Review (Or Why You Should Read) The Fangirl's Guide to The Galaxy by Sam Maggs

The Fangirl's Guide to The Galaxy by Sam Maggs 
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release date: May 12th 2015
Genre: Non-Fiction
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 5 Stars
Pre-Order Here

Fanfic, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more—it’s never been a better time to be a girl geek. The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy is the ultimate handbook for ladies living the nerdy life, a fun and feminist take on the often male-dominated world of geekdom. With delightful illustrations and an unabashed love for all the in(ternet)s and outs of geek culture, this book is packed with tips, playthroughs, and cheat codes for everything from starting an online fan community to planning a convention visit to supporting fellow female geeks in the wild.

"We know what we're into, we love hard, and we're okay with it. But we don't have it easy." 

The Fangirl's Guide to The Galaxy is the feminist guide book I want to give all young girls. Not only is it a fantastic look at geek cutlure, the ins and outs of being a fangirl, and how to keep yourself safe at conventions, Sam Maggs has an ENTIRE chapter on feminism: "Aim to Misbehave: Geek Girl Feminism." Maggs' has created an insightful, intriguing and thought-provoking piece of art which is phenomenal in being ordinary. However, as much as I want to spend this review telling you how awesome this book is and how you NEED to pre-order it, I want to focus on that one chapter, and why it is important. 

"... which is why it is so important to be supportive of other women. Don't let the capitial-F "feminist" freak you out; if you believe men and women should be equals, you're in." 

Maggs opens her chapter on feminism by talking about inclusivity. Did I mention she was awesome already? Feminism being inclusive is of huge importance to me; if you're not supporting all that identify as being a woman (or anyone that isn't a cis white straight woman) you're not for equality. TFGTTG includes feminism and defines its purpose: we're for equality. No ifs, buts or maybes. And Maggs does it with humour, intelligence and her demographic in mind. Teen girls are too often being shown the 'horrors' of feminism by the mass media, and it is time we reclaimed it. 

The Fangirl's Guide to The Galaxy is this decades Full Frontal Feminism with a geekish twist and written for teens to understand feminism from an actual real life feminist, and an array of awesome feminist ladies, such as: Erin Morgenstern, Kate Leth and the one and only Victoria Schwab. Which is no surprise of the next two reasons why this book is a soon-to-be modern classic of feminist work. Maggs not only has a marvelous chapter on feminism, she also has a dictionary of must-know feminist words and an entire section on myths about feminism that need to be busted. Real life feminists talking about real life feminism! For instance:

"Myth 3: Feminist Geeks hate men." 

"Myth 1: Men can't be feminists." 

And if that wasn't enough reasons why this book is totally the best release you should be anticipating, here's another. Feminist Talk Books was created with one idea in mind: we wanted to explore female representation in YA/books in general and find kick ass female characters that we're proud of. This is, quite possibly, the main reason why The Fangirl's Guide To The Galaxy is my new recommendation on behalf of FTB. Maggs ends her chapter on feminism, and wraps up her book, by giving her readers recommendations of where to find good representation of fantastic women across the media (Comics, games, film, TV and books.) 

Mostly, why I loved The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy was its emphasis on the importance of embracing your identity. Who you are takes up the majority of your teens, and living in a world that makes you feel ashamed of who you are sucks. But Maggs reminds you to embrace who you are and continue living genuinely. And she gives you tips on how to do so.  Being a fangirl, geek or feminist has never been so cool, or important. 

"...Something was still missing: an actual printed book that says, "Being a geek girl is the best thing ever and here are all the ways can do more nerdy things that are awesome and don't ever apologize for it because you are the best person out there and I'm so proud of you and you're beautiful."