SUSAN: BOOK REVIEW "How to Repair A Mechanical Heart" by J.C. Lillis

SUMMARY:
Eighteen-year-old Castaway Planet fans Brandon and Abel hate bad fan fiction—especially when it pairs their number-one TV crushes of all time, dashing space captain Cadmus and dapper android Sim. As co-runners of the Internet’s third most popular Castaway Planet vlog, they love to spar with the “Cadsim” fangirls who think Cadmus will melt Sim’s mechanical heart by the Season 5 finale. This summer, Brandon and Abel have a mission: hit the road in an RV to follow the traveling Castaway Planet convention, interview the actors and showrunner, and uncover proof that a legit Cadsim romance will NEVER, EVER HAPPEN.

A Brandon and Abel romance: also not happening. Brandon’s sick of his struggle to make “gay and Catholic” compute, so it’s safer to love a TV android. Plus Abel’s got a hot new boyfriend with a phoenix tattoo, and how can Brandon compete with that? But when mysterious messages about them start popping up in the fan community, they make a shocking discovery that slowly forces their real feelings to the surface. Before they get to the last Castaway Planet convention, Brandon’s going to find out the truth: can a mechanical heart be reprogrammed, or will his first shot at love be a full system failure?

REVIEW:
4.5 stars...bright, shining stars...

I ADORED this book…like hugging my Kindle and giving it a peck on the cheek and then the forehead and a light tap on the cheek kind of adoration. 

If I had any talent, THIS would be the book I would have wanted to write…because it’s me in a nutshell (well, if I was 18 again, and male, and gay…but yeah, in every other sense…)

1. I’m a total geek, especially sci fi (Battlestar Galactica is my personal favorite. And yes, I’ve been to ComicCon…many times)
2. I love geek humor and the crazies who embrace it!
3. I grew up in the church so I know all about the nagging, judgmental voice in my head. 
4. I’m obsessed with RV’s. I’ve always wanted one.
5. Brandon and Abel are the exact types of people I’d write about: quirky, obsessive, funny, adorable…(though Brandon’s neurosis started to wear me down a bit towards the end)
6. Extreme fandom - anyone who's seen me commenting on every status update and discussion board about Special Forces and all my !!!!!'s, has seen how crazy I can get! This obsessive behavior is perfectly captured in this book!

I don’t even typically like YA books, but I LOVED this one.

Now, with all that being said, I don’t know that this book is for everyone. I think you have to like the weird, “off” types to enjoy the characters and their nuttiness. But, if you do…man, this book will be a real treat!

IN A NUTSHELL:
Geeks-at-heart will love this!