The Impossible Fortress is a coming of age story set in the 1980’s. Everything I loved about the 80’s and more all rolled up into a sweet novel.

The story takes place in 1987. The most notable thing about 1987 to the teenage boys in the story is that Vanna White is on the cover of Playboy. They desperately want to get a copy. They can see it behind the shelf at the local office supply store, so close and yet so far.

They set about to come up with a plan to get the magazine. It involves the main character, Billy Martin, becoming friends with the store keepers daughter, Mary Zelinsky. That’s easy to do, since they are both hugely into gaming. As his friendship with Mary deepens, he is torn between loyalty to his friends and his new respect for Mary.

A sweet, funny coming of age story. It has it all..love, friendship, comedy, all wrapped up with lots of 80’s culture.

Loved it!

I received an ARC of the book.

★★★★☆ a solid 4 stars.

So, what's special about this one? What do I think you'll like?

★ It's about the late 80's (1987, in partcular)
★ It's nerdy. In a really good way
★ It's about teens, and they are not perfect. Far from it!
★ It's got a fun tone, it's lighthearted, although it deals with tough topics at times
★ And get this, it's got a programmer chick. She is no supermodel either. I LOVED HER.
★ There's a twist and it shocks your socks off. Although maybe it's just me being naive - after all, who uses an expression like shocks your socks off anyway..? Can it, grandma.

A little bit about the story.

The story here is quite simple. A few really nerdy boys want to steal a Playboy from a corner store (there are particulars about why they'd want that, but I won't spoil). One of them infiltrates the store, trying to get closer to the boss's daughter to find out the security code. Little do his friends know that he's really into it because he wants to hang out with a chick who's better at programming than him. Little does he know that she is also not as transparent as he thinks.
The Impossible Fortress here stands for the game they are programming. It's a lovely part of the book and I'll be talking about it more later.

So let's talk about the best bits of the book.

The 80's have been idolized, especially lately, what with all the hipstery pop, taking anything and everything from every possible era in the 20th century. But it's done in such a nice way here - truly, it's a love letter to the decade. Especially if you happen to be a little nerdy yourself (check for me). The main characters in the novel write video games - video games for computers we might not even deem computers anymore. And it's just SO COOL. It might just be me, but remembering how I dabbled in writing code myself when I was 14 or 15, it's just so nostalgic. I enjoyed myself a lot, reading about the ancient computer tech those kids work with. After I finished the book, I even googled an online old tech museum.

The teens we are talking about are pretty interesting as well. Misfits the lot of them! Adorable, and yet real - some of the choices they make are really, really bad. And I don't mean just 'bad' as in 'morally incorrect'. I mean 'bad' as in 'life cripplingly stupid and obviously going to bite you in the ass' kind of bad decisions. Lying in all the wrong places, not seeing the truth, trying to get out of things when it's really not going to help. And living with their awful choices afterwards. Isn't that part of being a teen? Not being able to see anything the way it really is, the way any adult sees it? And in connection with this, there's this thing about the storyline - that you'll be able to see the plot really soon, perhaps in the first few pages - and that's okay. Why? Because the teen protagonists won't. It makes sense too - something that was complicated when you were 14 can seem a lot simpler when you're older, as you look back. This is part of the fun in this book - you know what's going to happen. But they don't.

And now, let's talk about The Impossible Fortress. That's the game the characters are making, and the whole reason I chose to read this book on NetGalley was because it was featured as a maze on the first cover. In my opinion, this cover was lovely! It shows the plot so well too. Anyway, the fun thing about The Impossible Fortress is that it made the jump from fiction to reality and you can play the game the characters are making on the author's site! How cool is that?

But it's not only that. Because you'll find the impossible fortress constructed into the story as well - in the end of the book. I loved that especially, because it gives the book a little bit of the fairytale feel - saving the princess from a castle.

Which brings me to the end. I thought I knew what was going to happen. I was almost right.

But not completely.

I won't spoil it for you anymore, I'll just say that I stayed up till 2 am to finish this one. It was great fun, it's a light quick read and it's greatly enjoyable. And despite being light, it deals with some really hard (and surprising) problems. I do recommend it strongly.

While The Impossible Fortress didn't particularly resonate with ME, it's a well written YA piece and fills the massive void where fiction geared towards young males should be. YA is nearly always geared towards young women, and while as a young woman myself, it's beneficial, I do often wonder where the parallel material is for males. Billy and Mary are both fun and smart, and I greatly appreciate the portrayal of Mary as not a damsel in distress or manic pixie dream girl, but as someone with depth and flaws and strengths that extend beyond her looks or naïveté. This book would be particularly appealing to fans of STRANGER THINGS, with its 80's throwback nostalgia, and it's a quick and easy read.

Although “The Impossible Fortress” is marketed to adults, I think it would also be a great young adult read. Capers, computers, geekiness, friendship, and first love all combine into a fast-moving throwback to life in the 80’s. And for adults, there is plenty to enjoy - nostalgic references to 80’s music, culture, and television, combined with the laughable, hair-brained schemes of adolescent boys. There’s a bonus for all readers - an opportunity to actually play “The Impossible Fortress” video game. A fun frolic through the 80’s.

My review was posted on Goodreads on 2/12/17

I loved this 80s throwback book! The songs and cultural references were thoroughly enjoyable. Was there really a simple time when all teenage boys wanted was a copy of the latest Playboy? The relationship between Will and Mary was sweet. Read this book!

I just loved this book! Back in the day I had a Spectrum ZX but never really did programming, just got as far as a "for next loop". I did play the type of games that Marvin and Billy write in the book though. This made the book really interesting to me, but I can imagine if you've never played computer games (old school!) or liked code, this may not be your kind of book.

The story all begins when Billy and his friends realise that Playboy magazine has a photo shoot of Vanna White (who hosted the American version of Wheel of Fortune). He and his friends cook up schemes to get a hold of the magazine, which obviously for a trio of 14 year olds is out of their reach.

The trio reminded me a little of The Goonies film - a band of friends who go through thick and thin together, with some really clever smart guy comments along the way. What they don't realise is that part of their major plan gets to involve Mary Zelinksy, and that she is a programmer. She knows way more than Billy and together they begin to write a computer game - getting him sidetracked from the acquisition of the Playboy magazine.

The magazine storyline takes a little bit of a back seat as other things develop - in more ways than one. It's a funny, evocative glimpse into 1987 and being a 14 year old boy.

The scene where they make their final attempt at getting the magazine was so funny, but also a little tense, as was their final journey to St Agatha's. Very atmospheric - I could really see this book as a film.

You can play the game they wrote at jasonrekulak.com! I even made it into the leader board - not many people have played yet! I realised I really needed a joystick to be able to recreate the experience and get a better score.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance copy of the book for review.

This one was just not for me. I didn't post on my review blog or Goodreads link for I gave up on it.

Honestly, I went into this book just expecting a YA book about a teen who liked video games. That's what I got, but I also read a book that was funny, charming, and more introspective that I would have assumed. I have a feeling that this will be one of my main YA recommendations to people in 2017.

imon and Schuster hooked me with their description of The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak, saying it was a feel good love story with a dash of 80s nostalgia and even it’s own playable video game!

Parts of this were really charming. I enjoyed reliving the 80’s, before the internet, when it took ages for things to load on the computer and graphics were made out of symbols and numbers. There were illustrated parts of the book, too, which added a nice break. I enjoyed the friendship between the three friends Billy, Alf and Carl and loved that they were so nerdy and into coding and creating games well before it was mainstream. I liked the relationship that blooms out of Billy’s friendship with Mary, and how the two made a pretty good team.

So I got the nostalgia, I got the coming of age of fourteen year old boys and their interest in seeing a naked Vanna White. Boys will be boys, right? But what I didn’t get, or more so, what I couldn’t take was the way they spoke about Mary, the slightly overweight daughter of the store owner where the coveted Vanna White Playboy is. It was horrible. Kids aren’t nice, boys especially when it comes to teen girls, and perhaps this adds a sense of realism to this story, but frankly, by making our heroes treat her so poorly without any consequences or anyone to counteract it is almost condoning the behaviour and that’s a huge problem for me. To me, coming of age stories are also supposed to encourage the reader to relate to and learn from the experience. This was not the messaging I’d want anyone to learn.

I’ll admit I didn’t see the little twist in the ending and perhaps that kind of explains away the reason there was such an emphasis on certain things earlier on. That really came out of the blue for me, but it doesn’t really make up for the comments and the behaviour earlier on.

I wanted this to have a little Stand By Me feel, and it did for the most part, but there was a harshness to it that kind of kept me from fully enjoying it. Sadly, that harshness is likely the most realistic thing about this book, but I see enough of that in real life, I was hoping for something a bit more here.

I would think The Impossible Fortress should be described as YA fiction, although it’s not clear to me that it is being marketed that way – maybe because it’s set in the 1980s and therefore offers nostalgia to those who were coming of age at that time. In any event, the thing about YA fiction is that I rarely voluntarily sign up to read it, although when I do so I am not always disappointed. That sort of sums up my experience with The Impossible Fortress. As I started it and realized that it focuses on fourteen year old Billy, and his misadventures with lust, love, petty thievery and computer coding, I braced myself. But I ended up liking some things about The Impossible Fortress – most of all, Billy’s relationship with his mother, his tortured attempt to save face with his friends while pursuing the object of his affection Mary, a clever police interview, and references to the internet-less 1980s. Having said that, my three star rating reflects the fact that much of the book lacked any real depth. It was a quick entertaining read, with occasional real emotions, a bit of slapstick, a weird surprise and a happy ending (surely that’s not a spoiler). Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

I know I'm the odd person out on this novel but I just couldn't relate to the story. I found the boys-will-be-boys aspect of it grating (even though it was set in the 1980s). I did appreciate Mary, who was so integral to the plot. This is a fast read which I suspect will have a good audience among those nostalgic for their 1980s childhoods. I remember that time from an adult perspective, which is probably partly responsible for my not appreciating this as much as most. Thanks for the ARC.

I love the 80's vibe, love the characters. As a tech nerd myself I just thought the characters could be people I know. Well written, fun characters, great nostalgia. You will love, Billy, Clark, Alf and of course Mary! I can't wait to read more from Jason Rekulak

Yes. (this is my entire review upon finishing the book.)

More thoughtful review, 2/7/2017 update:


Either you are excited to read a book about young teenage computer programmers in the 1980s or you aren't.

If you are, then this book should be at the top of your list.

If you aren't, then can I interest you in a caper/adventure in which three teenage boys try to obtain a coveted issue of Playboy featuring Vanna White by any outlandish means necessary? Can I introduce you to some of the issues young women faced in the 1980s, but through the narration of a 14 year old guy's coming of age story? And will it change how you think about the issues young women face today? Would you like to hang out in an office supply story near a train station for a few hundred pages? Can you slow down and remember what adolescence was like before cell phones and email and ... all the modern ways that teens communicate that I am too old in my late thirties to fully appreciate?

As with any book set in the past, I like to do the math at the end. The book ends in 1987 but I live 30 years later. I think about how the 2000's treated Mary's father's newsstand. I think about Billy Marvin, a bit, and wonder what he would be doing now. Since finishing this book about three months ago, I think about Mary Zelinsky frequently. A 14 year old in 1987 is 44 in 2017. If, in my imagining, she grew up and had a daughter around the time I did (at age 30) then her daughter is around 14 this year. Rather than imagine what Mary Zelinsky is doing at age 44 in 2017, I like to imagine what her hypothetical teenage daughter is doing, and what Mary thinks about the emphasis on STEM learning for girls, and whether her daughter embraces or rejects it, and whether Mary Zelinsky continued her interest in computers past age 14, past age 24, through the many changes in the technology and society and her personal life.

And the sign of a great book is not just that my reaction to reading it that first night of staying up late to finish was "yes" but that I care about the characters three months later, (or thirty years later), because they are compelling and real.

When I began this story, my first impression was that my sides were going to be aching for days from laughing so hard at this hysterical trio of fourteen-year-old boys. Eavesdropping in on their inner thoughts and reading their conversations was immensely entertaining. But this story also pulled at my heartstrings in the most wonderful ways. I absolutely adored this book! I grew up in the 80’s, and this book is pure nostalgia. It’s a fast read, one that I devoured cover to cover in a single Saturday; but it’s sweet, funny, charming, and even a bit nerve-wracking at times. It’s Stand by Me meets The Wonder Years meets Can’t Buy Me Love.

When fourteen-year-old Billy and his hilarious and equally randy sidekicks Clark and Alf discover that an issue of Playboy has just been released featuring the most beautiful woman in the world, the one and only letter-turning Wheel of Fortune hostess… Vanna White… they know they will stop at nothing to have this magazine. Vanna White. Boobs. Naked boobs. Vanna White’s naked boobs. It’s a miracle. It’s the lottery. No, it’s the Holy Grail, and it must be acquired.

After a couple of miserable (and comical) failed attempts at getting their hands on this magazine, a plan is made. Billy, computer whiz and coder extraordinaire, will get close to Mary, the daughter of Sal Zelinsky, owner of Zelinksy’s convenience store and seller of the coveted Playboy magazines. Mary is an expert computer coder just like Billy… actually even more skilled than Billy. She’s absolutely brilliant. The plan is for Billy to befriend Mary and find out the code for the store’s alarm. The three boys will then enter the store at night, leave cash on the counter, and each take a magazine. It sounds like such a simple plan. Naughty, but relatively harmless… they are going to leave the money for the magazines after all. But Billy didn’t count on how much he was going to have in common with Mary. Just how much he was going to like her. Billy also didn’t count on his friends not keeping their simple plan simple. Things get out of hand quickly, and you just know this could all blow up in their faces.

It made my stomach hurt thinking of how many things could go wrong and worrying about poor Mary’s heart. I bounced from severe anxiety to laughing out loud to being overcome with warm and fuzzy feelings. I loved every line of computer code, every nod to the decade, the witty exchanges – and mostly, I adored the delightful characters that are so colorful and endearing (even though some of the things the boys say are not politically correct at all, I had to remind myself that it was true to the time period).

This is the kind of book you finish reading and want to pick up and read all over again. If you love the 80’s, coming-of-age stories, or just reading a fantastic story, then crank up the Hall & Oates and Phil Collins and read this book. The Impossible Fortress is impossible to put down.

This book was a great little read. At first, I was questioning the amount of programming talk, but it turned out to be ok. I think that The Impossible Fortress would be a book that both teenage boys and girls (along with adults) would enjoy. There’s a little bit of everything: adventure, love story, drama and not to mention Vanna White on the cover of Playboy.

Jason Rekulak's first novel, The Impossible Fortress, is the most fun-to-read book I've read in a while. Sure the premise is ridiculous, and the teenage protagonists make some stupid decisions, but that's because they're fourteen-year-old boys. Here's the set up. Billy Martin and his friends will take great risks to catch a glimpse of Vanna White's spread in the new Playboy. The only place in their small New Jersey town to buy Playboy is Zelinsky's store. Billy Martin is tasked with wooing Mary Zelinsky and getting the alarm system code so they can sneak in buy the magazine (they'll leave some money on the counter), and sneak back out undetected.


Such a simple plan, yet so much can go wrong. Billy, a budding computer game programmer, learns that Mary is a much more accomplished computer programmer than he is. They end up designing a game together and entering it in a contest for high school kids. As they work together on the the game, he becomes friends--and perhaps more--with Mary, and is wracked with guilt about their plan to steal/buy the magazines. Of course the romance is thwarted, the plan is a disaster, friendships are strained, and--well, let's just say there are some terrific, unexpected twists.


Rekulak has written some characters that you can't help but love. Billy wants to do the right thing, but his passion for programming is much more important than school. His friends can be jerks, but they are the kind of friends every boy needs. Mary, a loner who goes to the Catholic girls' school, needs a friend herself, but something about her stops her from getting too close.


One of the "characters" that makes the book is the decade of the '80s. Set in 1987, The Impossible Fortress will be a nostalgia trip for readers of a certain age. The music, the TV shows, and especially the video games and the rise of the personal computer will bring back memories. If only I had not spent so much time playing the games, but actually trying to figure out how they work and creating my own, like Mary and Billy do, I would probably be much better off today.


So, yeah, the premise is ridiculous. It's almost a little charming, though, that teen boys in the 1980s were that desperate to get a glimpse at a Playboy when today they can access endless pictures in seconds. . . . Progress? I'm afraid not. And yeah, the boys make some stupid decisions. They're smart kids; is that really the best plan they could come up with? But their lust-crazed irrational exuberance turns this into a great story. Rekulak is a very entertaining writer. He made me laugh out loud and got me a little too emotionally involved with the characters (in a good way). I highly recommend The Impossible Fortress.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Did not enjoy. Hard to read and get through

Disjointed

Three and a half stars: A funny, nostalgic love story that takes you back to the eighties.

Billy can't believe his ears when one of his best friend's tells him that Vanna White, America's Sweetheart, is showing her bare bottom on the latest edition of Playboy Magazine. Unfortunately, Zelinsky's convenience store is the only place in town that sells the dirty magazine. Even worse, Mr. Zelinsky is a stickler and refuses to sell the magazine to anyone under eighteen. Desperate, Billy and his two friends, Alf and Clark, hatch numerous hair-brained schemes to get their hands on Vanna. Billy even goes to far as to offer to seduce Mary Zelinsky, a plump, computer nerd, in order to get the magazine. What Billy doesn't expect is to fall in love. Will he lose his heart and score the magazine?
What I Liked:
*The Impossible Fortress is a laugh out loud book that takes you back to a simpler time, before cell phones and the internet, to the eighties, when Wheel of Fortune and Vanna White were in their heyday. I loved this funny story with heart, and I especially like that it made me nostalgic for my youth. If you want an entertaining story, with some surprises and one that is all things eighties, grab this one.
*I loved the ridiculous antics of Billy and his friends. Granted, sometimes they got themselves into some stupid situations due to their immaturity, but they made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed their scheming and plotting all in order to get a Playboy Magazine to see a naked Vanna White. These three will make you laugh.
*For me, the highlight of the book was the time period. I was the same age as Billy in the book, so I could totally relate. I loved that this books took me right back to my teenage years with the music, the movies, the computers and more. I would recommend reading this just for the eighties nostalgia.
*The romance is just right. I liked that it was realistic and that it stayed true to the characters. This is a relationship born when two fourteen year olds bond over computer programming. I liked that it was awkward and hesitant and that it never felt forced. I think the author got it just right. If you go into this expecting butterflies and swoon worthy moments, you will be disappointed. This is told from the view point of a fourteen year old boy.
*I was surprised at the later developments in the book. It ended up having a lot more heart and it became something more than stealing a magazine. I especially felt for Mary even more when I learned the whole truth about her situation.
*I enjoyed all the computer geekiness. Being a teenage girl in the eighties, I wasn't obsessed with the Commodore 64, so it was all new territory to me, and I found it fascinating that you could do so much even way back in the eighties.
And The Not So Much:
*I wished that there was more development with Alf and Clark, especially Clark with is birth defect. Those two characters could have been fleshed out more. Instead there are the stereotypical stupid friends who are always coming around with dumb ideas to get them in trouble. I also felt like their scheme went a little bit too far when shoplifting was involved.
*I didn't like that there was bullying. Alf and Clark are cruel when it comes to Mary. They constantly make fat jokes and talk smack about her. I know this is how boys act, but I wasn't a fan of this, the only thing that made it a bit better was that they never did it to her face.
*The ending felt abrupt to me especially after the jaw dropping revelation. I wish there was an Epilogue because I really wanted to know how things turned out for Mary down the road. Perhaps the author will consider a sequel.

The Impossible Fortress was a funny and heartwarming coming of age story with a hint of romance set in the eighties. I loved revisiting my youth vicariously through the characters. This book made me laugh, and then it surprised me with heart. This book was good time, and I recommend it for anyone who wants a funny read.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.