AustLit

'Being a 17 year old is awkward. 

'Being a gay 17-year-old cosplayer with a mild Disney Princess obsession, a TV celebrity as a best friend and a first date with a shy guy you met online takes awkward to the next level.

'IRL is fairytale meets fanfiction in the quest for ‘happily ever after’. It is a fierce and funny reflection of what it means to be a teenager searching for friendship, love and acceptance and trying to find your community.

'Alexei and his long-time internet crush, Thaddeus, are about to meet IRL (in real life) at the Supanova pop culture convention.

'In a moment of regrettable self-sabotage, Alexei assumes a false identity to test the authenticity of his would-be boyfriend.

'When Alexei’s best friend Taylor begins channelling the anti-capitalist vigilante superhero she plays on TV, the thin line between fantasy and reality wiggles wildly out of control.

'At the end of a very long, strange, cosplay-filled day, will the trio find the connections they’re each craving?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.