This is a love story, nerd style. Taking place in a small New Jersey town in the ’80’s, the reader is taken back to the world of floppy disks, joysticks, pop culture…and Vanna White.

14-year old Billy and friends Alf and Clark are obsessed to get their hands on the latest Playboy featuring Vanna. Funny the harebrained ideas they come up with. How can they make such a simple task so complicated? One instance has them dressing up like businessmen trying to fool the store owner Mr. Zelinsky into selling them the magazine. Strike one…. In the midst of all-consuming plotting, Billy meets Zelinsky’s daughter Mary and the two learn they share a love of computer programming. They join forces and enter a contest for young programmers, developing a game called The Impossible Fortress, spending lots of time together. Billy now finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He made a commitment to his friends but now has this personal connection with the Zelinsky’s. He has earned their trust and he right thing to do is quash the snowballing crazy Vannah snatch and run plan. But is it too late?

This is a young adult story but adults will more appreciate the nostalgia. The one negative I wish hadn’t been included by the writer involved a scene of destruction. It was completely unnecessary and put a damper on this light-hearted book.
Will also be posting to Amazon, Powells, etc upon publication.

In the year 1987 Playboy released a copy with scandalous photos of the famous Vanna White which became somewhat of a Holy Grail to young teenage boys. Fourteen year old Billy Marvin and his friends were no exception and the three boys vowed to do anything to get their hands on a copy of the magazine.

When their first attempts fail miserably Billy comes up with a plan to get close to Mary Zelinsky, the daughter of the owner of the store selling the coveted Playboy that the boys are desperate to get a copy of. But Billy didn’t plan on slowing falling for Mary as the two work together on a computer program that will hopefully win them a prize.

The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak was an incredibly fun read that takes place in the 80’s. All throughout the book the author did a wonderful job of reminding readers of the current events and happenings during that decade which is always a favorite of mine. That alone makes it very hard for me to dislike a story when it’s bringing smiles of remembrance while reading.

I will say with the characters in this book I really enjoyed Billy and Mary and watching their relationship grow as they worked together. Billy’s other friends though seemed a bit more trouble than you would think this shy teen would have in his life. There was also one flaw with the whole plan that does eventually get mentioned but it had me questioning things for a while so that brought my rating down a bit.

Overall, a fun read set in the 80’s with plenty of reminders of that decade.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Quick read. Great coming of age story. Love the way computer programming, mistakes, persistence and just plain being a 14 year old come together to create story for both the YA audience and adults.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon Schuster for access to the galley.

Interesting . I liked the coding and the idea of the book. Would recommend to any one who loves computers and reading.

Great book! Out of the ordinary plot, with believable characters. Definitely recommended!!

I found this book and the way it was written to be a tad bit confusing, but at the same time, the story and plot were both original and it was kind of fun. I would definitely recommend this one.

Really liked this book. It indeed took me back to those days of coding and games building from the scratch. It's a bit childlike at times but cute. Love the teens and the adolescents. Light read.

This book was not at all what I expected, and yet it was a fun and awesome read. A book that made me feel like I was living the teen years my parents had, a book that made me fall in love with coding, a book that conjured up the magic of the 80s in a way you only see in movies like War Games and Tron.

Billy is not your usual nerd – his grades are awful, he doesn’t care for books or role playing games. He is, however, more than slightly obsessed with his Commodore 64. He codes for fun, and he’s outstandingly good, not just for a 14 year old. It’s a hobby he doesn’t expect his friends or family to understand, but it’s something he loves to do.

So when he meets Mary, a girl his age who might just be better at coding than he is, a friendship blossoms that could change everything.

It’s important to remember that we’re int he mind of a 14 year old, here. Billy’s friends Alf and Clyde share one goal – to get the newest issue of Playboy, and get a look at the nude goddess that is Vanna White. It’s all they can think about, and they’re hatching a plan to get their hands on it. And they need Billy to seduce Mary as part of it.

This doesn’t seem like a problem for Billy: it even gives him an excuse to hang out with this brilliant girl, and work together on their video game, the Impossible Fortress, which could win them fame and fortune… all without getting mocked by the boys. You see, Mary is a little chubby. Or outright fat, if you believe Alf and Clyde. She isn’t really worth Billy’s time, they say. Plus, she has a reputation – if you know what I mean.

Some of the characters felt a little flat to me, but I don’t think it’s a problem, since Billy and Mary have so much depth. The story is about them, after all. It’s partially love story, partially friendship – though maybe you could say the real love story is between Billy and coding, or the reader and the 80s.

And while part of the story was a little predictable, the real twist came right out of left field. Totally unexpected, though made perfect sense all in the end, answering questions we didn’t know we had. It’s also fun to read a book intended for 14 years olds as an adult, seeing how bad a lot of the decisions are, wanting to reach in and tell a character to their face that what they’re doing is a bad idea.

It’s also fun, if you want to go deeper, to look into the symbolism of impossible fortresses through the book. There are the evident ones: like the game itself, impossible to code, or the school at the very end, or even the heist itself. But you’ve also got the impossible fortress of Mary herself – can you break down her walls, and navigate the maze of her personality? Maybe life itself is an impossible fortress.

It’s a book about expectations, a book about first impressions, a book about being a teenager in the age of arcade games. It combines the tropes of the teenage heist with the ultimate competition, all wrapped up in a coming of age story. I mean, what’s not to love about a love letter to the 80s?

The Impossible Fortress is a fast, enjoyable read full of eighties nostalgia. Unfortunately, that's all it is. A clever coming-of-age love story packed to the ever-lovin' brim with eighties pop-culture references that would even have Earnest Cline turning to Dr. Google to investigate.

Jason Rekulak has an approachable style - and a story to tell. This story, however, has been done before.

This was a wonderful coming of age story reminiscent of great John Hughes movies of the 1980s. It was like taking a trip back to my high school years and I loved it.

Here’s a novel that will take you back to 1987 complete with 14 year old computer nerd Billy Marvin who is currently failing ninth grade and his equally awkward sidekicks Alf and Clark. Outcasts from all the requisite cliques at their high school, they devise a plan to not only obtain a copy of the coveted Vanna White issue of Playboy, but also profit from the the object of their desires.

By the end of The Impossible Fortress, you really know Billy and the even more digitally talented Mary, and you have laughed and cringed your way through many early teen escapades. The pair programs on TRS-80 computers and the Commodore 64. Appropriate touches of the 80’s are sprinkled throughout the book--mention of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Christie Brinkley, the must have Bugle Boy pants, and Mark Cerny who started working for Atari at age 17. More than a nostalgic look at the 80’s, we explore the tough times of kids working their way through the difficult teen years. There are times when you hold your breath. times when you laugh, and moments of suspense. This is a book you will be glad you read.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: General Fiction (Adult)

Notes: This book abounds with male teenage profanity

Publication: February 7, 2017--Simon & Schuster

Memorable Lines:

The first step was easy. But the second step, the step where I fully removed myself from the roof--that was commitment. The wood trembled beneath my weight, quivering like the edge of a diving board. I made the mistake of looking down, but there was nothing to see--no alley, just a vast black gulf, a bottomless sinkhole.

“Imagine a computer not bigger than a candy bar!” he exclaimed, and we laughed at the absurdity of his predictions; they were all straight out of The Jetsons.

Billy is an outcast at school, and the only thing he is interested in is computer programming. Until Vannah White's photos are in Playboy. He and his friends need to get that magazine, and the only store that has it is a computer store owned by a man and his young daughter, Mary. Billy's friends convince Billy to befriend Mary to get the access code to the security system. But Billy discovers a lot more.

This story is a cute coming-of age tale, about a boy and a girl. This is 1987, so I was 4 at this time, haha. There are "nerd" words and computer programming lingo. It's a fun read, but very shocking also. I enjoyed this read a lot.

This feels so authentically 80s! It feels like it could fit into the canon no problem. I'd call it a raunchy Ready Player One meets Eleanor and Park coming of age romp.

Bill Marvin is a typical 14-year-old in the year 1987. When the Playboy publishes photographs of Vanna White, presenter of the famous „Wheel of Fortune“ show, Bill and his friends Alf and Clark are discussing strategies of how to buy the magazine at their age. Their master plan includes the security code to a small store owned by Mr Zelinsky. But how to get hold of it? The owner’s daughter Mary is the key. Bill is to befriend her to acquire the code from her. But when Bill gets to know Mary, he finds out that they both share the love for computer programming and that Mary is an expert in operating a C 64. She can help him to finalize his computer game The Impossible Fortress, Billy’s submission to an important competition. They more the two work on the programme, the more their mutual affection grows and Billy has already forgotten his initial mission while slowly falling in love. But then he is reminded of it and he takes an important decision.

I liked Jason Rekulak’s story immediately because the author sends you straight back into the 80s. I have rarely read a novel set in the not too far away past in which the setting is that well established and plays such an important role. It is the music played in the shop, the TV programmes the boy watch, the heroes they discuss – and especially the Stone Age of computers that made me remember the time 30 years ago. All the small bits and pieces work well together to create an authentic setting for the plot.

The characters are also well drawn and interestingly designed. Both Billy and Mary are outsiders without being the typical misfits. They are under the radar somehow, inconspicuous in a way but remarkable when you take a closer look. The nerd girl who is interested in typical boyish pastimes, the boy raised by a single mom who is clever on the one hand, but maximum negligent of school and his marks and even running the risk of having to leave high school without any degree. Seeing both of them immerse in programming, teaching themselves and pursuing their goal of the perfect programming for the computer game without realising what is happening to them, is a joy to read.

Besides the story which is convincing and quickly captivating, it is Jason Rekulak’s style of writing which I genuinely enjoyed. He has a subtle humour and a way of describing situations that made me grin more than once and adore reading the novel.

Even though the protagonists are young teenagers and the story somehow is a kind of love story, I would not call it a classic of the genre since particularly the setting could make the novel also interesting and appealing to people who remember the 80s and who would like to indulge in their memories of that time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it's a coming of age story set in 80s America and features Will who is struggling academically, some old school computer programming and the age old quandary of best friends versus soul mate.
Although the UK cover is slightly off putting, this is one of the best "geek" reads since Ready Player One.
There's even a playable version of the Impossible Fortress game on the author's website - www.jasonrekulak.com

The moment that a book is marketed as similar to Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One", I am hooked. Really, it's embarrassing how quickly I requested this book. Although it's not a dystopian novel, and it's not about VR, I can see some similarities such as an abundance of pop culture references and geeky characters obsessed with video games.

The only problem with books about video games is that a reader who enjoys gaming will naturally wish the game existed. After finishing this book, I logged in Jason Rekulak's website and got the play The Impossible Fortress, and this little extra just made the book much more special and it just highlights the connection that a good book can have with a video game, and vice versa.

As for the book itself, I found it really good until about 75% in. It takes a turn I didn't quite expect, and to be perfectly honest, also didn't love. This plateau continued to an ending that was underwhelming considering the great pace throughout the book.

Nonetheless, the themes and characters are well done - these are 14 year old boys from the 80s, through and through. I figure that reading this book with a bit of a motherly outlook can change how you experience the story -- I personally looked past Billy's faults (because at times you'll want to metaphorically strangle the little devil) to see all his endearing qualities. I rooted for him and for Mary through the entire book, and I hope you will too.

So overall, this is a good book! I'll even go as far as saying that if you enjoyed the slower bits of "Ready Player One", you will definitely enjoy this too.

I'd like to thank Simon & Schuster, as well as Netgalley, for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book will hit the shelves on January 7th, 2017... but the game is live on the website right now. Go play it, and see if it piques your interest enough to read the story of its creation! ;)

3 teen boys want to get their hands on the most recent Playboy magazine because it features Vanna White. (No, I did not google to see if she ever did appear in Playboy. For once, I just went with it.) One of these teen boys, Will, also loves computer games and programming. But, it is 1987. That means the only computers are very basic and very slow. While in the process of trying to obtain a copy of the magazine, Will meets Mary, the daughter of the store owner where they are trying to steal the magazine and a fellow computer geek. Let's just say a couple things: teen boys are not the most observant and it was pretty funny that Will and Mary are working on a video game the other 2 boys, Alf and Clark, are planning the heist in an almost computer game fashion, small scale model included. I wish this were a YA book but I fear they wouldn't understand the computer nostalgia. And for the people who are thrilled about all the early computer geekness, the sweet story of Will might be too much for them. But this book is for anyone who has ever stared at a blinking DOS dot, been a teen boy, or known a teen boy. Oh, and the book comes with a nice retro video game!

The Impossible Fortress is a love story to the early days of computer programming, as well as to the hazy days of youth, when the pleasures of adult life remain tantalizingly out of reach. Rekulak brings the '80s to life, from the carefree latchkey kid afternoons to the TV shows to the art of making a mix tape off the radio. The writing is excellent, the characters vivid and small town New Jersey a deep and detailed world of its own.

I really loved this book. I thought the characters were wonderfully written and so funny. As a child of the 80's, I thought the author perfectly captured the time period.