Creep Con. Kim Firmston. Toronto, ON: James Lorimer, 2015. 151 pp., trade pbk. & epub, $14.95 (pbk.). ISBN 978-1-4594-0977-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-4594-0978-1 (epub). Grades 9 and up / Ages 14 and up. Review by Sylvia Santiago. *** /4

excerpt:

I don’t feel like a hero. I feel like a fraud.

I’m going to a place I’ve never been to. To a convention I know almost nothing about. In a costume that shows off more skin than I’m even remotely comfortable with and Tya is texting me the message, Excited yet???

Maybe I can pretend I’m sick. I certainly feel sick. My stomach is doing flips, my head pounds, and my mouth is as gritty as a Popsicle dropped on the beach. I finger the folded costume’s silky fabric hidden deep in my backpack. Everything is ready to go.

Except me.

I take a deep breath. Think of Batgirl. If she gives her word, she keeps it. So does Haruhi. She's as loyal as they get. Black Rock Shooter wouldn’t run. She never runs. So why is Mariam so wimpy?

Unsettled by a classmate’s rape in their neighbourhood, Mariam and her mother move from Fort McMurray to Calgary. Though it’s late in the school year, Mariam quickly finds a friend in fellow nerd, Tya. They bond over their interest in comic books and cartoons (Mariam) and manga and anime (Tya.) Tya invites Mariam to Otafest, a local anime convention. For their costumes, Mariam decides to go as Haruhi, a schoolgirl who masquerades as a boy in Ouran High School Host Club, while Tya decides to go as the more provocatively dressed Black Rock Shooter.

     The girls’ plans are spoiled when it turns out that Tya will be in Jamaica for her cousin’s wedding the weekend of Otafest. Tya is upset that no one will see the costume she worked so hard on, and Mariam knows that her overprotective mother won’t allow her to go to the convention on her own. To appease her friend, Mariam agrees to go dressed as Black Rock Shooter for the first day and as Haruhi for the rest of the time. And she decides not to tell her mom that Tya will be out of the country that weekend.

     The first day of Otafest, Mariam meets Rick who is in costume as Tamaki, Haruhi’s love interest. Charmed by his resemblance to the flirtatious character, Mariam tells him that she’ll be coming as Haruhi for the rest of the convention. Rick is thrilled, and they arrange to meet the following day. Mariam is flattered by Rick’s attention until his insistence on acting out their characters’ relationship escalates from irritating to intimidating.

     Creep Con is a quick paced read, with culturally diverse characters. It offers an interesting glimpse into the world of anime, cosplay (costume play) and fan conventions. Note that there is mention of rape and a depiction of sexual assault. Kim Firmston is the author of Stupid, Touch and Hook Up.

Recommended.

Sylvia Santiago is a Learning Commons Librarian in Calgary, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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Updated: October 17, 2014 (hsd)