This book kept me up until 2am reading and made my toes curl in delight. The story weaves between two narrators. Claire is a student in Pine Bluff, Idaho, who escapes from the boredom and loneliness of high school by immersing herself in online fandom for her favorite show, Demon Heart (aka Supernatural mixed with Buffy). Forest Reed is one of the actors on Demon Heart and plays Smokey, one half of the popular m/m ship, SmokeyHeart. Demon Heart is just wrapping up it's first season, and Forest and his co-star Rico Quiroz are scheduled for a promotional convention tour. When Claire reads that Forest and Rico will be at a con in Boise, she talks her mom into driving down for the weekend. NO ONE is a bigger Demon Heart fan than Claire, so when circumstances lead to her shouting at her favs during the Q&A at their panel, she is almost as surprised as everyone else. When she coincidentally "wins" an all expenses paid trip to accompany the cast and crew to their next two conventions Claire is deeply suspicious- but not about to give up her access to insider information. Or her chance to see more of Tess, an intriguing and attractive fellow fan, who is also road-tripping to follow the Demon Heart tour. An A+ look into the world of fandom and the process of showrunning from a writer who is very familiar with both.

Vera's family moved to the US from Russian when she was five, and at nine she is still struggling to make friends and fit in with her American classmates. One thing that all of them do which she's never been able to take part in is summer camps. Until, that is, she learns of ORRA- the Organization of Russian Razvedchiki (Scouts) in America. She begs her mom to send her, thinking that there at last she will make friends, roast smores, and have the summer of her life. When Vera and her little brother arrive, things are immediately not as she expected. She's in a tent with two teenagers (both named Sasha) who have no interested in hanging out with her. She doesn't know any of the songs, any of the jokes, or any of the traditions. And the bathrooms? Too scary to be described. Though she can speak Russian fluently she has difficulty reading it and struggles in the nature and history classes. Pretty soon Vera is writing to her mom, begging to be taken back home. This story, a mix of memoir and fiction, perfectly captures the experience of being young and lonely in the woods. But Vera is smart and resourceful, and she thinks up several different schemes (both foolish and wise) to improve her situation. By the end of the summer Vera has grown up a lot, and is (hopefully) better prepared for whatever life with throw at her next. Beautifully drawn and very engaging.