Out of Character

December 5, 2022
Queer 17-year-old Cass Williams doesn’t want anyone to know that she frequently spends her nights on Discord role-playing characters from her favorite book series—not her longtime best friend, popular athlete Tate; not his girlfriend, Rachel; not her parents; and definitely not her new girlfriend, Taylor. But when Cass’s parents suddenly announce they’re getting divorced, and her mother moves to Maine from their Minneapolis home to live with a man she met online, Cass and her father struggle to adjust to their new normal. To cope, she spends more and more time online before finding herself at a romantic crossroads: her relationship with Taylor has grown strained, due in part to Cass harboring secret romantic feelings for her online role-playing partner, Rowan, who she refuses to acknowledge exists IRL. This character-driven portrait—narrated by a confident “fat-girl” whose positive interpretations of her body type and queerness critically inform her hobbies, personality, and relationships—boasts a bevy of supportive characters, meaningful dialogue, and dynamic relationships. Hopeful with memorably constructive portrayals of healthy communication, Miller offers a strong debut. Main characters cue as white. Ages 13–up.

December 1, 2022
Can a 17-year-old with her first girlfriend prevent real-life folks from discovering her online fandoms? Cass is proudly queer, happily fat, and extremely secretive about being a fan who role-plays on Discord. Back in middle school, she had what she calls a gaming addiction, playing "The Sims" so much her parents had to take the game away. Now, turning to her role-play friends to cope with her fighting parents, she worries that people will judge her for her fannishness and online life. To be fair, her grades are suffering. And sure, maybe she's missed a college application deadline. Also, her mom has suddenly left Minneapolis and moved to Maine to be with a man she met online. But on the other hand, Cass is finally dating her amazingly cute longtime crush, Taylor. Pansexual Taylor is a gamer, a little bit punk, White like Cass, and so, so great--but she still can't help comparing her to Rowan, Cass' online best friend and role-playing ship partner. But Rowan doesn't want to be a dirty little secret and doesn't see why Cass can't be honest about this part of her life. The inevitable train wreck of her lies looms on the horizon for months in an overlong morality play building to the climax that includes tidy resolutions to all the character arcs that are quite heartwarming but, in the case of Cass' estranged mother, narratively unearned. Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod. (Fiction. 13-16)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 16, 2023

Gr 9 Up-High school senior Cass is living a double life. Online she's Aresha from the "Tide Wars" book series, role-playing on Discord with friends from across the country. Offline she's struggling with the stress of homework, college applications, and her mother's unexpected departure from Minneapolis to Maine to live with a new boyfriend. Even dating Taylor, her longtime crush, is proving complicated; when Taylor professes her love for Cass, Cass finds she's unable to reciprocate Taylor's strong feelings. But when Cass meets her role-playing friend Rowan in person, sparks fly, and Cass must decide how long she can keep her online life a secret from the people she cares about. Cass, Rowan, and Taylor are cued white; Cass's best friend Tate is Black. Miller realistically explores Cass's confusion and pain over her mother's departure, and how her avoidance of these emotions leads her to become consumed by the escapism of role-playing. Chapters close with excerpts from the "Tide Wars" fanfiction chats, providing a glimpse into Cass's passion for the books. VERDICT A sweet but slow moving queer romance that celebrates fandoms and explores the complications of balancing online and offline relationships.-Emily Yates

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 8, 2023
Grades 9-12 Ever since Cass' mom left, Cass has felt destabilized. While her dad has been making a real effort to be more available for her, Cass is glad she still has her online role-playing community for support. She's especially glad for Rowan, her ship partner in Tide Wars role-play--their characters are in love, so they write a lot of scenes together, but Rowan's also become one of her closest friends. When Cass' longtime, secret crush asks her out, Cass is stunned--she's a shy, nerdy homebody and Taylor is a breezy, confident cool girl--but excited. Except she and Taylor keep running into obstacles: Taylor can't stand Tide Wars, and Cass is afraid to tell her about her secret online life. Worse, Rowan doesn't seem happy for her at all. In her debut, Miller unpacks the mess that comes along with loving other people while keeping a finger on the pulse of what it looks like to respectfully parent a teen in this day and age. A thoughtful companion read for fans of Emma Mills' This Adventure Ends (2016).

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.