I picked up this book because the premise was just too cute and relatable to not, and I really loved those parts! Seeing Cass navigate first loves and feelings and her interactions with role playing all felt very relatable and fun. An enjoyable light read!

If you like queer rep, fat girls with body acceptance, everything nerdy, and a friends-to-lovers trope, then this is the book for you!

Out of Character is a delightful read that, while I knew I’d like it with its fandom references and character representation, I wasn’t expecting to have such an emotional reaction to it. As an adult reading YA, I always remind myself that to these teens, this interpersonal drama is the worst thing that has happened to them. Years ago I read this important advice about toddlers (okay, stay with me here): when a child trips and falls and starts bawling their eyes out, it’s because they are two years old and a skinned knee is genuinely the worst thing to ever happen. They don't have the life experience to put that incident in context.

This book was DRAMATIC, but in a self-versus-self and others-versus-self way. It was painful and heartbreaking and frustrating. Sometimes I wanted to shake the characters by their shoulders and yell “you’re making it worse for yourself!” But then I remind myself that to these teens, their situation is truly the Worst Thing Ever. Add a heavy dose of anxiety to the mix and it’s a ticking time bomb of angst and feels.

There were some plot pacing elements that moved too fast for me, or were abbreviated when I wanted more. We are thrown into the deep end right away RE: the MC and her mother, and I felt perhaps less emotions about it because I wasn’t given any time with the mother first. We learn all elements of their relationship through tell not show. There are a couple other instances like this, where the reader gets a bit of summary of a backstory or side story so I didn’t feel perhaps as much as I should. However, after finishing the book some of this made sense. We are deeply entrenched in the singular POV of the MC. The things that the MC doesn’t notice, we the readers also don’t notice and don’t get details. It's so very true to teenage life in my experience. The singular focus on your own bubble and all that is happening within it.

What made me emotional was the ANGST and DRAMA. I was cringing only because I related. I had a tragedy of a senior year and prom myself, purely through silly drama and miscommunication, so I was gnashing my teeth at some of it internally yelling “just TALK and be HONEST!”. But that didn’t happen in my own teenage years, so why would I expect the 17 year old protag to have the wisdom of me as the adult reading? In that sense, this book POV was probably the most accurate to teenage feels that I’ve read in a while. I think any young YA reader is going to adore this book because it feels so refreshingly honest and true to life.

My only true gripe is how quickly the first relationship fell into place. I still have no idea how the MC even knows the first LI or why the LI had a crush so quickly. Do they even talk in school? I didn’t get a sense of how they met or interacted. Knowing that the book was a set up for a friends-to-lovers, which is also a preferred trope of mine, the first ¼ of the book felt like a waiting period for the inevitable split to allow for the second relationship. I wish we had more interaction with the first LI because I felt nothing when they split other than “okay let's move on”.

All in all, a seriously delightful read, and truly connected to teenagers of today. I think the fandom references are also clever enough that this won’t feel dated, although I do recommend picking this book up right away!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

However, I am currently withholding my review in support of the Harper Collins strike.

I got an ARC of this book.

I don’t really know where to start with this book. The idea of this book is amazing. It is wonderful to see a fat main character. My best friend from high school is a fat lesbian super into RP. I got this book so I could see if it was something that she would love. I wanted to be able to hand her a book and go “they finally see you”. I was excited.

The role playing elements were cute. There were endings to the chapters in character. It was great to see that side of the characters and to explore the story they loved so much. That was a huge plus for me. The writing was drastically different than the narration so it felt different and like it could be written by someone else. It was really well done. I will admit, I even searched to see if the duology was real. I needed to read it if it was.

The characters were eh. They didn’t really feel real a lot of the time. Part of that felt intentional. Taylor not being fully fleshed out was a great choice and it added to the story. I won’t spoil anything, but it really played in well with the issues the MC was having. It makes sense that we don’t see a full person. Same with the mom. It just made sense, because Cass wasn’t seeing everything. The people she saw, she saw completely. The more she realized that she was missing things, the more the other characters got fleshed out. So really cool aspect of the writing. I just didn’t really care about any of the characters. I care more about who they were roleplaying than who they were in reality.

The romance felt forced. I knew what the ending would be. I knew it from around maybe 15-20%. I walked into the living room, announced to my partner what the ending would be, then went back to bed to read. I then sent three follow up texts. Each text had the percentage of the book I was currently reading and an update on my guess. I was right. It isn’t a bad thing that I knew the ending. A lot of romances have predictable plots and this one had some great paths to get there and explored new territory. It just wasn’t a huge twist ending and I never got the impression that the ending happiness as predicted so early on was in jeopardy. It made for a calmer read. The ending though made me roll my eyes.

Overall, it was not a bad book. There was an abundance of saluting and the word addicted/addiction. It was my first complaint. I don’t think there was a page without one of those two things for the first 20%. It was enough I almost stopped reading, because I was afraid it was going to stay that way. It got better. It just took until about 30% before I stopped checking my progress constantly. If you can get beyond a slow start and a SUPER SLOW burn (so slow it can’t even really be called a burn), then you might enjoy this one.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review Out of Character. Jenna Miller is an amazing author, her writing style is stunning. It's more simple and easy to read. I got through this book so quickly, and had such a fun time. The characters, most of them, were likeable and fun to follow. There's one relationship I'm glad happened in the book, but I won't say which because of spoilers of course. The ending was predictable and some of the lines were cheesy, but I was in the right space for it and I think it worked out great. I loved following Cass; she was relatable, kind, brave, and creative. If you like ya romance and roleplaying you will probably enjoy this read!

3.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

However, I am currently withholding my review due to the Harper Collins strike.

I highly enjoyed this book! A great look at leading two lives, and trying to balance that. Also a fantastic handling of parents divorcing when you’re a teen! I have a lot in common with the main character, Cass, and I just adored her to pieces. There were so many times I wanted to give he hug and tell her she didn’t need to hide or keep lying. Absolutely highly recommended!!

At the heart of this YA is Cass, a queer, fat, senior in high school. Filled with teenage angst and the complexity of friendships at that age coupled with beginning to individuate from parents. It explores the relationships she has with friends in high school as well as her friendships via an online role-playing community.

Thank you Jenna Miller & Hear Our Voices Book Tours for sending me an E-ARC to review in exchange for an honest review.
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This was one of my favorite reads of January and I really LOVED it! As a fellow fat sapphic nerd, I related a lot to Cass. She felt like a real teenager who makes mistakes. She became my friend while I read. I really loved this one and it’s such a staple YA book! This one was so immersive and I stayed up late to finish it. It also had such a sweet ending! Definitely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

I absolutely adored this book! Cass is such a wonderfully complex heroine who makes all the mistakes yet remains lovable, empathetic, and the best voice to carry us through this story of first love, the power of online friendship, and navigating the often tumultuous terrain of family life as a teenager.

This book really spoke to me as a sorta-retired online roleplayer through high school/college/and beyond. So, thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I felt like the online friendship part really rang true because those people do become your found family and it's a special kind of relationship. I think Cassidy has a lot to go through in this book and I think she does it quite well. She is definitely more in touch with her feelings than I was as a teenager. I will say I didn't enjoy the second hand cringe I experienced as her lies piled up around her, but she did eventually break through on that.

I really loved her other friends as well - Tate was amazing and I loved Rowan/Holly/Autumn. I think Taylor was well written even though a little manic pixie girl for my tastes, but it definitely felt like a high school relationship when you don't know what you're doing but the other person might know more than you. I was glad that Cassidy knows that she has an addiction problem and has to figure out how to juggle that with school and didn't just look for some magical fix-all and actually put in the hard work for it. Some of the high school experiences did seem a little too perfect though, especially getting away with drinking at multiple parties. I feel like my parents would have killed me, haha.

Her relationship with her parents was also really interesting and I think that Jenna did a great job exploring how it would feel for your mother to just drop everything and leave your life. Her dad is seriously the best Cool Dad out there. I think it was handled really well and you really got a good mix of parental involvement in this book, which is a change where a lot of YAs pretend parents don't really exist.

This book was a 5/5 for me and it got me completely in my feels. The roleplay scenes were a hoot and I think it'd be great to have a Tide Wars book now (you listening, HaperCollins??). It just made me remember how much I loved meeting people online, bonding, and having those intense friendships that kept you up until 2am writing together. It's a special thing and it's so cool to see someone put it in book form so more people understand what it is. Also, that final act - AMAZING.

This was very cute and fun! I enjoyed seeing Cass figure out her life. At times, I wanted her to communicate more with friends and family but I also understood why she made the choices that she did.

Trigger Warnings: Death, missing pet, divorce, parental abandonment, divorce, cursing, underage drinking, past death of a parent, addiction, lying, toxic relationship, jealousy, break-up, anxiety

Representation: Lesbian, Black, Fat, Gay, Bisexual, mental health

Out of Character is a lesbian contemporary romance about high school senior, Cass Williams. When her mom announces she’s leaving, Cass goes straight to her safe place- an online server where she role plays her favorite book. Her real life and online life do not mix because her real life has no idea about it. This becomes increasingly more difficult when Cass starts to date Taylor, the cool girl, her grades start to drop, and her best online friend starts to feel like more than a friend. Cass has to decide whether the secret is worth keeping or it’s time to come clean.

Aww this was a great book! I could definitely relate to Cass on many levels. (I also am an anxious, fat lesbian.) I loved the confidence that Cass had about her identity but also the anxiety she experiences when having to be vulnerable. I also loved Cass’ dad and Tate was such a great friend and side character! The teenagers in this story definitely deal with teenage problems, but it was completely appropriate for a YA book. Overall, this is a sweet read and a great story!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

However, I am currently withholding my review due to the HarperCollins strike.

To sum this up in one sentence: I just don’t buy it.

This sounded like a cute YA that would be right up my alley, but it was so meh.

The characters seemed fake, the plot was a mess, the writing wasn’t good, and I felt nothing but annoyance while reading it. I need to emphasize a second time that the characters fell soooo flat. Like cardboard people. Ugh. It was easy enough to get through and I didn’t *hate* it, hence my rating. I did appreciate the queer and body neutrality representation. It’s nice to see a YA that isn’t solely focused on coming out or negative body image.

⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I read this book in two nights, that's how much I loved it! The voice was so readable. I learned so much about the world of online role-playing via fanfiction. The characters were fun and lovable, especially Rowan. <3 I've been recommending this book to everyone. Can't wait to read more from Jenna Miller.

The story line was cute. The romance was well done. The characterization was definitely well rounded. Over all, this was a quick and fun read, but I felt like it had a few glitches.

The entire aspect of Cass' online friends getting so incredibly angry because she had not revealed them to her "real life" friends was a bit over the top for me.

It felt as if the characterizations fell apart some with the devlopment/introduction of Cass' first girlfriend Taylor. Taylor came off as far too needy and pushy, and honestly kind of like she needed professional help. While it's obvious the character is there to drive the plot and create conflict, the conflict that aspect of the story created was off putting.

As a whole though I would recommend this book to readers looking for a sweet queer friendly novel about first loves and self discovery.

I tore through this! I really enjoyed seeing a YA book depicting online fandom life as the community it is, with real friendships and problems. Not to mention getting a fat, queer character who has not one but TWO girls interested in her. Cass was a treat to read, as were all of her friends, and I found the family and school issues she was going through really compelling to read about. Absolutely delightful. Would recommend to teen readers looking for high school coming of age contemporary stories, first romances, and fleshed-out characters who make real mistakes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I love YA books that hit my emotions. Cass Williams embraces that she is nerdy, fat and is a lesbian. It’s her senior year in high school and her mother stuns her when she leaves town with a man. Complicating the matter that same weekend the girl she has been crushing on for ages asks her out and wants to be her girlfriend. So much messiness in her life and she turns to her main release. Her best friends, who know everything about her, are an online role-playing group (like fan fiction) who she has been interacting with for years. She uses her role playing world as an escape but things are slipping through the cracks. School work isn’t getting done, grades are slipping and college applications are due. It is a lot of pressure.

Her dad is supportive to a point as is her next door neighbor and best friend Tate. Her girlfriend Taylor is trying to be understanding but this is Cass’s first relationship and it is confusing. When Cass gets to meet her online ship partner Rowan, it is great but also another complication. I love that there isn’t stereotypical mean girls. Lies are catching up with Cass and causes stress. Everything feels realistic and plausible for a teen mind. (I didn’t love the silence from mom but the author resolves that as best she can.) This book reads fast and it covers almost the entire school year. I actually feel bad for Taylor as she tries to be a good girlfriend and asks Cass to open up to her. I was a little confused at how little they progress in their relationship when time jumps forward a few months.

Overall this is a wonderfully sweet YA book. I truly felt for Cass and wanted her to be happy. The main characters never go beyond kissing. No big triggers but does include a parent leaving, divorce, underage drinking, and mention of side characters hooking-up. I can easily see this for ages 13 and up and on upper grades library shelves. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books, Quill Tree Books for the ARC in exchange for a review.

DNF
just couldn’t get into it. Stopped about 65% in. I know there are lots of folks who will love this book. Just not for me