Dylan doesn’t have a lot of experience with comfort. His room in the falling-down Village Estates can generously be categorized as “squalid,” and he sure as hell isn’t getting any love from his mother, who seemed to—no, definitely did—enjoy the perks that went along with being the parent of a “cancer kid.”
Now that Dylan’s suddenly in remission, all he’s left with is a lingering OxyContin addiction and a hunger for something—anything—but the life he’s known.
His only escape has been in the form of his favorite video game—World of Warcraft—and the one true friend who makes him feel understood, even if it’s just online. Dylan met Arden playing Warcraft, and now he wants to take her on a real mission, one he never thought he’d live to set out on: a journey to a mysterious ship in the middle of the Salton Sea.
But Arden is fighting her own battles, ones that Dylan can’t always help her win. As they navigate their way west, they grapple with Arden’s father (who refuses to recognize his daughter’s true gender), Dylan’s addiction, and the messy, complicated romance fighting so hard to blossom through the cracks of their battle-hardened hearts.
Pre-warning: This may be a short review. It may also be ranty.
I am an MMORPG player, and for quite a while I was a World of Warcraft player so I love seeing books set in online games. Stupidly, I thought that may be a main point of this book. It wasn't.
As an online relationship/road trip book, this may have worked.
I just really struggled with the way Dylan and Arden were portrayed, and I really hated the way Dylan described Arden. For a book which is meant to be true and meaningful and educational about trans teens, it felt immensely offensive and misinformed. The was a big put off for me. I persevered, hoping the plot would make up for it. I think that Harrison wrote about Arden's struggles with her family poorly, and Dylan's addiction as well but the plot and the issue with the LGBT+ part of the book was just immensley poorly done.
Book released 25th April 2017 by HarperTeen
Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review
very honest review. it's unfortunate it didn't due accurate portralys of the characters.
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