Review: Chaotic Good by Whitney Gardner

Chaotic Good
Whitney Gardner
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Knopf
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Cameron's cosplay--dressing like a fictional character--is finally starting to earn her attention--attention she hopes to use to get into the CalTech costume department for college. But when she wins a major competition, she inadvertently sets off a firestorm of angry comments from male fans.

When Cameron's family moves the summer before her senior year, she hopes to complete her costume portfolio in peace and quiet away from the abuse. Unfortunately, the only comic shop in town--her main destination for character reference--is staffed by a dudebro owner who challenges every woman who comes into the shop.

At her twin brother's suggestion, Cameron borrows a set of his clothes and uses her costuming expertise to waltz into the shop as Boy Cameron, where she's shocked at how easily she's accepted into the nerd inner sanctum. Soon, Cameron finds herself drafted into a D&D campaign alongside the jerky shop-owner Brody, friendly (almost flirtatiously so) clerk Wyatt, handsome Lincoln, and her bro Cooper, dragged along for good measure.

But as her "secret identity" gets more and more entrenched, Cameron's portfolio falls by the wayside--and her feelings for Lincoln threaten to make a complicated situation even more precarious.

The title of this book is a nod to a common character trope. Gardner explains:

Chaotic good ones place a high value on free will: they always intend to do the right thing, even if their methods are haphazard and generally out of sync with the rest of society.  

When Cameron finds herself the target of Internet ire and crosses paths with condescending mansplainer, Brody, she decides to assume the role of a chaotic good character, by masquerading as a boy, in order to prove a point to Brody. However, problems arise when she lets the rouse go on for too long, and she may have woven a web of lies too big to escape.

I really enjoyed this nerdy and rather feminist story.

Cameron was an engaging protagonist, who embodied many chaotic good qualities. She was big hearted and often had good intentions, but didn't always make the best decisions. She was riddled with guilt over hiding her identity, and started to lose herself a little. What I will say, is that she learned from her mistakes and grew a lot over the course of the story.

I felt so bad for Cameron when the Internet attacked. I have never been big on fandoms, and one of the reasons is the negative experiences I have had with members of some fandoms. It's good to be passionate, but some people take it too far, and that is exactly what happened to Cameron in this story. My heart went out to Cam as she tried to battle back against the attacks, but the whole time, I wished she had asked for help or even just support, because she had some fantastic people in her corner.

Gardner assembled such a wonderful supporting cast, and I adored getting to know each and every one of them. I loved Why and all his nerdtasticness, Lincoln and his smooth storytelling skills, and Nana Dotty, who was just so fabulous and a true champion for Cam. Well, that and I have a soft spot for incredible grandmas.

I was really impressed with some of the choices Gardner made for her characters. For instance, Cam's parents were "later in life" parents. I wouldn't say you rarely see almost 60 year old parents in most YA and it was an welcome change. I also loved that the romantic interest was geeky and DID NOT have washboard abs. In fact, Cameron describes him as "soft".  I love this, because in reality, not everyone has washboard abs, and it's nice to see some "average" people featured in stories.

Speaking of the love interest, I was all over this romance. The two were very sweet together, and the way Gardner wrote about Cam's attraction was so adorable and believable. She also incorporated the concept of consent into one of their make-out sessions, which I think we need to see more in books, as it's relevant and important in today's society.

As far as the story goes, I enjoyed being a part of Cam's creative process. My daughter's undergraduate degree is in costume design, so it's a world I am familiar with, and always in awe of. But I had the most fun during the D&D campaigns. I would not say I was a big D&D player, but it was huge when I was teen, and therefore, I dabbled a little. This was a fun walk down memory lane, and I totally found myself engrossed in those segments of the story. Lincoln's storytelling was fabulous, but then Gardner added these amazing illustrations that just elevated it even more.

This book was stuffed with nerdy fun, a strong family focus, and great characters, which amused and entertained me, but also gave me many things to think about with respect to some of the issues exclusive to women.

My name is Cameron Birch. I'm a level 17 Chaotic Good human being. 

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever played D&D?

Let us know in the comments!