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Three starred reviews!
Julie Murphy meets Heartstopper with a D&D twist in this "magical, heartwarming" (Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times bestselling author of She Gets the Girl) queer romance about a teen girl whose foray into fantasy tabletop roleplaying brings her new confidence, true friends, and a shot at real, swoon-worthy love.
Hollis Beckwith isn't trying to get a girl—she's just trying to get by. For a fat, broke girl with anxiety, the start of senior year brings enough to worry about. And besides, she already has a boyfriend: Chris. Their relationship isn't particularly exciting, but it's comfortable and familiar, and Hollis wants it to survive beyond senior year. To prove she's a girlfriend worth keeping, Hollis decides to learn Chris's favorite tabletop roleplaying game, Secrets & Sorcery—but his unfortunate "No Girlfriends at the Table" rule means she'll need to find her own group if she wants in.
Enter: Gloria Castañeda and her all-girls game of S&S! Crowded at the table in Gloria's cozy Ohio apartment, the six girls battle twisted magic in-game and become fast friends outside it. With her character as armor, Hollis starts to believe that maybe she can be more than just fat, anxious, and a little lost.
But then an in-game crush develops between Hollis's character and the bard played by charismatic Aini Amin-Shaw, whose wide, cocky grin makes Hollis's stomach flutter. As their gentle flirting sparks into something deeper, Hollis is no longer sure what she wants...or if she's content to just play pretend.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
March 5, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781797172385
- File size: 283775 KB
- Duration: 09:51:11
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from November 27, 2023
Looking for a way to get closer to her boyfriend Chris, 17-year-old Hollis Beckwith—who is fat and has anxiety—tries joining his friends’ campaign of the tabletop role-playing game Secrets & Sorcery. But Chris’s group has a “no girlfriends at the table” rule, and Hollis’s one attempt to join another campaign proves uncomfortable. Then she finds a girl-friendly, queer-inclusive crowd comprising out and proud Aini and
transgender Iffy. Despite Hollis’s initial reservations, she soon nurtures previously untapped confidence among their ranks. As Hollis comes into her own and flirts with Aini via their in-game alter egos, she also reckons with the cracks in her and Chris’s relationship and must decide what she wants out of life and love. In this dazzling debut, Randall navigates serious topics such as mental health and toxic masculinity alongside joyful themes surrounding self-realization and cultivating genuine camaraderie and affirming safe spaces. A fully realized cast helps to flesh out Hollis and Aini’s developing connection and their individual quests for happiness against a lived-in-feeling gaming backdrop. Hollis and Chris are white, Aini is of South Asian heritage, and Iffy is Black. Ages 14–up. Agent: Becca Langton, Darley Anderson Literary.
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