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Rough Edges
Have you ever felt lost?Tugging on your heartstrings with nostalgia, Rough Edges takes readers back to the days of AOL Instant Messenger, MySpace, and the sometimes messy separation between our online personas and the real world.Months away from high school graduation, Casey desperately craves a place to fit in, a person to see her, and a way out of her small New Jersey town. When she finds this escape in a person behind a glowing computer screen, one who fills her void with constant attention, charm, and what she believes to be true love, Casey struggles with the choice of coming back to reality.. . . That is until she transitions to college in Philadelphia and meets someone else. Someone in the real world. Someone who slowly begins to put those same lost pieces of her back into place. Casey continually attempts to force the two halves of herself into separate boxes, but what happens when both worlds unexpectedly collide? She’ll have to make a choice, if there’s even one left for her to make.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2021
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 30, 2021
This book had the best of everything I love. A realistic heroine, a unique plot, character development, and an ending that kept me on the edge of my seat. Sarah Marron did a wonderful job crafting her debut novel with just the right amount of romance, thrills, a slow build, and excellent development in Casey, who we get to see grow from experiencing life behind a computer screen, to experiencing it in real life. LOVED the nostalgia, for the era, and for the time in my life. It definitely brought me back to fun days. HIGHLY recommend!!
May 19, 2021
Sarah J. Marron decided to dive into my heart and bring out every nostalgic feeling I had trapped inside! Rough Edges brings back the good old days of Myspace, dial-up, AOL Instant Messenger and the ever secret - online relationships...
Casey is a high schooler who has found a world away from reality in online chatting. Casey has escaped the real world and found an online friend, Brett. Brett starts to become Casey's whole world. She slowly distances herself from real life and devotes all of her time to the person behind the screen. When Casey graduates and moves on to college, she meets Duke. Duke is hot, Duke is kind, but most importantly, Duke is REAL. Will Casey be able to manage her online relationship and still manage to be friends with Duke, or will her fantasy life creep into her real life?
Casey was a fantastic character and I loved watching her story unfold. I felt like I could completely identify with her which made me enjoy this novel even more! There is romance in the novel but it stays YA. The story has a nice quick pace and doesn't lull at all. I promise you will be glued to the pages once you start reading about Casey's life. You'll be both rooting for her and yelling at her throughout the whole book!
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book. Let me tell you, throughout the whole book I had nothing but nostalgic feels. I felt like Marron took some of my life experiences and put them into her story! I lived for AOL and chatting to others online. Casey was the same way!
I don't think I can praise this book enough. It is definitely one of my top favorites of 2021 so far! I HIGHLY recommend this fun and quick read to everyone! You won't regret it!
Thank you to Sarah J. Marron for an advanced copy of this book.
Casey is a high schooler who has found a world away from reality in online chatting. Casey has escaped the real world and found an online friend, Brett. Brett starts to become Casey's whole world. She slowly distances herself from real life and devotes all of her time to the person behind the screen. When Casey graduates and moves on to college, she meets Duke. Duke is hot, Duke is kind, but most importantly, Duke is REAL. Will Casey be able to manage her online relationship and still manage to be friends with Duke, or will her fantasy life creep into her real life?
Casey was a fantastic character and I loved watching her story unfold. I felt like I could completely identify with her which made me enjoy this novel even more! There is romance in the novel but it stays YA. The story has a nice quick pace and doesn't lull at all. I promise you will be glued to the pages once you start reading about Casey's life. You'll be both rooting for her and yelling at her throughout the whole book!
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book. Let me tell you, throughout the whole book I had nothing but nostalgic feels. I felt like Marron took some of my life experiences and put them into her story! I lived for AOL and chatting to others online. Casey was the same way!
I don't think I can praise this book enough. It is definitely one of my top favorites of 2021 so far! I HIGHLY recommend this fun and quick read to everyone! You won't regret it!
Thank you to Sarah J. Marron for an advanced copy of this book.
August 2, 2021
"It made me feel a little like the first time I had candy as a kid. You know that jittery invincible sugar rush? It's the pull of a feeling you didn't know you wanted. A feeling you want again and stronger next time. I think it's called addiction"
I can see why people would love this coming out of age story. I can relate to those days when Internet was introduced and you started chatting with people online. Brought me back to fun days. Marron brings out the nostalgical feeling for this era. I loved it. This made me feel connected to the story and the main character Casey. She was relatable and realistic. I liked seeing her development throughout the book.
The one thing that I love about YA is that they make you feel all the feels and all the firsts. This one was no exception. Though I like my YA books with a little more angst and twists that keeps me on my toes, I could enjoy this story.
"He saw me. The real me."
It's easy to get addicted to social media and forget to make real relationships. Sometimes the relationships you gain online are as real as the ones in real life. The screen makes it easy for you to be truer to yourself because it blocks judgments and promotes raw honesty. This makes you craving that honesty over and over again. Everyone needs to find the balance that works for you. You need to realise who you are and what you really want. That can be hard though.
The book captured me right from the start. Then the pace got a little bit slow but the last thirds of the book picked it up and the ending left me wondering. The ending is left for you to interpret.
I can see why people would love this coming out of age story. I can relate to those days when Internet was introduced and you started chatting with people online. Brought me back to fun days. Marron brings out the nostalgical feeling for this era. I loved it. This made me feel connected to the story and the main character Casey. She was relatable and realistic. I liked seeing her development throughout the book.
The one thing that I love about YA is that they make you feel all the feels and all the firsts. This one was no exception. Though I like my YA books with a little more angst and twists that keeps me on my toes, I could enjoy this story.
"He saw me. The real me."
It's easy to get addicted to social media and forget to make real relationships. Sometimes the relationships you gain online are as real as the ones in real life. The screen makes it easy for you to be truer to yourself because it blocks judgments and promotes raw honesty. This makes you craving that honesty over and over again. Everyone needs to find the balance that works for you. You need to realise who you are and what you really want. That can be hard though.
The book captured me right from the start. Then the pace got a little bit slow but the last thirds of the book picked it up and the ending left me wondering. The ending is left for you to interpret.
May 1, 2021
Before this book came out, I watched the author’s video about this book that explored the dark side of online personas and how our psychology can become conflicted with real life, and things happening in real time. I waited until Rough Edges was released, read it the day it came out, and realized that in my own life, there is a lot more depth behind what I sugarcoated as early 2000s. (Ok, after 2020 and experiencing 2021, sugarcoating other years is not hard to do.)
Rough Edges opened my eyes to what went on during that time; culturally, with my friends, etc. It is a good conversation starter among friends who grew up with the same access to Instant Messaging, even friends who used the same habit of forming romantic relationships. I was young, and I didn’t think to ask my friends the same questions that were addressed in this book. (No spoilers.) So that was a really cool benefit from reading.
Definitely recommend adding to your bookshelf to diversify your read. It could even be a great read for future kids to see how the early 2000s worked, how the social part of the internet was born, etc.
Rough Edges opened my eyes to what went on during that time; culturally, with my friends, etc. It is a good conversation starter among friends who grew up with the same access to Instant Messaging, even friends who used the same habit of forming romantic relationships. I was young, and I didn’t think to ask my friends the same questions that were addressed in this book. (No spoilers.) So that was a really cool benefit from reading.
Definitely recommend adding to your bookshelf to diversify your read. It could even be a great read for future kids to see how the early 2000s worked, how the social part of the internet was born, etc.
June 23, 2021
My college life was several decades before this book takes place. While some things haven't changed - exams, all-nighters, boozy parties, & sex - the online experiences were all new and scary to me. Marron reveals the tug of two worlds and persona as Casey struggles to find her real identity. We meet her old friends at home, new friends at school, and one online friend that becomes an obsession. In fast-paced prose and text messages, the story builds to a climatic conclusion.
Disclosure: I'm proud to say Ms. Marron is my cousin and I was an early supporter of Rough Edges. I have a wine glass to prove it. Great job, Sarah!
Disclosure: I'm proud to say Ms. Marron is my cousin and I was an early supporter of Rough Edges. I have a wine glass to prove it. Great job, Sarah!
May 3, 2021
Unbelievable, Incredible and Amazing
I am Casey. This story took me back to my own teens/20’s and I loved every minute of it. It was like a blast from the past or reliving my own story through someone else. Sarah Marron has the unmatched ability to make you feel everything and it’s an emotional roller coaster you won’t want to end
I am Casey. This story took me back to my own teens/20’s and I loved every minute of it. It was like a blast from the past or reliving my own story through someone else. Sarah Marron has the unmatched ability to make you feel everything and it’s an emotional roller coaster you won’t want to end
May 31, 2021
This book really opened my eyes on the effects social media has on young minds and people. Our relationships and psyche are so controlled and reliant on social media that we often forget to make real relationships. Highly recommend Marron's work!
June 1, 2021
Marron does an excellent job taking readers back to the era of early social media while creating a storyline that just about every adult and teenager today can relate to! Incredibly emotional and hard to put down.
June 8, 2021
Marron's debut novel may seem obsolescent—what with its discussion of AOL and MySpace—but its tale about how online life bleeds into offline, "real" life is one that will only become more important as time goes on.
June 13, 2021
This book felt simultaneously like time traveling into the past while still addressing powerful, soul-reaching questions that are applicable today. Great debut by Marron! A rollercoaster of emotions and feels from start to end!
June 1, 2021
Full of nostalgia and with a wonderful, loveable lead in Casey, Rough Edges uses the technology of the not-so-distant past to explore reality and our Internet reality, and how the two become blurred.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews