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Out of Character
Dumplin’ meets Geekerella in debut author Jenna Miller’s queer, body-positive love story that explores online and offline relationships in all of their messiness.
If you asked seventeen-year-old Cass Williams to describe herself, she’d happily tell you she’s fat, a lesbian, and obsessed with the Tide Wars books. What she won’t tell you—or anyone in her life—is that she’s part of an online Tide Wars roleplay community. Sure, it’s nerdy as hell, but when she’s behind the screen writing scenes as Captain Aresha, she doesn’t have to think about her mother who walked out or how unexpectedly stressful it is dating resident cool girl Taylor Cooper.
But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass. For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her grades have taken a big hit. Also? Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie . . . and Taylor might be catching on.
As Cass’s lies continue to build, so does her anxiety. Roleplaying used to be the one place she could escape to, but this double life and offline-online love triangle have only made things worse. Cass must decide what to do—be honest and risk losing her safe space or keep it a secret and put everything else on the line.
If you asked seventeen-year-old Cass Williams to describe herself, she’d happily tell you she’s fat, a lesbian, and obsessed with the Tide Wars books. What she won’t tell you—or anyone in her life—is that she’s part of an online Tide Wars roleplay community. Sure, it’s nerdy as hell, but when she’s behind the screen writing scenes as Captain Aresha, she doesn’t have to think about her mother who walked out or how unexpectedly stressful it is dating resident cool girl Taylor Cooper.
But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass. For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her grades have taken a big hit. Also? Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie . . . and Taylor might be catching on.
As Cass’s lies continue to build, so does her anxiety. Roleplaying used to be the one place she could escape to, but this double life and offline-online love triangle have only made things worse. Cass must decide what to do—be honest and risk losing her safe space or keep it a secret and put everything else on the line.
10 pages, Audiobook
First published February 7, 2023
38 people are currently reading
8692 people want to read
About the author
Jenna Miller
2 books195 followersJenna Miller (she/her) writes Young Adult books about fat, queer, nerdy girls who deserve to be seen and have their voices heard. When she’s not obsessing over words, she can be found making charcuterie boards, befriending people online, cross stitching, or adventuring in the Minneapolis area.
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April 17, 2023Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if I have good things to say. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book and then write a GR review about it would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
Oh well done me. Diligently wrote my review of this, put it to one side as we were advised to do during the Harper Collins strike … and now can’t find the damn thing.
So let me try again.
This turn out to be the definition of a complicated one for me. There was a lot I loved about it, I lot I found genuinely rather audacious, and some things that didn’t quite land for one reason or another, many of those reasons probably personal.
Anyway to get into it: Cass, the heroine of Out of Character is a fat (using the language preferred by the book here) queer teenager who participates in an online roleplaying group based on her favourite series of books. Her homelife has recently undergone a bit of a shake-up, because her mother has moved out abruptly, leaving Cass’s previously very work-focused dad in place as primary parent. But her love life, by contrast, is looking up as she’s recently started dating Taylor Cooper, a girl she previously believed was out of her league. The more complicated Cass’s life becomes, the more she retreats into her roleplaying group, especially her complicated friendship with her, presumed straight, RP-partner, Rowan.
So, as you can probably tell from the summary, Cass has as lot going on her life. We’re getting into very subjective territory here, because everyone wants to see different aspects of identity represented in different ways, but for me personally I really appreciated that by the time we meet Cass she’s very comfortable with the aspects of herself that could well be the arc, or even the conflict, in another book. Which is to say, while Cass does reflect on how being fat and queer alter her relationship to the world, and the world’s relationship to her, they’re basically her background reality at this point. She’s more concerned with the specifics of her life right now: her mother leaving, her maybe-crush on Rowan, and the fact that what should be a supposedly perfect relationship with Taylor kind of isn’t.
I should probably also say that I went into this sort of … pre-wincing over the roleplaying theme while also wanting to read the book precisely *because* of the roleplaying theme. The thing is, I am always excited for books that centre niche nerd hobbies, but I also worry about those niche nerd hobbies are going to get depicted, especially if they wind up being a conflict point in the book. To give Out of Character credit, this is definitely an insider look at this particular niche nerd hobby. Right down to the fact there’s always someone controlling a plot-significant character who is flaky as fuck and treats the whole thing with barely concealed contempt. In general, it does a really good job of capturing how compelling it can be and feels loving—if clear-eyed—in exactly the sort of way you want someone writing about the dorky thing you do so sometimes let off steam to be both loving and clear-eyed.
Where the wheels slightly came off for me was the way Cass’s increasing involvement in and dependence on her online roleplaying exchanges got entangled up in these very dog whistly “gaming addiction” type ideas. The background here is that, when she was younger, Cass got “addicted” to The Sims and her schoolwork suffered until her parents took the game away: so this makes her feel she is also “addicted” to her roleplaying life and worries about telling her father. And we’re probably straying into personal bugbear type territory here, but I wish “gaming addiction” hadn’t been bandied about so casually and so definitively. The thing is, there’s a real and meaningful difference between addiction in the behavioural or pharmacological sense and playing videogames a bit too much. Yes, Cass isn’t always able to find the self-discipline to balance school and videogames—which, don’t get me wrong, is non-ideal—but that doesn’t mean she has an addiction disorder. Young people, and indeed not so young people, can go off the rails slightly for all kinds of reason and it’s a pretty normal human impulse to seek refuge from our stresses in a hobby taken to excess. I mean, when I was kid I didn’t have much access to computer games because we were poor and also they were pretty rudimentary, so I read a lot of books instead. As in, actively withdrew from my life and responsibilities (such as they were) to hide in the local library and read books. But nobody suggested I was addicted to reading because I’d kept skipping school to read Middlemarch.
Sorry, I’ve slightly gone off on one. I think part of the reason I got stuck on this particular aspect of the story was that it felt about plot, rather than about character. The book needed/wanted to have meaningful conflict about Cass’s online roleplaying that wasn’t “well, she needs to stop this embarrassing hobby” or “this embarrassing hobby will turn your children into gay satanists”, something that would give her real motivation to keep it secret from her parents. And the thing is, I think that motivation could still have been present, without inventing a prior case of Sims addiction, or acting like Sims addiction is a specific and recognisable condition that can only be treated by going into parentally-imposed Sims rehab. Similarly, there’s already a series of interesting conflicts around Cass’s roleplaying: her relationship with her friend group within it, the slow dissolution of a particular relationship as one of the players goes to college and essentially decides the hobby isn’t significant to her and neither are the people involved in it (this is pretty realistic and wrenching AF to be honest), Cass’s closeness with Rowan, the balance between allowing the hobby to be a meaningful part of her life without it taking over her life in times of stress or anxiety.
Anyway, this aside—and I apologise for banging on it about it so much, it just bugged me, and it may very well not bug you in the slightest—there’s a lot I really adored here. Random addiction nonsense aside, I found the fandom/roleplaying sections incredibly charming. It doesn’t take over the book but it’s nice to get little glimpses of Cass’s roleplaying life, whether that’s managing the server, talking with her friends, or writing back and forth with Rowan. The books they’re fans of is fictional—err, fictional in the sense made up for the story—series about queer pirates and comes across as exactly the sort of series that would spawn an enthusiastic fandom while also not being presented as some kind of staggering work of heart-breaking genius. Obviously there’s nothing wrong per se with presenting something you yourself have made up as a staggering work of heart-breaking genius but I personally liked the fact that the book—the real book, I mean—was so willing to champion the value of stories that are loved by their readers over abstract ideas of literary merit or universal critical acclaim.
I also really loved Cass as a character, and I thought there was a lot of nuance to her portrayal; the way the book was willing to allow her to be confident in some ways (especially about her body and her queerness) and messy AF in others. For example, she’s also anxious, introverted, inclined to hide from her problems, withholding and needy at the same time, slightly emotionally myopic and, err, treats her both Taylor and Rowan—Taylor especially—quite badly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not *blaming* or *judging* Cass as a character for the fact she makes some poor decisions and isn’t a paragon (in fact, I think it’s very important that not every character has to be): but I did find her impressively wrong-headed sometimes.
Being YA, Out of Character is mostly a maturation narrative, although it does have strong romantic elements too. And it was interesting to me, coming from the romance genre and mostly adult romance, just how … uh … misguided Cass was allowed to be. It’s very clear from early on that she’s not with the right person, but she clings to Taylor anyway, mostly out of fear and insecurity. And what makes this especially difficult is that Taylor is trying so hard—admittedly too hard—to be a good and loving girlfriend, while Cass lies to her and treats her as a chore. Again, I want to be very clear I’m not judging Cass for this; she’s flawed and human and imperfect, and that’s okay. Honestly, it was kind of refreshing to see this kind of arc from the perspective of the, uh, the mistreater not the mistreated. And I found it intriguing that the main romance arc of the book wasn’t so much the heroine falling in love as finding the confidence to recognise she wasn’t in love:
I realise I’ve sort of gone deep here. But while Out of Character is a book with serious themes, I felt it handled them deftly, and—in case I’ve made it sound overly intense—it’s also a genuinely charming, heart-warming read. It’s got a daft cat in it and a cast of well-developed characters, all with their own thing going on, Like Cass herself, they don’t always behave perfectly but that’s just human, you know? And it felt like real generosity, on the part of the book, that it was so consistently willing to allow people to make mistakes, and hurt each other, and yet still ultimately be understandable and well-meaning, whether this is Cass’s mother, who treats Cass rather selfishly (albeit on the context of a dissolving marriage), or the boy who used to bully Cass at school. For me, though, the real joy of Out of Character is that it genuinely captures the sense of true companionship that can develop around a shared love of the same thing. Also it treats one of my niche nerdy hobbies with very kindly indeed.
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if I have good things to say. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book and then write a GR review about it would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
Oh well done me. Diligently wrote my review of this, put it to one side as we were advised to do during the Harper Collins strike … and now can’t find the damn thing.
So let me try again.
This turn out to be the definition of a complicated one for me. There was a lot I loved about it, I lot I found genuinely rather audacious, and some things that didn’t quite land for one reason or another, many of those reasons probably personal.
Anyway to get into it: Cass, the heroine of Out of Character is a fat (using the language preferred by the book here) queer teenager who participates in an online roleplaying group based on her favourite series of books. Her homelife has recently undergone a bit of a shake-up, because her mother has moved out abruptly, leaving Cass’s previously very work-focused dad in place as primary parent. But her love life, by contrast, is looking up as she’s recently started dating Taylor Cooper, a girl she previously believed was out of her league. The more complicated Cass’s life becomes, the more she retreats into her roleplaying group, especially her complicated friendship with her, presumed straight, RP-partner, Rowan.
So, as you can probably tell from the summary, Cass has as lot going on her life. We’re getting into very subjective territory here, because everyone wants to see different aspects of identity represented in different ways, but for me personally I really appreciated that by the time we meet Cass she’s very comfortable with the aspects of herself that could well be the arc, or even the conflict, in another book. Which is to say, while Cass does reflect on how being fat and queer alter her relationship to the world, and the world’s relationship to her, they’re basically her background reality at this point. She’s more concerned with the specifics of her life right now: her mother leaving, her maybe-crush on Rowan, and the fact that what should be a supposedly perfect relationship with Taylor kind of isn’t.
I should probably also say that I went into this sort of … pre-wincing over the roleplaying theme while also wanting to read the book precisely *because* of the roleplaying theme. The thing is, I am always excited for books that centre niche nerd hobbies, but I also worry about those niche nerd hobbies are going to get depicted, especially if they wind up being a conflict point in the book. To give Out of Character credit, this is definitely an insider look at this particular niche nerd hobby. Right down to the fact there’s always someone controlling a plot-significant character who is flaky as fuck and treats the whole thing with barely concealed contempt. In general, it does a really good job of capturing how compelling it can be and feels loving—if clear-eyed—in exactly the sort of way you want someone writing about the dorky thing you do so sometimes let off steam to be both loving and clear-eyed.
Where the wheels slightly came off for me was the way Cass’s increasing involvement in and dependence on her online roleplaying exchanges got entangled up in these very dog whistly “gaming addiction” type ideas. The background here is that, when she was younger, Cass got “addicted” to The Sims and her schoolwork suffered until her parents took the game away: so this makes her feel she is also “addicted” to her roleplaying life and worries about telling her father. And we’re probably straying into personal bugbear type territory here, but I wish “gaming addiction” hadn’t been bandied about so casually and so definitively. The thing is, there’s a real and meaningful difference between addiction in the behavioural or pharmacological sense and playing videogames a bit too much. Yes, Cass isn’t always able to find the self-discipline to balance school and videogames—which, don’t get me wrong, is non-ideal—but that doesn’t mean she has an addiction disorder. Young people, and indeed not so young people, can go off the rails slightly for all kinds of reason and it’s a pretty normal human impulse to seek refuge from our stresses in a hobby taken to excess. I mean, when I was kid I didn’t have much access to computer games because we were poor and also they were pretty rudimentary, so I read a lot of books instead. As in, actively withdrew from my life and responsibilities (such as they were) to hide in the local library and read books. But nobody suggested I was addicted to reading because I’d kept skipping school to read Middlemarch.
Sorry, I’ve slightly gone off on one. I think part of the reason I got stuck on this particular aspect of the story was that it felt about plot, rather than about character. The book needed/wanted to have meaningful conflict about Cass’s online roleplaying that wasn’t “well, she needs to stop this embarrassing hobby” or “this embarrassing hobby will turn your children into gay satanists”, something that would give her real motivation to keep it secret from her parents. And the thing is, I think that motivation could still have been present, without inventing a prior case of Sims addiction, or acting like Sims addiction is a specific and recognisable condition that can only be treated by going into parentally-imposed Sims rehab. Similarly, there’s already a series of interesting conflicts around Cass’s roleplaying: her relationship with her friend group within it, the slow dissolution of a particular relationship as one of the players goes to college and essentially decides the hobby isn’t significant to her and neither are the people involved in it (this is pretty realistic and wrenching AF to be honest), Cass’s closeness with Rowan, the balance between allowing the hobby to be a meaningful part of her life without it taking over her life in times of stress or anxiety.
Anyway, this aside—and I apologise for banging on it about it so much, it just bugged me, and it may very well not bug you in the slightest—there’s a lot I really adored here. Random addiction nonsense aside, I found the fandom/roleplaying sections incredibly charming. It doesn’t take over the book but it’s nice to get little glimpses of Cass’s roleplaying life, whether that’s managing the server, talking with her friends, or writing back and forth with Rowan. The books they’re fans of is fictional—err, fictional in the sense made up for the story—series about queer pirates and comes across as exactly the sort of series that would spawn an enthusiastic fandom while also not being presented as some kind of staggering work of heart-breaking genius. Obviously there’s nothing wrong per se with presenting something you yourself have made up as a staggering work of heart-breaking genius but I personally liked the fact that the book—the real book, I mean—was so willing to champion the value of stories that are loved by their readers over abstract ideas of literary merit or universal critical acclaim.
I also really loved Cass as a character, and I thought there was a lot of nuance to her portrayal; the way the book was willing to allow her to be confident in some ways (especially about her body and her queerness) and messy AF in others. For example, she’s also anxious, introverted, inclined to hide from her problems, withholding and needy at the same time, slightly emotionally myopic and, err, treats her both Taylor and Rowan—Taylor especially—quite badly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not *blaming* or *judging* Cass as a character for the fact she makes some poor decisions and isn’t a paragon (in fact, I think it’s very important that not every character has to be): but I did find her impressively wrong-headed sometimes.
Being YA, Out of Character is mostly a maturation narrative, although it does have strong romantic elements too. And it was interesting to me, coming from the romance genre and mostly adult romance, just how … uh … misguided Cass was allowed to be. It’s very clear from early on that she’s not with the right person, but she clings to Taylor anyway, mostly out of fear and insecurity. And what makes this especially difficult is that Taylor is trying so hard—admittedly too hard—to be a good and loving girlfriend, while Cass lies to her and treats her as a chore. Again, I want to be very clear I’m not judging Cass for this; she’s flawed and human and imperfect, and that’s okay. Honestly, it was kind of refreshing to see this kind of arc from the perspective of the, uh, the mistreater not the mistreated. And I found it intriguing that the main romance arc of the book wasn’t so much the heroine falling in love as finding the confidence to recognise she wasn’t in love:
Having a crush on someone who reminded me of a fictional character wasn’t enough. Having things in common wasn’t enough. Her being funny and cool and cute and smart and everything else didn’t matter if I didn’t actually feel something..
I realise I’ve sort of gone deep here. But while Out of Character is a book with serious themes, I felt it handled them deftly, and—in case I’ve made it sound overly intense—it’s also a genuinely charming, heart-warming read. It’s got a daft cat in it and a cast of well-developed characters, all with their own thing going on, Like Cass herself, they don’t always behave perfectly but that’s just human, you know? And it felt like real generosity, on the part of the book, that it was so consistently willing to allow people to make mistakes, and hurt each other, and yet still ultimately be understandable and well-meaning, whether this is Cass’s mother, who treats Cass rather selfishly (albeit on the context of a dissolving marriage), or the boy who used to bully Cass at school. For me, though, the real joy of Out of Character is that it genuinely captures the sense of true companionship that can develop around a shared love of the same thing. Also it treats one of my niche nerdy hobbies with very kindly indeed.
May 1, 2025
CW: addiction (not drug/alcohol/substance), underage drinking/alcohol consumption, parent cheats/abandons her family to go live in another state with another man, fat body issue discussion.
Rep: Cass (MC) is fat, white and lesbian. Taylor (love interest) is cis, white and pansexual. Tate (side character) is cis, Black, and straight. Rowan (side character/love interest) is cis, white, and sapphic (label not specified, but she's 'only' ever felt attraction to Cass, so I'd claim lesbian).
I really enjoyed this book. As someone who has spent a lot of time online, and had a very solid fandom online life, I related a lot to that aspect.
Cass has a massive presence in an online roleplay she does with some friends on a Discord server in relation to their favourite books - Tide Wars. She's one of the main characters, and it takes a lot of time away from her offline life participating in all of the scenes she wants to.
The discussion around addiction could’ve gone more into depth, but I think that is also a me thing.
The fat body rep was great, the addiction itself was treated well and wasn’t just used as plot device.
I also love that we see the fact that online addiction is very real. This is the central plot of the story. This online addiction that Cass has is literally ruining her offline life because she can't say no. She can't figure out a way to have these two 'lives' coexist harmoniously.
There is a passage in which Rowan says to Cass that she steps away when needed, and, like a true addict, Cass doesn't understand the how and the why she can do it. Cass' compulsion to always be online, to always be available for roleplaying scenes are what she needs to feel something.
Which is why I love the depiction of addiction in this book - it shows that it isn't just drugs and alcohol that people can be addicted to. And it also shows that addiction, no matter what kind, can impact your life (online and offline) to a very big degree.
Writing reviews without entirely spoiling a book is very hard.
The friendships depicted in this book made my heart so happy. I loved that all of Cass' online friends were so supportive of her, and there for her when she needed them. This is so important to show, I think, because online friendships are very real, and such a wonderful part of fandom life.
There were times when I related a little too much to Cass' online life (especially when it overtook her offline life), and how she felt like she could only talk to her online friends about things because her offline friends wouldn't understand.
Friends come in all shapes and sizes - and locations - and it was so lovely to see healthy online friendships written about.
This book was a gem through and through. I loved it a lot, and I sincerely hope that other people will enjoy it such as much as I did.
Second read through notes:
I am ecstatic to say that the word lesbian was used 7 (!!) times throughout this book. This makes my heart SO happy you have no idea.
I knew that I loved this book the first time around, but after listening to it via audiobook, I have decided that it is now my whole personality for the foreseeable future. You're welcome.
Cass' struggles and her life and her friends just mean the world to me. What I'd have given to have friends like this when I was a teen.
This has upgraded from 4.5 to 5/5 stars.
First read: 14-15/09/2022
Second read: 09-11/02/2023
Third read: 13-15/04/2025
Bookish links: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
Rep: Cass (MC) is fat, white and lesbian. Taylor (love interest) is cis, white and pansexual. Tate (side character) is cis, Black, and straight. Rowan (side character/love interest) is cis, white, and sapphic (label not specified, but she's 'only' ever felt attraction to Cass, so I'd claim lesbian).
I really enjoyed this book. As someone who has spent a lot of time online, and had a very solid fandom online life, I related a lot to that aspect.
Cass has a massive presence in an online roleplay she does with some friends on a Discord server in relation to their favourite books - Tide Wars. She's one of the main characters, and it takes a lot of time away from her offline life participating in all of the scenes she wants to.
The discussion around addiction could’ve gone more into depth, but I think that is also a me thing.
The fat body rep was great, the addiction itself was treated well and wasn’t just used as plot device.
I also love that we see the fact that online addiction is very real. This is the central plot of the story. This online addiction that Cass has is literally ruining her offline life because she can't say no. She can't figure out a way to have these two 'lives' coexist harmoniously.
There is a passage in which Rowan says to Cass that she steps away when needed, and, like a true addict, Cass doesn't understand the how and the why she can do it. Cass' compulsion to always be online, to always be available for roleplaying scenes are what she needs to feel something.
Which is why I love the depiction of addiction in this book - it shows that it isn't just drugs and alcohol that people can be addicted to. And it also shows that addiction, no matter what kind, can impact your life (online and offline) to a very big degree.
Writing reviews without entirely spoiling a book is very hard.
The friendships depicted in this book made my heart so happy. I loved that all of Cass' online friends were so supportive of her, and there for her when she needed them. This is so important to show, I think, because online friendships are very real, and such a wonderful part of fandom life.
There were times when I related a little too much to Cass' online life (especially when it overtook her offline life), and how she felt like she could only talk to her online friends about things because her offline friends wouldn't understand.
Friends come in all shapes and sizes - and locations - and it was so lovely to see healthy online friendships written about.
This book was a gem through and through. I loved it a lot, and I sincerely hope that other people will enjoy it such as much as I did.
Second read through notes:
I am ecstatic to say that the word lesbian was used 7 (!!) times throughout this book. This makes my heart SO happy you have no idea.
I knew that I loved this book the first time around, but after listening to it via audiobook, I have decided that it is now my whole personality for the foreseeable future. You're welcome.
Cass' struggles and her life and her friends just mean the world to me. What I'd have given to have friends like this when I was a teen.
This has upgraded from 4.5 to 5/5 stars.
First read: 14-15/09/2022
Second read: 09-11/02/2023
Third read: 13-15/04/2025
Bookish links: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
Want to read
December 3, 202102.12.2021 queer and fat-positive. YAY! also, "falling for her roleplay bestie" is a great hook for the romance.
February 20, 2023
Actual rating 3.5 stars.
I loved lots of things about Out of Character. I adored that Cass is a fat girl who isn’t ashamed of her weight. I cherished Tate, Case’s best friend. I treasured the text and phone conversations between Cass and Rowan. I loved the message that online friends can be as important as friends in real life. The more I read, the more I got invested in the story. All those things made Out of Character a fantastic read. And still I ended up rating the story 3.5 stars, rounding it down to three.
My rating has everything to do with the roleplay. I liked Cass having online friends, I liked the online chats, but I didn’t like the alternation between Cass’s real life and the roleplay. I lost my concentration every time there was a roleplay part and it made me frustrated at times. I hated that I disliked those parts because Out of Character is the first physical ARC I ever received. And it’s definitely a me thing, so don’t mind my opinion and read Out of Character because it’s vivid, really cute and very well written!
I received an ARC from Harper360YA in exchange for an honest opinion.
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I loved lots of things about Out of Character. I adored that Cass is a fat girl who isn’t ashamed of her weight. I cherished Tate, Case’s best friend. I treasured the text and phone conversations between Cass and Rowan. I loved the message that online friends can be as important as friends in real life. The more I read, the more I got invested in the story. All those things made Out of Character a fantastic read. And still I ended up rating the story 3.5 stars, rounding it down to three.
My rating has everything to do with the roleplay. I liked Cass having online friends, I liked the online chats, but I didn’t like the alternation between Cass’s real life and the roleplay. I lost my concentration every time there was a roleplay part and it made me frustrated at times. I hated that I disliked those parts because Out of Character is the first physical ARC I ever received. And it’s definitely a me thing, so don’t mind my opinion and read Out of Character because it’s vivid, really cute and very well written!
I received an ARC from Harper360YA in exchange for an honest opinion.
Follow me on Instagram
May 26, 2023
Talk about a painfully relatable read. I’m almost glad this wasn’t around when I was a teen, because I’m not sure I could handle reading it then!
Cass is a fat, nerdy queer teenager who is obsessed with a book series and roleplays as one of the characters in an online community. I was a fat nerdy queer teen who was obsessed with a book series and roleplayed in an online community! She’s a chronic overthinker, I’m a chronic overthinker. Needless to say, I cared a lot about Cass and felt protective of her while reading.
The chapters are interspersed with roleplay scenes, which might not work for everyone, but was very nostalgic for me, and they nicely complemented what was happening in Cass’s AFK world.
It was also nice to read about a main character who is so confident both in being fat and being a lesbian, especially as a teenager. There still aren’t many examples of that in media.
While there are a lot of elements to this story, including family as well as romance, it was the friendships that stood out to me, and how seriously they’re taken. They’re often messy and imperfect, but they’re also so important to Cass, and they can be unexpected and beautiful even when they’re messy.
I highly recommend this for nerdy queer teens and those who once were nerdy queer teens—though I’m sure lots of other readers would enjoy it, too.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
Cass is a fat, nerdy queer teenager who is obsessed with a book series and roleplays as one of the characters in an online community. I was a fat nerdy queer teen who was obsessed with a book series and roleplayed in an online community! She’s a chronic overthinker, I’m a chronic overthinker. Needless to say, I cared a lot about Cass and felt protective of her while reading.
The chapters are interspersed with roleplay scenes, which might not work for everyone, but was very nostalgic for me, and they nicely complemented what was happening in Cass’s AFK world.
It was also nice to read about a main character who is so confident both in being fat and being a lesbian, especially as a teenager. There still aren’t many examples of that in media.
While there are a lot of elements to this story, including family as well as romance, it was the friendships that stood out to me, and how seriously they’re taken. They’re often messy and imperfect, but they’re also so important to Cass, and they can be unexpected and beautiful even when they’re messy.
I highly recommend this for nerdy queer teens and those who once were nerdy queer teens—though I’m sure lots of other readers would enjoy it, too.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
February 10, 2025
Please allow me a moment of interpretive finger dancing.
👉 THIS ☝ BOOK 👇 IS 👈 PERFECT 👉 AND ☝ YOU 👈 NEED 👇 IT ☝
👉 THIS ☝ BOOK 👇 IS 👈 PERFECT 👉 AND ☝ YOU 👈 NEED 👇 IT ☝
February 28, 2023
Thank you to Hear Our Voices Tours and the author for providing me with an e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
You can see my stop for the HOV Tour here, which includes some of my favorite quotes from this book!
Out of Character is a love letter to the internet and fandom. It is full of flawed characters, drama, and borderline obsession.
And I loved it.
Although I’ve never been on the roleplay side of the online world like Cass, I’ve had my fair share of internet access since I was, oh, probably twelve. I think those who relate to finding solace in online communities will especially appreciate this book. As I’ve gotten older (because maybe I shouldn’t have been talking to grown adults when I was twelve?), I’ve come to appreciate the internet even more—I’ve made real friends that I talk to every day and have met in person and have spent actual time with. Like, literal multiple-days-in-a-row sleepovers with my online friends!! Who would have thought that would be the highlight of my 20s!! Little me would have never imagined that as a reality. (And as a side note, I loved the Chicago visit because I too had an online friend visit me in Chicago and we did the same touristy things!)
It’s certainly reads like a young adult book (which is good because it is a young adult book!), which means that there was some naivety that some readers probably could live without, but I think it has its purpose. There were some rather annoying decisions and character traits, but I’m choosing to appreciate them because I get it. There’s a smaller theme of distinguishing fiction and reality, which seems like common sense when navigating online spaces, but unfortunately isn’t always. I don’t think this aspect will be for everyone, but again, I understanding.
The representation was also fantastic. There were genuine conversations on body image and sexuality without using pain and shame as a crutch for eliciting emotions. Overall, I thought this was an entertaining read about internet culture, friendship, and passion!
•••
I also wanted to acknowledge a couple lovely people who that I wouldn’t have ever had the privilege of interacting with if it wasn’t for online spheres: Krys, who I’ve been talking to since middle school, and finally got the privilege to meet. Molly, the first person I met from Twitter. Max, for being one of the first people I stumbled into while getting back into read. Gaby, who made life so much easier and much more fun while we were in lockdown. Mori, who I bug every day and got to meet on a very, very impromptu solo trip (also my first time flying alone!). Kaylee, who I also bug every day and will eventually meet because we live so close… Anja, with the best book recs (I’ll meet you some day!). Syd, for indulging me in wild plans that end up working (and for driving waaaay too many hours to see me). Isabella, who was once just an online person and now I see at least every week. Nicol, for meeting me at concerts. Dimitri, thanks for putting up with timezones, because it’s always worth it. Matt, you count too because I technically met you online. And Raquel, if you’re out there, I still think about you frequently and I hope you’re doing well.
You can see my stop for the HOV Tour here, which includes some of my favorite quotes from this book!
Out of Character is a love letter to the internet and fandom. It is full of flawed characters, drama, and borderline obsession.
And I loved it.
Although I’ve never been on the roleplay side of the online world like Cass, I’ve had my fair share of internet access since I was, oh, probably twelve. I think those who relate to finding solace in online communities will especially appreciate this book. As I’ve gotten older (because maybe I shouldn’t have been talking to grown adults when I was twelve?), I’ve come to appreciate the internet even more—I’ve made real friends that I talk to every day and have met in person and have spent actual time with. Like, literal multiple-days-in-a-row sleepovers with my online friends!! Who would have thought that would be the highlight of my 20s!! Little me would have never imagined that as a reality. (And as a side note, I loved the Chicago visit because I too had an online friend visit me in Chicago and we did the same touristy things!)
It’s certainly reads like a young adult book (which is good because it is a young adult book!), which means that there was some naivety that some readers probably could live without, but I think it has its purpose. There were some rather annoying decisions and character traits, but I’m choosing to appreciate them because I get it. There’s a smaller theme of distinguishing fiction and reality, which seems like common sense when navigating online spaces, but unfortunately isn’t always. I don’t think this aspect will be for everyone, but again, I understanding.
The representation was also fantastic. There were genuine conversations on body image and sexuality without using pain and shame as a crutch for eliciting emotions. Overall, I thought this was an entertaining read about internet culture, friendship, and passion!
•••
I also wanted to acknowledge a couple lovely people who that I wouldn’t have ever had the privilege of interacting with if it wasn’t for online spheres: Krys, who I’ve been talking to since middle school, and finally got the privilege to meet. Molly, the first person I met from Twitter. Max, for being one of the first people I stumbled into while getting back into read. Gaby, who made life so much easier and much more fun while we were in lockdown. Mori, who I bug every day and got to meet on a very, very impromptu solo trip (also my first time flying alone!). Kaylee, who I also bug every day and will eventually meet because we live so close… Anja, with the best book recs (I’ll meet you some day!). Syd, for indulging me in wild plans that end up working (and for driving waaaay too many hours to see me). Isabella, who was once just an online person and now I see at least every week. Nicol, for meeting me at concerts. Dimitri, thanks for putting up with timezones, because it’s always worth it. Matt, you count too because I technically met you online. And Raquel, if you’re out there, I still think about you frequently and I hope you’re doing well.
June 7, 2023
This book was not for me. I generally love YA and don’t mind the dramatics and emotional turmoil that goes along with it. However, this time it was too much.
“Out of Character” is about Cass, a self-described fat lesbian nerd. And I loved this about her. Unfortunately, those were the only things I loved. Almost every single issue Cass had was brought on by herself. She lied to everyone she knew and kept making things worse for herself. She kept her role-playing life away from her “real life” friends and family. She also lied by omission to her role-playing friends by not telling them that the people in her real life didn’t know about them. This becomes a major issue so that’s why I mention it.
I just didn’t see how in 2023 it’s a big deal to have online friends and to play role-playing games. I probably can list off 5 people I know for sure that do that and no one cares. I don’t see the big deal and thought it was ridiculous why she was hiding her online activities.
Also, she’s a terrible girlfriend. Because of the lying about her role-playing, which is a big part of her life, she’s always lying to her girlfriend. She chooses her online life over Taylor time and time again and doesn’t seem to really want much to do with her. Why have a girlfriend if you won’t make time for her?
I think if you’re interested in this book then read other reviews. I’m sure others enjoyed this far more than I did.
I received an ARC from HarperCollins Children’s Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
“Out of Character” is about Cass, a self-described fat lesbian nerd. And I loved this about her. Unfortunately, those were the only things I loved. Almost every single issue Cass had was brought on by herself. She lied to everyone she knew and kept making things worse for herself. She kept her role-playing life away from her “real life” friends and family. She also lied by omission to her role-playing friends by not telling them that the people in her real life didn’t know about them. This becomes a major issue so that’s why I mention it.
I just didn’t see how in 2023 it’s a big deal to have online friends and to play role-playing games. I probably can list off 5 people I know for sure that do that and no one cares. I don’t see the big deal and thought it was ridiculous why she was hiding her online activities.
Also, she’s a terrible girlfriend. Because of the lying about her role-playing, which is a big part of her life, she’s always lying to her girlfriend. She chooses her online life over Taylor time and time again and doesn’t seem to really want much to do with her. Why have a girlfriend if you won’t make time for her?
I think if you’re interested in this book then read other reviews. I’m sure others enjoyed this far more than I did.
I received an ARC from HarperCollins Children’s Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 29, 2023
Not a single element of this book succeeds.
The writing itself is poorly executed and does, in fact, put me in mind of my first forays onto the Neoboards. After the fifth use of the word “swoonworthy” to describe everything from people to pancakes, I was tempted to put the book down for good. There is no management of tension or emotion within scenes, no hook pulling us through the characters’ thoughts and actions. Characters drop love confessions with all the gravitas of announcing what they had for lunch. The lack of build up or repercussion causes everything to fade into flat, gray background noise.
The plot is thin to the point of nonexistence. I almost hesitate to call it a plot rather than just a sequence of events, especially considering it manages to keep going for 100 pages after Cass’s big revelation. All of Cass’s problems (except the truly baffling behavior of her mother) are self-inflicted, and not in a fun, spiraling way where you assume she’ll experience some character development over the course of the book. Instead, Cass structures her entire life around keeping a secret that literally no one would care about. The lengths she goes to in order to keep her “online life” hidden from her friends and family are confusing and and left me frustrated. Everyone meets people online these days. The internet is such an integrated part of our world that many people get most of their social interaction through a screen. No one would care if Cass went “Oh, this is my friend Rowan, I met her online because we like the same books.” That is utterly banal. It’s nothing. I know the author was rping in the trenches of the internet during the mid-aughts, but things are different now. The central conflict of the book feels completely manufactured and about 20 years out of date.
Cass is also just a deeply uninteresting character. She has endlessly supportive friends and family (with the notable exception of, again, her mom. woman has problems) despite her constant lying and selfishness, and so somehow there’s little interpersonal conflict despite being a book ostensibly about Cass’s lack of ability to effectively communicate and be honest with her loved ones. There’s hardly a disagreement that isn’t resolved within the next five pages with some kind of squishy heart-to-heart where everyone is just so so understanding and says all the right things. All the characters in this book talk to each other like they’re trying to get a good grade in therapy, and while that might be good practice for interacting with your actual friends, in fiction it is the cardinal sin: it’s boring.
There are huge parts of the book where Cass just spins her wheels with no growth or decay. The novel tries to earnestly depict internet addiction and fails, because we’re never made to feel any sense of urgency or dependency in her interactions with rp. We’re told she has an unhealthy relationship with it (she does, but not for the reasons she thinks. girl stop projecting your feelings onto your scene partner it’s weird), but she gets scared straight by one (1) conversation with a concerned teacher, which really undermines how debilitating it’s supposed to be. It’s also just not interesting to read about on a scene-by-scene basis. In any given chapter, Cass cycles through the same pattern:
1) I am rping to cope with stress.
2) Oh no my grades are suffering. I should rp less and focus.
3) Oh no here is my girlfriend and/or girlbestfriend. This makes me anxious.
4) I am rping to cope with stress.
Repeat ad nauseum. There’s no momentum. It’s stagnant. She doesn’t experience any consequences for her actions. Characters don’t learn or change or make meaningful decisions. The things that happen don’t feel like an organic consequence of character motivations, but like certain mile markers we have to hit for us to reach that coveted HEA. The entire world is populated by cardboard standees that exist only to prop up a boring teenager with the world’s least interesting hang up.
The author couldn’t even come up with a fake IP that sounds halfway interesting. The discord rp excerpts were painfully embarrassing to read and, to add insult to injury, contribute literally nothing to the plot. Also the totdish sounds so wet, guys. Three cans of soup is too many. Are we sure it’s not just potato soup at that point.
The writing itself is poorly executed and does, in fact, put me in mind of my first forays onto the Neoboards. After the fifth use of the word “swoonworthy” to describe everything from people to pancakes, I was tempted to put the book down for good. There is no management of tension or emotion within scenes, no hook pulling us through the characters’ thoughts and actions. Characters drop love confessions with all the gravitas of announcing what they had for lunch. The lack of build up or repercussion causes everything to fade into flat, gray background noise.
The plot is thin to the point of nonexistence. I almost hesitate to call it a plot rather than just a sequence of events, especially considering it manages to keep going for 100 pages after Cass’s big revelation. All of Cass’s problems (except the truly baffling behavior of her mother) are self-inflicted, and not in a fun, spiraling way where you assume she’ll experience some character development over the course of the book. Instead, Cass structures her entire life around keeping a secret that literally no one would care about. The lengths she goes to in order to keep her “online life” hidden from her friends and family are confusing and and left me frustrated. Everyone meets people online these days. The internet is such an integrated part of our world that many people get most of their social interaction through a screen. No one would care if Cass went “Oh, this is my friend Rowan, I met her online because we like the same books.” That is utterly banal. It’s nothing. I know the author was rping in the trenches of the internet during the mid-aughts, but things are different now. The central conflict of the book feels completely manufactured and about 20 years out of date.
Cass is also just a deeply uninteresting character. She has endlessly supportive friends and family (with the notable exception of, again, her mom. woman has problems) despite her constant lying and selfishness, and so somehow there’s little interpersonal conflict despite being a book ostensibly about Cass’s lack of ability to effectively communicate and be honest with her loved ones. There’s hardly a disagreement that isn’t resolved within the next five pages with some kind of squishy heart-to-heart where everyone is just so so understanding and says all the right things. All the characters in this book talk to each other like they’re trying to get a good grade in therapy, and while that might be good practice for interacting with your actual friends, in fiction it is the cardinal sin: it’s boring.
There are huge parts of the book where Cass just spins her wheels with no growth or decay. The novel tries to earnestly depict internet addiction and fails, because we’re never made to feel any sense of urgency or dependency in her interactions with rp. We’re told she has an unhealthy relationship with it (she does, but not for the reasons she thinks. girl stop projecting your feelings onto your scene partner it’s weird), but she gets scared straight by one (1) conversation with a concerned teacher, which really undermines how debilitating it’s supposed to be. It’s also just not interesting to read about on a scene-by-scene basis. In any given chapter, Cass cycles through the same pattern:
1) I am rping to cope with stress.
2) Oh no my grades are suffering. I should rp less and focus.
3) Oh no here is my girlfriend and/or girlbestfriend. This makes me anxious.
4) I am rping to cope with stress.
Repeat ad nauseum. There’s no momentum. It’s stagnant. She doesn’t experience any consequences for her actions. Characters don’t learn or change or make meaningful decisions. The things that happen don’t feel like an organic consequence of character motivations, but like certain mile markers we have to hit for us to reach that coveted HEA. The entire world is populated by cardboard standees that exist only to prop up a boring teenager with the world’s least interesting hang up.
The author couldn’t even come up with a fake IP that sounds halfway interesting. The discord rp excerpts were painfully embarrassing to read and, to add insult to injury, contribute literally nothing to the plot. Also the totdish sounds so wet, guys. Three cans of soup is too many. Are we sure it’s not just potato soup at that point.
Want to read
February 5, 2023give me all the secret online identity books thank you
February 14, 2023
A beautifully funny, nerdy, chaotic, adorable, messy and original read. This book was a delight from the beginning until the end. The conversations surrounding body positivity and Cass' journey to accepting and loving her body were especially moving and powerful. With purposeful explorations of family dynamics, friendships, online culture, mental health, body image, sexuality and more, Out of Character is a gorgeous friends-to-lovers sapphic romance I would happily recommend in a heartbeat.
TW: discussion of fatphobia and homophobia.
TW: discussion of fatphobia and homophobia.
February 28, 2023
4 / 5 stars
Thank you to the author and all those involved in providing with an arc!
This is a really cute romance with an extremely loveable cast of characters! I especially love the author's take on found family where the characters have already found–and made– their family.
The best word I can think of to describe it is messy because holy shit, was this an emotional roller coaster. Between the Main Character's general chaotic panic, family drama, friend drama, and a relationship...yeah, lots of ups and downs.
Personally, I didn't end up liking the Main Character's Super Cool Girlfriend (not a spoiler because it's in the description). I know we were supposed to but...she was kinda pushy? Honestly, I appreciate it, though, because it made her feel like a real person rather than a Super Cool Girlfriend archetype.
Every character felt really, well, real because of their flaws. The author did a really great job of infusing each character with a unique personality and portraying complicated situations with the nuance they deserve. I felt myself justifying every action alongside the characters while simultaneously wanting to throw them against a wall for their stupidity.
I don't roleplay or read fanfiction, but I loved the use of them as a creative medium–especially in the snippets of scenes we got to see between chapters. I wanna read Tide Wars so bad, and now I"m upset that it's not real!
As for the rep (fat, queer, and disabled), I think it was done really well. I am not fat, so I can't speak to that. I do feel that body positivity and at times neutrality were used really well, and I'm grateful to have read a book with a fat character where she was happy with her body and the issue was actually outside of herself instead of revolving around losing weight because that'd be shitty.
The addiction aspect of the story was handled fairly well. It was obvious that the author did research or has experience because it was less a plot point/flaw and more of a...thing that just is for the Main Character.
I wish the offhand line of therapy had been brought back into circulation later on in the book because that's also a good message to have. People recovering from addictions shouldn't have to do so without the support of a therapist, and people with as much drama (read:trauma) going on and notorious anxiety shouldn't have to fair through that alone either. It definitely felt like a missed opportunity.
Also, go the author for having characters be proud of each other for their solidity in their identities!
Thank you to the author and all those involved in providing with an arc!
This is a really cute romance with an extremely loveable cast of characters! I especially love the author's take on found family where the characters have already found–and made– their family.
The best word I can think of to describe it is messy because holy shit, was this an emotional roller coaster. Between the Main Character's general chaotic panic, family drama, friend drama, and a relationship...yeah, lots of ups and downs.
Personally, I didn't end up liking the Main Character's Super Cool Girlfriend (not a spoiler because it's in the description). I know we were supposed to but...she was kinda pushy? Honestly, I appreciate it, though, because it made her feel like a real person rather than a Super Cool Girlfriend archetype.
Every character felt really, well, real because of their flaws. The author did a really great job of infusing each character with a unique personality and portraying complicated situations with the nuance they deserve. I felt myself justifying every action alongside the characters while simultaneously wanting to throw them against a wall for their stupidity.
I don't roleplay or read fanfiction, but I loved the use of them as a creative medium–especially in the snippets of scenes we got to see between chapters. I wanna read Tide Wars so bad, and now I"m upset that it's not real!
As for the rep (fat, queer, and disabled), I think it was done really well. I am not fat, so I can't speak to that. I do feel that body positivity and at times neutrality were used really well, and I'm grateful to have read a book with a fat character where she was happy with her body and the issue was actually outside of herself instead of revolving around losing weight because that'd be shitty.
The addiction aspect of the story was handled fairly well. It was obvious that the author did research or has experience because it was less a plot point/flaw and more of a...thing that just is for the Main Character.
I wish the offhand line of therapy had been brought back into circulation later on in the book because that's also a good message to have. People recovering from addictions shouldn't have to do so without the support of a therapist, and people with as much drama (read:trauma) going on and notorious anxiety shouldn't have to fair through that alone either. It definitely felt like a missed opportunity.
Also, go the author for having characters be proud of each other for their solidity in their identities!
December 2, 2022
i recieved a netgalley arc of this and oh my god thank you for allowing me to read this book. It's not perfect but? It nearly is. And IT HAD GIRLS FALLING IN LOVE that's like all i ever wanted. Aresha and Roux (Cass and Rowan) were just? So cool. Nerds are so cool. And I've never read a book about RP before so this is so??? Fresh. all in all. 5 stars. everyone should read this when it comes out (if it did idk I've been in a funk). Loved THIS SO MUCH.
February 15, 2023
Idk y'all I feel like an alien on this site sometimes. I love so many books that are rated so low, and then books like this, with such a high rating and positive reviews, I just...couldn't with it.
I found the main character so. Irritating. Being overdramatic and insecure and annoying is what teenagehood is like, but usually I'm able to get on board with it when I read young adult. I love the angstiness of coming of age. I live for it. Here, though, it just felt silly, and everything this girl did made me want to scream. Stop lying to everyone about things that are not a big deal!!! Stop leading a perfectly cool and sweet girl on just because you're desperate to have a girlfriend-shaped distraction!!!! Stop being a dick to your best friend because you're scared of feelings!!!!!
Seriously, the way she treated role playing was so weird to me. Like, it's 2023, or at least a year very close to that. We all know what role playing is, and if we don't, we at least know what fanfiction is and we either write it or read it. It's not weird! Doing it in secret because you think no one could possibly understand your unique brand of nerdiness is weird! I found her explanation about her previous gaming addiction and being afraid her dad would make her stop far more compelling and believable than the handwringing over her not at all strange hobby and her internet friends.
Every time she was like, so -andso gave me the perfect opening to come clean about whatever, but I just couldn't because I wasn't ready, I gritted my teeth a little harder. I get that compulsive lying is a thing, but it wasn't presented as that, just as...I don't know...teenage insecurity I guess? But about things that weren't even a big deal. Her mom leaving with no notice, sure, absolutely, and I could even see dragging out your first real romantic relationship because you don't want to admit that it isn't working. But everything else became very tedious for me very quickly.
That said, the 3 stars are for the charm of the role play and the Discord chats, and the in-person scenes with Cass and Rowan. And Cool Dad. And the reunion with Cass and her only ex boyfriend. There were a lot of things about this book that were likable, I just wish they had been in a different story that wasn't so full of nonsensical lying and drama over having an internet hobby with internet friends, a very normal thing that *many* people have.
Also like, it would suck if your girlfriend didn't like the book series you were obsessed and in love with, yes. But using that as a further reason to lie to her and hide things from her and build up resentment toward her still just felt...silly. This whole reading experience was exhausting for me.
I found the main character so. Irritating. Being overdramatic and insecure and annoying is what teenagehood is like, but usually I'm able to get on board with it when I read young adult. I love the angstiness of coming of age. I live for it. Here, though, it just felt silly, and everything this girl did made me want to scream. Stop lying to everyone about things that are not a big deal!!! Stop leading a perfectly cool and sweet girl on just because you're desperate to have a girlfriend-shaped distraction!!!! Stop being a dick to your best friend because you're scared of feelings!!!!!
Seriously, the way she treated role playing was so weird to me. Like, it's 2023, or at least a year very close to that. We all know what role playing is, and if we don't, we at least know what fanfiction is and we either write it or read it. It's not weird! Doing it in secret because you think no one could possibly understand your unique brand of nerdiness is weird! I found her explanation about her previous gaming addiction and being afraid her dad would make her stop far more compelling and believable than the handwringing over her not at all strange hobby and her internet friends.
Every time she was like, so -andso gave me the perfect opening to come clean about whatever, but I just couldn't because I wasn't ready, I gritted my teeth a little harder. I get that compulsive lying is a thing, but it wasn't presented as that, just as...I don't know...teenage insecurity I guess? But about things that weren't even a big deal. Her mom leaving with no notice, sure, absolutely, and I could even see dragging out your first real romantic relationship because you don't want to admit that it isn't working. But everything else became very tedious for me very quickly.
That said, the 3 stars are for the charm of the role play and the Discord chats, and the in-person scenes with Cass and Rowan. And Cool Dad. And the reunion with Cass and her only ex boyfriend. There were a lot of things about this book that were likable, I just wish they had been in a different story that wasn't so full of nonsensical lying and drama over having an internet hobby with internet friends, a very normal thing that *many* people have.
Also like, it would suck if your girlfriend didn't like the book series you were obsessed and in love with, yes. But using that as a further reason to lie to her and hide things from her and build up resentment toward her still just felt...silly. This whole reading experience was exhausting for me.
March 9, 2023
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.
This ARC was provided by @hearourvoicestours as part of their tour. The eARC was provided by the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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!
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.
This ARC was provided by @hearourvoicestours as part of their tour. The eARC was provided by the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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!
February 28, 2023
Fat lesbian main character who falls for her online roleplay best friend? Yes freaking please.
This is another one of those books that falls into the category of "it wasn't an audiobook so it took me ages to get through it and then I ended up just listening to the audiobook anyway" So here we are months later than I was supposed to finish this and I'm so happy I finally was able to finish. This is a messy chaotic story about nerdy teenagers feeling their feelings and living their life.
I really enjoyed the concept of the story and just the reminder that teenagers are imperfect messy chaotic humans who make mistakes and deserve to make mistakes was really great. I really liked her relationship with her neighbor best friend as well as all of her online friendships. I think all of the relationship dynamics were well done and complex in this story. No one was perfect and no one was without fault.
I do think some of the on page roleplay scenes weren't necessary to be honest. I just don't know that it added a ton to the story that couldn't have been done in a different way.
However, I would definitely recommend this one and it is a great contemporary YA!
This is another one of those books that falls into the category of "it wasn't an audiobook so it took me ages to get through it and then I ended up just listening to the audiobook anyway" So here we are months later than I was supposed to finish this and I'm so happy I finally was able to finish. This is a messy chaotic story about nerdy teenagers feeling their feelings and living their life.
I really enjoyed the concept of the story and just the reminder that teenagers are imperfect messy chaotic humans who make mistakes and deserve to make mistakes was really great. I really liked her relationship with her neighbor best friend as well as all of her online friendships. I think all of the relationship dynamics were well done and complex in this story. No one was perfect and no one was without fault.
I do think some of the on page roleplay scenes weren't necessary to be honest. I just don't know that it added a ton to the story that couldn't have been done in a different way.
However, I would definitely recommend this one and it is a great contemporary YA!
February 18, 2023
I really enjoyed this book and it makes me all kinds of happy that YA books that center fat, queer, nerdy teenagers are being published for today's youth. It makes me even happier that this book shows a fat, queer, nerdy teenager happy with who they are (for the most part) and is blissfully free of major drama or trauma surrounding their identity. In other words, the fat, queer nerdy teenager gets to have the regular old drama that you expect from the YA genre. I don't read a lot of YA, so not an expert here, but for me this book hit all the notes I want and expect from a YA book.
The conflict in this book centers around Cassidy's involvement in online fandom, where she has made very strong friendships. She hides it from her parents and school friends because she previously had a "gaming addiction" to The Sims and, understandably, is afraid it will all be taken away from her. We see Cassidy struggle with balance between her online life, school, IRL friends as her involvement in the online fandom takes up more and more and more of her time. I appreciated the message about balance and the negative consequences of letting one thing consume your life to the detriment of other things that can also have a positive impact on your life.
I also really appreciated how the online friendships Cassidy had were not treated as less important than her offline relationships. In fact, Cassidy has more and better friends online than offline. The book does an excellent job of depicting online friends as no different than offline ones. People can be flaky and disappoint you, or really step up and be a support for you in your time of need, regardless of their physical location. There were a few times throughout the book where I think it teetered on the edge of suggesting that offline friendships were more important, or that it was important to take online friendships offline eventually. But I chalk these up to a few passages here and there that could have used some editing because on the whole I do not think that was the message of the book. It just got conflated in a few spots because the story is about Cassidy learning to restore some balance in her life, which necessarily involves putting some boundaries up around her online life and engaging more in her offline life.
Though relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, Cassidy's past "gaming addiction" rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think it was necessary to add this element to the story for her current situation to be believable, and wish it was edited out. I bristled at the use of the word addiction in this context. I am certainly not an expert in this subject, but addiction is a strong word and I wondered if it was the right word for what Cassidy experienced as a child with The Sims. It's clear that she used The Sims as an escape and a coping mechanism for dealing with a tough time in her life. There's a lot of nuance to the subject of addiction that I'm totally unqualified to speak on, but I bristle at the thought of labeling a child as an addict because they found a coping mechanism to help with their pain that, in the bigger picture, is not all that unhealthy.
One other thing I want to mention, and this is kind of big, is that parental abandonment is a major issue that Cassidy is dealing with. Major content warning for that. I didn't love this aspect of the story either. The abandonment is quite severe and unexpected. Stop reading here if you don't want to be spoiled.
I could not understand for the life of me how Cassidy's mother went from being what by all accounts was a fantastic mother with a close relationship with Cassidy, to one who moved to a different state with absolutely no advanced notice and then did not even bother to call her child for months, let alone see her. And then when she finally shows up and wants to be a part of Cassidy's life again the message is essentially everyone makes mistakes, let's move past this. Okay, so maybe eventually I could get there but this happened way, way, way too fast for me. This wasn't some run of the mill parenting mistake. It was parental abandonment and Cassidy was angry. Rightfully so. But the book had her move past it way too quickly for me. I was angry that the book didn't allow Cassidy more anger.
Original Review:
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
This book is published by Harper Collins so I won't be reviewing or giving a star rating for now. But I'll be damned if Harper Collins' bad faith behavior keeps me from counting this book toward my 2023 reading challenge. I'm also really conflicted because Jenna Miller is a debut author of a book with a fat, queer MC that currently has less than 100 reviews here. I honestly wonder if holding reviews hurts her more than Harper Collins. So I guess I'll say one thing - I'm really happy books like Out of Character exist for today's youth.
The conflict in this book centers around Cassidy's involvement in online fandom, where she has made very strong friendships. She hides it from her parents and school friends because she previously had a "gaming addiction" to The Sims and, understandably, is afraid it will all be taken away from her. We see Cassidy struggle with balance between her online life, school, IRL friends as her involvement in the online fandom takes up more and more and more of her time. I appreciated the message about balance and the negative consequences of letting one thing consume your life to the detriment of other things that can also have a positive impact on your life.
I also really appreciated how the online friendships Cassidy had were not treated as less important than her offline relationships. In fact, Cassidy has more and better friends online than offline. The book does an excellent job of depicting online friends as no different than offline ones. People can be flaky and disappoint you, or really step up and be a support for you in your time of need, regardless of their physical location. There were a few times throughout the book where I think it teetered on the edge of suggesting that offline friendships were more important, or that it was important to take online friendships offline eventually. But I chalk these up to a few passages here and there that could have used some editing because on the whole I do not think that was the message of the book. It just got conflated in a few spots because the story is about Cassidy learning to restore some balance in her life, which necessarily involves putting some boundaries up around her online life and engaging more in her offline life.
Though relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, Cassidy's past "gaming addiction" rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think it was necessary to add this element to the story for her current situation to be believable, and wish it was edited out. I bristled at the use of the word addiction in this context. I am certainly not an expert in this subject, but addiction is a strong word and I wondered if it was the right word for what Cassidy experienced as a child with The Sims. It's clear that she used The Sims as an escape and a coping mechanism for dealing with a tough time in her life. There's a lot of nuance to the subject of addiction that I'm totally unqualified to speak on, but I bristle at the thought of labeling a child as an addict because they found a coping mechanism to help with their pain that, in the bigger picture, is not all that unhealthy.
One other thing I want to mention, and this is kind of big, is that parental abandonment is a major issue that Cassidy is dealing with. Major content warning for that. I didn't love this aspect of the story either. The abandonment is quite severe and unexpected. Stop reading here if you don't want to be spoiled.
I could not understand for the life of me how Cassidy's mother went from being what by all accounts was a fantastic mother with a close relationship with Cassidy, to one who moved to a different state with absolutely no advanced notice and then did not even bother to call her child for months, let alone see her. And then when she finally shows up and wants to be a part of Cassidy's life again the message is essentially everyone makes mistakes, let's move past this. Okay, so maybe eventually I could get there but this happened way, way, way too fast for me. This wasn't some run of the mill parenting mistake. It was parental abandonment and Cassidy was angry. Rightfully so. But the book had her move past it way too quickly for me. I was angry that the book didn't allow Cassidy more anger.
Original Review:
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
This book is published by Harper Collins so I won't be reviewing or giving a star rating for now. But I'll be damned if Harper Collins' bad faith behavior keeps me from counting this book toward my 2023 reading challenge. I'm also really conflicted because Jenna Miller is a debut author of a book with a fat, queer MC that currently has less than 100 reviews here. I honestly wonder if holding reviews hurts her more than Harper Collins. So I guess I'll say one thing - I'm really happy books like Out of Character exist for today's youth.
June 19, 2023
Loved this one!!
August 4, 2024
From one fat queer woman to another: can we have more personality than "I'm fat, I like girls, I read one book and imprinted on it to the exclusion of literally everything else in my life."?
1. Cass is so singularly unlikable that every minute of this book was a chore. And I mean every very long, dragged out minute. I read this with my GF, actually, and this wasn't as cute as that sounds because we were both physically in pain and angry at this MC a lot. She's terrible to everyone around her, bases her decisions on WILD assumptions, has absolutely no in character/out of character RP divide, and is the epitome of siccing girls on each other, but assumes they should all support HER. I know she's an MC, but she actively has the worst Main Character Syndrome baked into her concept, it's infuriating.
2. The RP lingo reads like a boomer who tried D&D once and assumed they could apply all of that half-learned jargon onto online RP. No one calls it "the roleplay." No one has that many Discord servers, bestie, you mean CHANNELS. The overinvestment is about the only realistic thing I can note about it, but even then, what we're calling an "addiction" (harmfully, Jenna Miller; please go see the scathing reviews of Dopamine Nation, because you've just turned that fake science into your "addiction" concept) reads as--to someone who is neurodivergent--untreated, unmitigated, undiagnosed, and likely-to-be-denied ADHD.
3. THE RELATIONSHIPS ARE ALL TOXIC. What about this is romantic? Everyone continues to fall all over Cass while she lies, manipulates, and generally disregards everyone but herself? Why do any of these girls like her to the point where we even get to emotional cheating? She only wanted the first GF b/c of this insane imagined image she had of the girl (and she never makes a real effort to learn anything EVER, it's always the GF trying out fandom and shit FOR HER). She convinces herself the second isn't queer BUT NEVER ASKS. Jesus Christ, Cass, pull your head out of your ass and learn to TALK TO PEOPLE before assuming you know their lives?
The whole thing is irritating, painfully self-referential, but doesn't read at all like how even millennials would talk, let alone teenagers now. Absolutely wild to me that this is touted as a romance when Cass gives off more red flags than Edward Cullen.
1. Cass is so singularly unlikable that every minute of this book was a chore. And I mean every very long, dragged out minute. I read this with my GF, actually, and this wasn't as cute as that sounds because we were both physically in pain and angry at this MC a lot. She's terrible to everyone around her, bases her decisions on WILD assumptions, has absolutely no in character/out of character RP divide, and is the epitome of siccing girls on each other, but assumes they should all support HER. I know she's an MC, but she actively has the worst Main Character Syndrome baked into her concept, it's infuriating.
2. The RP lingo reads like a boomer who tried D&D once and assumed they could apply all of that half-learned jargon onto online RP. No one calls it "the roleplay." No one has that many Discord servers, bestie, you mean CHANNELS. The overinvestment is about the only realistic thing I can note about it, but even then, what we're calling an "addiction" (harmfully, Jenna Miller; please go see the scathing reviews of Dopamine Nation, because you've just turned that fake science into your "addiction" concept) reads as--to someone who is neurodivergent--untreated, unmitigated, undiagnosed, and likely-to-be-denied ADHD.
3. THE RELATIONSHIPS ARE ALL TOXIC. What about this is romantic? Everyone continues to fall all over Cass while she lies, manipulates, and generally disregards everyone but herself? Why do any of these girls like her to the point where we even get to emotional cheating? She only wanted the first GF b/c of this insane imagined image she had of the girl (and she never makes a real effort to learn anything EVER, it's always the GF trying out fandom and shit FOR HER). She convinces herself the second isn't queer BUT NEVER ASKS. Jesus Christ, Cass, pull your head out of your ass and learn to TALK TO PEOPLE before assuming you know their lives?
The whole thing is irritating, painfully self-referential, but doesn't read at all like how even millennials would talk, let alone teenagers now. Absolutely wild to me that this is touted as a romance when Cass gives off more red flags than Edward Cullen.
April 23, 2025
This one was a bit of a surprise. While it maybe wasn't the most perfect read, I loved the messy main character who was struggling to balance everything in her life. I also appreciated that there was not a cheating storyline (crazy, how sometimes people can just have integrity), and the big drama was dealt with in a realistic manner. It certainly lacked a bit of flair, but I think there was also a lot of charm in trying something different.
The main was a fat sapphic lead but the problems were not because she was fat and sapphic. No coming out story or learning to love yourself, she's already done that work for us off camera.
I think if you like coming of age stories and wholesomeness, this might be for you. It may not be the juiciest or most original, but people learning to care and appreciate other perspectives is sadly rare enough in most media that it felt refreshing to me.
The main was a fat sapphic lead but the problems were not because she was fat and sapphic. No coming out story or learning to love yourself, she's already done that work for us off camera.
I think if you like coming of age stories and wholesomeness, this might be for you. It may not be the juiciest or most original, but people learning to care and appreciate other perspectives is sadly rare enough in most media that it felt refreshing to me.
January 26, 2023
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.
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.
April 6, 2024
confused as to why this is so highly rated. utterly unlikable mc. spent the entire book baffled at how she still had people around her when she acted like that
January 16, 2023
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.
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.
August 16, 2024
This has been on my tbr for waaay too long, and I'm glad I finally read it. Everyone seemed to have loved it, and they didn't like - this was a great read. But I wouldn't say I loved it, exactly.
There's a lot I did love or at least appreciate about this book, and I think it does a great job discussing teenage messiness, and even adult messiness. But I also kept missing things, some small, some larger, throughout the book.
For instance, throughout the book Cass says Tate is her best friend, but I feel like we barely get to know him. Cass's mother leaves in a really upsetting way after her parents get divorced, and Cass is of course angry about that, but I never felt much of her emotions when it sounded like something that would really uproot your life and would be something that takes time to work through.
These are just some examples of things I felt didn't get fleshed out enough, when this is in fact super long for a YA contemporary. They added up to make me enjoy the book less, even though I did think it was doing a lot of great things.
There's a lot I did love or at least appreciate about this book, and I think it does a great job discussing teenage messiness, and even adult messiness. But I also kept missing things, some small, some larger, throughout the book.
For instance, throughout the book Cass says Tate is her best friend, but I feel like we barely get to know him. Cass's mother leaves in a really upsetting way after her parents get divorced, and Cass is of course angry about that, but I never felt much of her emotions when it sounded like something that would really uproot your life and would be something that takes time to work through.
These are just some examples of things I felt didn't get fleshed out enough, when this is in fact super long for a YA contemporary. They added up to make me enjoy the book less, even though I did think it was doing a lot of great things.
April 7, 2023
First of all: it's sapphic <3
This story is about a girl who does roleplaying to escape her real life problems. She met her best friend online. She's trying to find herself, getting into a good college and all other things YA books have (but I find this one still very unique and nice).
I could relate to the mc.
This story is about a girl who does roleplaying to escape her real life problems. She met her best friend online. She's trying to find herself, getting into a good college and all other things YA books have (but I find this one still very unique and nice).
I could relate to the mc.
September 23, 2024
Listened to this on audiobook, narrated by Joy Nash.
Cass - proudly lesbian, fat and nerdy - is in her last year of high school. With her parents always arguing and mounting tension at home, she finds herself increasingly getting lost in the world of roleplay with her friends online - a safe place of escapism where she can be a triumphant hero. But when her mom abruptly leaves her and her father for another man, Cass's dependency on her hobby and online friends for escapism becomes a need - one that starts to impact her relationships both online and offline.
I loved this novel way more than I expected to - and I already had pretty high hopes! I also used online roleplay for escapism from a bad home situation back when I was in high school (geez that feels like forever ago now), so I understood a lot of what Cass was feeling, especially that need to protect the one place where you feel you can safely be yourself, even though it means hiding innocuous things like they're some kind of dirty secret. I also related to the fact that even though online hobbies can be great for community and self expression, it's also easy for them to become addictive when they're your primary coping mechanism, and I was really grateful for the way the novel explored this honestly and thoughtfully without demonizing online friend groups or having nerdy hobbies. Cass's growth and exploration in this regard felt very real and respectful.
My very favorite thing about Out of Character, though, was how important and integral all of Cass's non-romantic relationships were to the story. Her dad and her friends both online and offline were so colorful and unique, and it was so lovely to see not only them supporting Cass with all she's going through, but Cass being called out to support and be there for them too. I feel like a lot of romance novels treat the side characters like they're just there to help push the protagonist's story along, but the novel made really clear that Cass needed to be there for her friends too.
The audiobook narrator also did an incredible job and really added to my enjoyment of the novel. Her narration was so emotive at just the right times, and she had great, unique voices for each character.
Really enjoyed this one - highly recommend!
Cass - proudly lesbian, fat and nerdy - is in her last year of high school. With her parents always arguing and mounting tension at home, she finds herself increasingly getting lost in the world of roleplay with her friends online - a safe place of escapism where she can be a triumphant hero. But when her mom abruptly leaves her and her father for another man, Cass's dependency on her hobby and online friends for escapism becomes a need - one that starts to impact her relationships both online and offline.
I loved this novel way more than I expected to - and I already had pretty high hopes! I also used online roleplay for escapism from a bad home situation back when I was in high school (geez that feels like forever ago now), so I understood a lot of what Cass was feeling, especially that need to protect the one place where you feel you can safely be yourself, even though it means hiding innocuous things like they're some kind of dirty secret. I also related to the fact that even though online hobbies can be great for community and self expression, it's also easy for them to become addictive when they're your primary coping mechanism, and I was really grateful for the way the novel explored this honestly and thoughtfully without demonizing online friend groups or having nerdy hobbies. Cass's growth and exploration in this regard felt very real and respectful.
My very favorite thing about Out of Character, though, was how important and integral all of Cass's non-romantic relationships were to the story. Her dad and her friends both online and offline were so colorful and unique, and it was so lovely to see not only them supporting Cass with all she's going through, but Cass being called out to support and be there for them too. I feel like a lot of romance novels treat the side characters like they're just there to help push the protagonist's story along, but the novel made really clear that Cass needed to be there for her friends too.
The audiobook narrator also did an incredible job and really added to my enjoyment of the novel. Her narration was so emotive at just the right times, and she had great, unique voices for each character.
Really enjoyed this one - highly recommend!
January 10, 2024
This book feels like it should have taken place in maybe 2007, when meeting people online and being nerdy was still a sort of fringe thing. Nowadays, the conversations that Cass has with the people around her would go something like:
“What are you doing on your phone?” (What teenager asks another teenager what they’re doing on their phone?)
“Chatting with a friend.”
“What friend?”
[If it’s a peer or vaguely nerdy person]: “Someone from my roleplay group. Like a Dungeons and Dragons-type thing, you know?”
“Oh, neat.”
OR
[If it’s a person you don’t want to explain roleplay to]: “A friend from Tumblr/Discord.”
Problem solved.
Listen. I have been in a group roleplay community for twelve years now. I have made some really great friends in this community, people I have met up with IRL. People I will (hopefully) be friends with forever. Twelve years of the same few people, creating stories together. I started when I was sixteen, and I have been with these people ever since.
And with all that in my back pocket, I can’t grasp why it’s so important that Cass tell everyone in her life about the RP. She’s portrayed as being wrong for being so quiet about it—her online friends ask multiple times if she’s ashamed of them. I can honestly say that these people I know so well—these online friends of twelve years—couldn’t care less if I tell the people in my life about my hobby. Asking “Are you ashamed of us?” is absolute lunacy.
Now, again, obviously I do mention them IRL from time to time—because they’re my online friends. The roleplay doesn’t have to come into it. The roleplay—I say this as someone who loves roleplay—is inconsequential in the long run. I’m just writing and vibing with my online friends, as one does in the Year of our Lord 2023.
Additionally—it’s perfectly normal, when you have been RPing as long as I have, to be sad when a friend starts to drift away from roleplay. It’s just as sad as a friend drifting away IRL, because that’s what it is—a friend leaving.
But good GOD, these kids treat their friend Carina terribly. She’s portrayed as a low-key villain for getting into a good college and having a boyfriend and, GASP, not talking about her RP in everyday life. They also harp on the fact that she must be “ashamed” of them for not talking about her roleplay, A HOBBY WITH FRIENDS, to everyone in her life.
Again, who the heck cares?
In some ways, I think I’m being unfair. These characters are all around seventeen, and when you’re a teenager you often worry about how you are perceived. But this girl doesn’t live some kind of closeted, conservative life—her IRL friends and family are portrayed as being supportive to a fault. One (1) Sims addiction doesn’t mean you can’t talk about online friends and your writing hobby to other people.Especially because The Sims is an offline game.
At the very least, me and my roleplay guild had a lot of fun book clubbing this thing. If you have a roleplay group, I highly suggest you do the same.
“What are you doing on your phone?” (What teenager asks another teenager what they’re doing on their phone?)
“Chatting with a friend.”
“What friend?”
[If it’s a peer or vaguely nerdy person]: “Someone from my roleplay group. Like a Dungeons and Dragons-type thing, you know?”
“Oh, neat.”
OR
[If it’s a person you don’t want to explain roleplay to]: “A friend from Tumblr/Discord.”
Problem solved.
Listen. I have been in a group roleplay community for twelve years now. I have made some really great friends in this community, people I have met up with IRL. People I will (hopefully) be friends with forever. Twelve years of the same few people, creating stories together. I started when I was sixteen, and I have been with these people ever since.
And with all that in my back pocket, I can’t grasp why it’s so important that Cass tell everyone in her life about the RP. She’s portrayed as being wrong for being so quiet about it—her online friends ask multiple times if she’s ashamed of them. I can honestly say that these people I know so well—these online friends of twelve years—couldn’t care less if I tell the people in my life about my hobby. Asking “Are you ashamed of us?” is absolute lunacy.
Now, again, obviously I do mention them IRL from time to time—because they’re my online friends. The roleplay doesn’t have to come into it. The roleplay—I say this as someone who loves roleplay—is inconsequential in the long run. I’m just writing and vibing with my online friends, as one does in the Year of our Lord 2023.
Additionally—it’s perfectly normal, when you have been RPing as long as I have, to be sad when a friend starts to drift away from roleplay. It’s just as sad as a friend drifting away IRL, because that’s what it is—a friend leaving.
But good GOD, these kids treat their friend Carina terribly. She’s portrayed as a low-key villain for getting into a good college and having a boyfriend and, GASP, not talking about her RP in everyday life. They also harp on the fact that she must be “ashamed” of them for not talking about her roleplay, A HOBBY WITH FRIENDS, to everyone in her life.
Again, who the heck cares?
In some ways, I think I’m being unfair. These characters are all around seventeen, and when you’re a teenager you often worry about how you are perceived. But this girl doesn’t live some kind of closeted, conservative life—her IRL friends and family are portrayed as being supportive to a fault. One (1) Sims addiction doesn’t mean you can’t talk about online friends and your writing hobby to other people.
At the very least, me and my roleplay guild had a lot of fun book clubbing this thing. If you have a roleplay group, I highly suggest you do the same.
February 26, 2023
I really wanted to like this. I am the target audience! I am a friend of a friend of the author (so I don't know her, but this was highly recommended to me)! By all accounts, I should like it!
But I just don't.
The main character is so incredibly annoying to me, and to be honest, so is her love interest. The relationships and characters didn't click for me. Cass and Rowan alike are so incredibly weird about roleplaying, and it doesn't need to be that big of a thing. It's! Not! That! Deep! You aren't keeping a horrible secret if you don't tell everyone you know you write sometimes on the Internet! This is 2023, do what you want! I don't understand how this is a relationship-ruining thing, especially if all these people are seemingly so close. Even with the addiction thing, it's so very overexaggerated, and it feels unrealistic.
All of the characters did, actually. Where was their development? Tate was okay, but we hardly know who he is or why he cares about Cass that much except growing up together and living next door. Taylor seems sweet, but we never see why, exactly, she likes Cass so much, especially when she's such a horrible person to her. And Cass! Cass is a horrible person! She's terrible to everyone she cares about! And for what? Because she likes a series that never even names its main enemy or conflict? Why?!
The mom trauma came from out of nowhere, and I couldn't bring myself to care about it. The pacing was so weird. I just...I wish I didn't have so many complaints, because a book about a body positive lesbian roleplayer seemed so fantastic. But unfortunately, as a roleplayer myself, this view of it exaggerates so much. There are so many five star reviews, and it's a debut, so I'm giving it 3 to keep the average up (for now). But, man. This wasn't nearly as good as I hoped.
But I just don't.
The main character is so incredibly annoying to me, and to be honest, so is her love interest. The relationships and characters didn't click for me. Cass and Rowan alike are so incredibly weird about roleplaying, and it doesn't need to be that big of a thing. It's! Not! That! Deep! You aren't keeping a horrible secret if you don't tell everyone you know you write sometimes on the Internet! This is 2023, do what you want! I don't understand how this is a relationship-ruining thing, especially if all these people are seemingly so close. Even with the addiction thing, it's so very overexaggerated, and it feels unrealistic.
All of the characters did, actually. Where was their development? Tate was okay, but we hardly know who he is or why he cares about Cass that much except growing up together and living next door. Taylor seems sweet, but we never see why, exactly, she likes Cass so much, especially when she's such a horrible person to her. And Cass! Cass is a horrible person! She's terrible to everyone she cares about! And for what? Because she likes a series that never even names its main enemy or conflict? Why?!
The mom trauma came from out of nowhere, and I couldn't bring myself to care about it. The pacing was so weird. I just...I wish I didn't have so many complaints, because a book about a body positive lesbian roleplayer seemed so fantastic. But unfortunately, as a roleplayer myself, this view of it exaggerates so much. There are so many five star reviews, and it's a debut, so I'm giving it 3 to keep the average up (for now). But, man. This wasn't nearly as good as I hoped.
February 4, 2023
In support of the hcp union. No review until there’s a fair contract. Don’t forget to buy the book from the hcp union bookshop link !!
November 25, 2021
Literally so cute and original! I loved the the role play scenes, they added a fun second story to go along with the original plot. It’ll be fun to see if she develops Tide Wars into its own story.
It felt like such an authentic high school experience.
All I can say, is that I couldn’t put it down and was literally crying in my car as I was finishing it.
It felt like such an authentic high school experience.
All I can say, is that I couldn’t put it down and was literally crying in my car as I was finishing it.
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