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bookishmillennial's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I adored Jenna Miller’s other book “We Got The Beat,” and I highly recommend it. A friend let me borrow the physical copy of this book, and I am so delighted I read this too. Jenna Miller is easily becoming a favorite YA contemporary author for me!!!!
This book follows Cass, a fat lesbian teenager who navigates her mom’s abandonment, and begins to dive deep into her online role playing game and community. Cass is carrying a lot in this book (teenagers carry a lot, I will die on this hill):
I adored Jenna Miller’s other book “We Got The Beat,” and I highly recommend it. A friend let me borrow the physical copy of this book, and I am so delighted I read this too. Jenna Miller is easily becoming a favorite YA contemporary author for me!!!!
This book follows Cass, a fat lesbian teenager who navigates her mom’s abandonment, and begins to dive deep into her online role playing game and community. Cass is carrying a lot in this book (teenagers carry a lot, I will die on this hill):
- Classwork and grades
- College applications
- The book series she is fixated on, which translates into finding fandom and found family online
- Online friendships (which I can attest to, just like offline relationships, it takes a lot of effort to maintain sometimes)
- A new girlfriend/romance!
- The aftermath of her mom up and leaving, and ghosting Cass & her dad for a few months (like, not even a phone call, wtf)
- ^^^ the above is what I would say is a huge mindfuck & would rock anyone’s world (my world at sixteen or seventeen would have absolutely been rocked, so I am not speaking for everyone, but holy shit)
I appreciated that Cass made selfish, messy decisions. I think we all do, and I think it’s authentic to how we would have handled things as a young adult too. I can’t say for certain I would’ve made different choices than her, and I appreciate this vulnerability in showing this fallibility.
Overall, I knew who Cass would end up with, but I enjoyed the journey to get there! :D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Abandonment, and Addiction
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Grief
evelynyle_88's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Addiction, and Mental illness
Minor: Grief, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
kaylierian's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rep: fat lesbian fmc
romance: f/f/f love triangle
Not going to lie, this did make me a bit emotional at times. My absolute favorite thing was Cass's relationship with her dad. He certainly is a "cool dad" because all the things Cass gets away with are beyond me. OH and Cass and Tate's friendship. Platonic m/f friendships make me giddy inside. They are the very definition of platonic soulmates. I need a Tate in my life, Jenna Miller please make a Tate book, I am begging.
Noowww I got to address the romance... I love love love the internet best friends to lovers pipeline, but this truly felt out of nowhere. I honestly only think these two have feelings for each other because the characters they roleplay are together. Not to mention the love triangle... Cass digs herself into a very large hole and everything explodes in her face at the end. Dating a girl just because she looks like your favorite character is ???? The entire time it was obvious she didn't like her, and just kept leading Taylor on simply because she thought Rowan (her online bff) was straight. Alas,,, miss rowan is not straight at all,,, Taylor deserves better!
ANYWAYS besides the love triangle thingy this was adorable.
oh and the roleplaying scenes made me cringe so hard I had to skip them, I am so sorry!
romance: f/f/f love triangle
Not going to lie, this did make me a bit emotional at times. My absolute favorite thing was Cass's relationship with her dad. He certainly is a "cool dad" because all the things Cass gets away with are beyond me. OH and Cass and Tate's friendship. Platonic m/f friendships make me giddy inside. They are the very definition of platonic soulmates. I need a Tate in my life, Jenna Miller please make a Tate book, I am begging.
Noowww I got to address the romance... I love love love the internet best friends to lovers pipeline, but this truly felt out of nowhere. I honestly only think these two have feelings for each other because the characters they roleplay are together. Not to mention the love triangle... Cass digs herself into a very large hole and everything explodes in her face at the end. Dating a girl just because she looks like your favorite character is ???? The entire time it was obvious she didn't like her, and just kept leading Taylor on simply because she thought Rowan (her online bff) was straight. Alas,,, miss rowan is not straight at all,,, Taylor deserves better!
ANYWAYS besides the love triangle thingy this was adorable.
oh and the roleplaying scenes made me cringe so hard I had to skip them, I am so sorry!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Infidelity
Minor: Lesbophobia
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