Shipped by Meredith Tate
Out Now from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers; 368 pages
Content Warnings: Poverty, TV Violence, Online Fandom Bullying and Sexism, Mention of Sexual Assault
About the Author: “Meredith Tate grew up in Concord, New Hampshire, where she fell in love with her two passions—writing and traveling. She earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of New Hampshire and worked in Boston for several years before deciding to pursue her true dream of telling stories. After spending three wonderful years in St. Louis, Missouri, and three more amazing years in Zurich, Switzerland, Meredith now lives in Houston with her husband and her spoiled rescue dog. When Meredith’s not writing, she loves photography, playing the piano, trying new recipes, and chasing her goal of seeing every continent (four down, three to go!).” (Bio taken from Goodreads.)
Find Meredith Tate on the following platforms:
Stella Greene is a senior at Gene Connolly Memorial High School, fighting for her spot as valedictorian. Stella’s rival, Wesley Clarke, is her opposite in almost every way. Where Stella lives in a cramped apartment with her workaholic mom, disabled stepdad, and high school dropout sister with a baby, Wesley lives in a mansion with a lawyer for a mom and a business owner for a dad. While it seems that Wesley has it all, he has his own reasons for wanting the title of Valedictorian and the full ride scholarship that comes with it. When Wesley decides that this is the year he will finally attend SciCon, he searches the Warship Seven fan site to find someone to go with. While Stella and Welsey battle in a prank war, they grow closer together under their Warship Seven online aliases and plan to meet at SciCon.
Shipped is a cute, nerdy, and loveable story. Stella is a strong character, and we see her devotion to earning the Valedictorian title and scholarship, to her complex family, and to the Warship Seven fandom (and non-canon ship). I really enjoyed the discussions this book creates about prejudice within and about fandoms. Tate addresses the sexism that is prevalent in many fandoms and the hypocrisy of sports fans “justifiably” spending copious amounts of money on merchandise but spending money on merchandise for one’s favorite show or book is weird. This book shows how both Wesley and Stella deal with difficult family situations while trying to grow away from their home lives and learn about love. Reading this story made me want to go to SciCon and have my own silly experiences with cosplay. If you are looking for an enemies to lovers, dual POV, fandom driven romance, Shipped just might be the perfect fit for you!
PRR Writer, Adrianna Muñoz