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I.C.Q.: A Novel
Auggie Benson is a high school senior from Northern New Jersey who freelances as a software developer and hacker after school. When he expands his clientele from AOL to I.C.Q. users, he meets Clarissa, a senior from a nearby high school. Communicating exclusively through the new I.C.Q. platform, Auggie and Clarissa quickly become romantically entangled and learn to navigate the ups and downs of an online romance -- a romance that is cut short, as Clarissa receives an unexpected graduation present from her parents and leaves for Europe. They write to each other often but there's just one Clarissa never sees Auggie's letters until the end of her trip. Can their relationship survive? Set in the emerging world of fast-paced internet communication, this romance will not only have you at the edge of your seat, wondering what will become of Auggie and Clarissa, but will also delight you with its evocation of the music, popular culture, and topsy-turvy dating landscape of the 90s.
195 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 9, 2021
9 people want to read
About the author
Og Maciel
7 books35 followersOg Maciel (https://omaciel.github.io) is a Brazilian-American software engineer and author of fiction and short stories. His works include "Software Quality Engineering: Tales From The Trenches", "I.C.Q - A Novel", and "The Big Score." He lives in Chapel Hill, NC, with his wife and three daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 3, 2021
Having grown up around the same time as the setting of this book, albeit in another country, it was an incredibly nostalgic ride. The attention to detail in this book is nothing short of exemplary, and knowing the author, the fluidity with which the details flow completely betrays the amount of painstaking effort and research it took achieve.
The dialogue is exceedingly genuine and as it forms a large part of the book it really helps to flow from chapter to chapter. I found it very difficult to stop reading particular chapters, even if it was 2am. Og has a way with words, and though some find it difficult to portray accurate dialogue in this way, he seems to have no trouble with it at all. Effortless.
In all honesty I found myself living another life for time I was reading this. I slipped into this other world, where the Internet was young, and love, for the protagonist was younger.
Thoroughly enjoyable!
The dialogue is exceedingly genuine and as it forms a large part of the book it really helps to flow from chapter to chapter. I found it very difficult to stop reading particular chapters, even if it was 2am. Og has a way with words, and though some find it difficult to portray accurate dialogue in this way, he seems to have no trouble with it at all. Effortless.
In all honesty I found myself living another life for time I was reading this. I slipped into this other world, where the Internet was young, and love, for the protagonist was younger.
Thoroughly enjoyable!
March 1, 2021
Extremely recommended for anyone who went through the dial up internet connection and couldn't wait for midnight to connect and talk to all friends using ICQ. The nostalgic feeling made my days!
July 13, 2021
First reviewed through Reedsy Discovery as an ARC
Auggie is a senior who spends most of his spare time teaching himself coding and freelancing his skills to earn some money. He meets Clarissa online in a chat platform and quickly falls head over heels for this girl he’s never met in person.
I was a child of the ’90s and was never into computers like the main character Auggie. He is at the forefront of coding and using home computing technology when it first came out. It’s fascinating to read books like I.C.Q because of our culture (and generation’s) obsession with technology. The home computer of the ’90s is like the personal phone of the 2000s. New and exciting and, of course, the parents just don’t get it. I could really feel Auggie’s excitement and his passion for working with computers, software development, and coding. I sympathized with him so much when his parents dismissed his work with the computer as just a hobby and not that important. Maciel really brought this relationship alive and I wished I was into coding!
The very adult conversations that Auggie has with his parents are awesome and rather fascinating. He’s levelheaded and can provide an outside – almost- perspective. With his own relationship, he is anything but objective. He gets caught up in his own feelings and emotions and reactions to the point where he doesn’t even realize that his girlfriend might also be hurt and upset. He is a great model of showing growth and communication in a romantic relationship.
I pulled out my high school love notes because of this book and they were just as sappy and romantic as the correspondence between Auggie and Clarissa in the back half of this story. The overly dramatic way they write to each is very much the essence of a high school romance. I might have rolled my eyes a few times, but reading their letters reminded me of my 17-year old self away on an adventure and constantly writing love notes to send in the mail to my boyfriend of the time. This book will bring out all the nostalgia and is very authentic to teenage drama and heartache. If you would like the nostalgic feeling of teenage love, you’ll definitely enjoy the emotion this book brings out.
The format of this novel changed a bit over halfway through and you’ll be reading those love letters for most of the rest of the chapters.
The ending was disappointing for me. It lacked a satisfying conclusion and a sense of closure for the characters and their relationship. I prefer to have a closed ending. If you’re a reader who doesn’t mind open endings, you might not be disappointed because there is a lesson learned and Auggie does express his thoughts about what happens in the end.
Auggie is a senior who spends most of his spare time teaching himself coding and freelancing his skills to earn some money. He meets Clarissa online in a chat platform and quickly falls head over heels for this girl he’s never met in person.
I was a child of the ’90s and was never into computers like the main character Auggie. He is at the forefront of coding and using home computing technology when it first came out. It’s fascinating to read books like I.C.Q because of our culture (and generation’s) obsession with technology. The home computer of the ’90s is like the personal phone of the 2000s. New and exciting and, of course, the parents just don’t get it. I could really feel Auggie’s excitement and his passion for working with computers, software development, and coding. I sympathized with him so much when his parents dismissed his work with the computer as just a hobby and not that important. Maciel really brought this relationship alive and I wished I was into coding!
The very adult conversations that Auggie has with his parents are awesome and rather fascinating. He’s levelheaded and can provide an outside – almost- perspective. With his own relationship, he is anything but objective. He gets caught up in his own feelings and emotions and reactions to the point where he doesn’t even realize that his girlfriend might also be hurt and upset. He is a great model of showing growth and communication in a romantic relationship.
I pulled out my high school love notes because of this book and they were just as sappy and romantic as the correspondence between Auggie and Clarissa in the back half of this story. The overly dramatic way they write to each is very much the essence of a high school romance. I might have rolled my eyes a few times, but reading their letters reminded me of my 17-year old self away on an adventure and constantly writing love notes to send in the mail to my boyfriend of the time. This book will bring out all the nostalgia and is very authentic to teenage drama and heartache. If you would like the nostalgic feeling of teenage love, you’ll definitely enjoy the emotion this book brings out.
The format of this novel changed a bit over halfway through and you’ll be reading those love letters for most of the rest of the chapters.
The ending was disappointing for me. It lacked a satisfying conclusion and a sense of closure for the characters and their relationship. I prefer to have a closed ending. If you’re a reader who doesn’t mind open endings, you might not be disappointed because there is a lesson learned and Auggie does express his thoughts about what happens in the end.
May 4, 2021
My review is a little bit biased as Og is a good friend and I'm old enough to feel a bit nostalgic about this novel :-)
Being born in Brazil I had some similarities with Auggie, different internet providers, different programming language, but same passion for computers and making friends online. The plot evolves around the life this healthy teenager, with his own problems, just like mine were. A typical teenage drama, I would say. Which is a topic I love to consume.
The way Og narrates the thoughts kinda pictures a vibe of a show that I always loved - Wonder Years (1988 TV show) in which the character express deeper thoughts and feelings as a way to connect to the viewer. The problems and situations are super up to date, making the teenagers respecting each others feelings and having healthy relationships with others.
This is definitely an easy reading for me, something to run away from reality that I so much missed during this pandemic time. Thanks for that, Og. Looking forward for ICQ 2 :-)
Being born in Brazil I had some similarities with Auggie, different internet providers, different programming language, but same passion for computers and making friends online. The plot evolves around the life this healthy teenager, with his own problems, just like mine were. A typical teenage drama, I would say. Which is a topic I love to consume.
The way Og narrates the thoughts kinda pictures a vibe of a show that I always loved - Wonder Years (1988 TV show) in which the character express deeper thoughts and feelings as a way to connect to the viewer. The problems and situations are super up to date, making the teenagers respecting each others feelings and having healthy relationships with others.
This is definitely an easy reading for me, something to run away from reality that I so much missed during this pandemic time. Thanks for that, Og. Looking forward for ICQ 2 :-)
May 16, 2021
A riveting read, moved me in many parts but let’s leave it at that to not reveal any spoilers.
The scene with Rosemary “made me tingle from inside”
The scene with Rosemary “made me tingle from inside”
April 12, 2022
All aboard the nostalgia train!
Wow. I'm about 4 years younger than the protagonist, so a good portion of the references brought back little flashes of long forgotten memories. I also spent a lot of time on AIM back in the day, so the parallels couldn't avoid bringing to mind past relationships, both the sweet parts and the parts that pricked like thorns.
This was a very smart book. Well written, completely immersive, and with so many tangents I want to veer off into reading about myself, or art I want to look up. I've added several of the books mentioned by the main characters to my reading list; I've read other books by those authors but not those works specifically.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to 90's music and be contemplative over some tea this evening.
Wow. I'm about 4 years younger than the protagonist, so a good portion of the references brought back little flashes of long forgotten memories. I also spent a lot of time on AIM back in the day, so the parallels couldn't avoid bringing to mind past relationships, both the sweet parts and the parts that pricked like thorns.
This was a very smart book. Well written, completely immersive, and with so many tangents I want to veer off into reading about myself, or art I want to look up. I've added several of the books mentioned by the main characters to my reading list; I've read other books by those authors but not those works specifically.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to 90's music and be contemplative over some tea this evening.
March 8, 2021
There is no other way to start this review without saying "Og has a way with words", he got me hooked up in the very first chapters. Even though I grew up in the same period set in the book, it took me some time to have internet access and get involved in programming. Despite all that, I had some nostalgic memories while reading this book and caught myself smiling like a fool many times while going through Auggie's and Cla's dialogs.
The plot revolves around Auggie (the main character) his "online persona" and his coding hobby. Whilst getting a new project to work on he crashes into Clarissa. At first, they both don't hit off, but everything changes when Gilbert asks for Auggie to help him out.
Although the book is not very descriptive (note that I'm not pointing a failure), you can easily picture every location or character, and connect with them very deeply. That's because the lack of description is superseded by strong character building and meaningful "side stories" that make all characters very tangible. The whole history is very moving, hard to put down, and full of 80's references (bands, songs, techs, movies books, etc). Og's excellent writing makes you feel like you're living the story and going through a fresh teen passion all over again.
Definitely a must-read for everyone that once had started a "text-based online relationship".
July 8, 2021
This book narrates the (mis)fortunes of Auggie, a typical end-of-gen-X/early millenial teenager, in a time of innocence, of dial-up connections, of landlines, great music, when Open Source was a ultra-nerdy promise, not the base of the biggest capitalistic industries of now.
A time when a trip overseas meant almost complete isolation, interspersed with extremely expensive phone calls and - can you think of it? - handwritten letters.
This transition period - when the Internet already existed, but was not EVERYWHERE - surely resonates with many of us. We are all Auggie - We are all Clarissa.
While a tad heavy on technical terms, I wouldn't expect less from the author, a massive nerd working for one of the biggest proponents of Open Source and Linux in the world.
All in all, a great read which gets better as it goes further. I'm glad I read it.
A time when a trip overseas meant almost complete isolation, interspersed with extremely expensive phone calls and - can you think of it? - handwritten letters.
This transition period - when the Internet already existed, but was not EVERYWHERE - surely resonates with many of us. We are all Auggie - We are all Clarissa.
While a tad heavy on technical terms, I wouldn't expect less from the author, a massive nerd working for one of the biggest proponents of Open Source and Linux in the world.
All in all, a great read which gets better as it goes further. I'm glad I read it.
July 8, 2021
Reading ICQ brought back memories from the pre-internet days, when I would dial to BBS to exchange messages with people from all over the world. The book author did a fantastic job as he mixed his geek experiences, family related issues, teenager relationship challenges and packaged all of that in a delightful story. I strongly recommend that you read the book.
August 4, 2023
Really enjoyed this story. Og Maciel gives readers a great look into an early online dating relationship and the challenges and the excitement of communicating via online. The characters are so relatable and it is a tech-romance that is hard to out down.
April 9, 2021
A touching tale of young love
Og explores a time in recent history that can be hard to portray in words. The internet was young, communication was easier than ever, but we were far from feeling like online relationships were "normal" or even accepted broadly.
Reading about a young love grow from a spark to a roaring blaze during this time as the characters explored their own feelings, hopes and fears was super enjoyable.
Og explores a time in recent history that can be hard to portray in words. The internet was young, communication was easier than ever, but we were far from feeling like online relationships were "normal" or even accepted broadly.
Reading about a young love grow from a spark to a roaring blaze during this time as the characters explored their own feelings, hopes and fears was super enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews