…and fictional relationships get real.

Claire Strupke is a devoted fan of Demon Heart, a television show about Smokey, a demon hunter, and Heart, his prey. They’re on opposite sides but are somehow obsessed with each other, and Claire believes the looks they give each other whenever they meet mean something. She has lots of followers on her Tumblr where she writes SmokeHeart slash fan fic* shipping** the two. When she learns the actors who play Smokey and Heart, Forest Reed and Rico Quiroz, and showrunner Jamie Davies are coming to a local comic convention she decides a) she must go, and b) she will find a way to convince Jamie to make SmokeHeart canon, meaning, make the relationship part of the story. At the Demon Heart panel Q&A, Claire asks when Smokey and Heart will realize they’re in love, and if they’ll kiss. Forest ridicules Claire much to the dismay of Rico, Jamie, the crowd of fans – and social media. In an effort to clean up the PR nightmare Forest caused, Claire is invited to join them on the rest of their convention tour. They want her to use her social media platform to make things right with the fandom, but she is more concerned with making SmokeHeart canon. That’s not the only thing Claire has on her mind. She connects with Tess, another Demon Heart fan, in line for the panel and is confused by her attraction to her. While Tess knows she is queer, Claire is not so sure. It turns out Tess is also going to be following the DemonHeart tour, so Claire has one more thing to figure out.

I proudly admit I love comics, fandoms and all geeky things. Ship It did not disappoint. The intensity of fandoms, how they help people connect, and the overwhelming fun of comic conventions are all captured here. The inclusion of weaponized social media adds reality. Claire is white and Tess is African American, but I wish the narrative did a little more to illustrate the diversity of fandoms. Incorporating Claire’s fan fic into the book gives a full picture of her vision of SmokeHeart while at the same time showing how her writing may be part of her questioning her own sexuality. I appreciated how the story stayed complicated, especially in this regard. This is a fun read and will appeal to anyone who enjoys fandoms, seeing people pursue a goal, and sometimes sweet, sometimes difficult early relationships.

* Stories based on existing works which create different plots and relationships between the characters. Slash fan fic contains gay relationships

**Wishing for a romantic relationship between 2 characters not currently together