes, and plans after high school. But when her blog, Spacer, wins a major fanfiction contest, her traffic soars.

With massive readership comes criticism Kole isn’t prepared for, including getting stuck in the heated ship wars surrounding the show. And then an invitation to speak at The Space Game’s official convention arrives in her inbox.

When the most competitive kids in her Creative Writing class discover Kole’s writing Spacer, her blog is taken hostage and she risks them hitting ctrl+A+del on Spacer. To win it back, Kole must face both her inner demons and the ones at Crystal Lake High before they make the drama not just about The Space Game, but about Kole herself.

Including snippets from Kole’s fanfic, emails, and text messages, Down With This Ship is sure to bring out the inner fangirl in anyone.

Down With This Ship by Katie Kingman had me "fan-girl squeeing" (yet another new-to-me term) right alongside the main character. I DEVOURED this book! It was a fun, fast paced read that was the perfect escape for anyone who's ever found themselves a little obsessed with a show and its characters. I found myself locked into this book--one more chaptering my way to the end, but at the same time, not actually wanting it to end because then the story, and all the feels, would be over. However, I’m glad I finished it because the ending was very fan-girl swoon worthy!

I enjoyed the romantic tension among Kole and her two love interests, and I found myself "shipping" her with who I wanted her to be with at the end of the story, much like Kole and Spacer fans do with the characters from The Space Game. I most related to the sibling dynamics of an older brother, and I found myself laughing a number of times at some of their interactions.

This book was a roller-coaster of emotions for me! Sometimes it had me laughing, smiling, and happy-crying at how cute it was. It also had me wanting to throw it across the room because the fight with the antagonists felt real to me.

I pre-ordered Down With This Ship by Katie Kingman when I was a little more than halfway through it, because I was already looking forward to rereading it. It's a "lighthearted and relatable take on what it's like to come of age at a time when social media rules our daily lives and fandoms are an integral part of so many people's media consumption." I would recommend this book for people involved in fandoms at almost any level and genre.

I really wanted to enjoy Down With The Ship.

It’s always fun to read books about fandoms and seeing how kids geek out about the characters and stories they love. I can DEFINITLY [yes all caps] relate. I’m sure you can too. Though I did enjoy parts of the story, on the whole I mostly found myself wishing for something more.

First, I felt the actual snippets of fanfiction written by the main character Kole Miller, distracting. To me, it took away from the underlining thread of the story: Kole and her relationships with her family (plutonic and otherwise) and friends. I wasn’t fangirling the way she was over the space opera tv series because I didn’t know much about the show she was watching. And that’s really not why I’m picking up this book.

But let’s talk about Kole’s nemsis in the story shall we?

Even though the idea of the antagonist being this fanboy honors English kid is interesting, again, I wasn’t fully invested. These kids felt over dramatic. Their interactions overblown. As though I was watching a sitcom on Netflix and the writing felt cringe worthy because it was over-the-top. Perhaps a much younger audience would appreciate the high drama.

Further, the synopsis touches on anxiety and for me, I didn’t get the impression that Kole had anxiety or at least the writing didn’t portray her as such for me. When I think of characters who are suffering from anxiety I think of Kelly Loy Gisbert’s When We Were Infinite. Where as I was reading I felt those moments of pure panic, where I had to set the book down and take a breath and process.

Now, I’m not suggesting authors force readers to have panic attacks or any type of anxiety. What I want to point out is that if you are stating that your characters have mental health issues than the writing should reflect that in a caring and meaningful way. It felt like an after thought that Kole had anxiety. It wasn’t until the end, when Kole’s mom says she has anxiety, which for me was jarring. I had to take a moment and process what the mother had said. And wonder did I read that correctly? Going back and after re-reading her dialogue, being utterly confused.

Overall, the novel feels like a story young teens could possibly enjoy because it has all the elements of high school drama, a love-triangle, a quirky villain, and a main character who just wants to figure out what she wants.

Happy Reading ̴ Cece

Find my full review on my book blog June 14th

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Flux Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. This book was one I wasn't sure how I was going to feel. Trigger warnings for bullying, cyber trolling, miscommunication, and points of pretentiousness. This is a story that I think is educational for someone who needs a high school education on online fandom in particular fan fiction creation and shipping especially shipping. I really enjoyed the core family and friendship dynamics but also the lessons learned from other characters in particular how passionate they are about their work fandom etc. I did have an issue other than with the trigger warnings, was that I feel like this may not be a book that's timeless because fandom grows and changes over time no matter what it is and I fear it will date itself after its publication. Overall though, I truly enjoyed this story for what it is and I hope that teens enjoy it. Because of these points, I have to give this book a 4 out of 5 stars