The inevitable train wreck of her lies looms on the horizon for months in an overlong morality play building to the climax that includes tidy resolutions to all the character arcs that are quite heartwarming but, in the case of Cass’ estranged mother, narratively unearned.ĭespite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod. But Rowan doesn’t want to be a dirty little secret and doesn’t see why Cass can’t be honest about this part of her life. Pansexual Taylor is a gamer, a little bit punk, White like Cass, and so, so great-but she still can’t help comparing her to Rowan, Cass’ online best friend and role-playing ship partner. But on the other hand, Cass is finally dating her amazingly cute longtime crush, Taylor.

Also, her mom has suddenly left Minneapolis and moved to Maine to be with a man she met online. And sure, maybe she’s missed a college application deadline. Now, turning to her role-play friends to cope with her fighting parents, she worries that people will judge her for her fannishness and online life. Back in middle school, she had what she calls a gaming addiction, playing “The Sims” so much her parents had to take the game away. A few missteps, such as one-dimensional characters and a simplistic resolution, are not enough to destroy the magic of first love.Ĭan a 17-year-old with her first girlfriend prevent real-life folks from discovering her online fandoms?Ĭass is proudly queer, happily fat, and extremely secretive about being a fan who role-plays on Discord. Further, the themes of prejudice, anger, and violence will resonate with readers familiar with current events. Clandestine meetings and stolen kisses will satisfy die-hard romantics, while history buffs will be drawn in by the details of war-torn (and unsurprisingly largely white) Scotland. However, even if her father grudgingly approves of their relationship, the same cannot be said of the local villagers. The two begin an uneasy friendship, which slowly morphs into something more. At least until the army truck arrives delivering Paul, the quiet son of a German clockmaker.

Her prospects for romance look equally bleak.

Seventeen-year-old Lorna dreams of seeing the world, but until the war is over and her brothers return, she is stuck working at Craigielaw. With a workforce decimated by World War II, farms throughout the United Kingdom begin relying on Land Girls and prisoners of war for help, but when a German soldier arrives at Lorna’s family farm, he ends up being both an answer to prayer and a source of trouble for the Anderson family.

Wait for me by caroline leech