Out of Character
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Dumplin’ meets Geekerella in debut author Jenna Miller’s queer, body-positive love story that explores online and offline relationships in all of their messiness.
If you asked seventeen-year-old Cass Williams to describe herself, she’d happily tell you she’s fat, a lesbian, and obsessed with the Tide Wars books. What she won’t tell you—or anyone in her life—is that she’s part of an online Tide Wars roleplay community. Sure, it’s nerdy as hell, but when she’s behind the screen writing scenes as Captain Aresha, she doesn’t have to think about her mother who walked out or how unexpectedly stressful it is dating resident cool girl Taylor Cooper.
But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass. For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her grades have taken a big hit. Also? Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie . . . and Taylor might be catching on.
As Cass’s lies continue to build, so does her anxiety. Roleplaying used to be the one place she could escape to, but this double life and offline-online love triangle have only made things worse. Cass must decide what to do—be honest and risk losing her safe space or keep it a secret and put everything else on the line.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
