Play Book Tag discussion

Awwwwww, this was so cute! I loved it. I loved the friendships between the three main characters, I loved the deconstruction of the children's portal fantasy tropes, and I loved, loved, LOVED the slow burn romance.

I first tried to read this several years ago when I was not in a YA mood, and I've actually considered deleting it from my TBR several times because I thought it might be written a little too young for me. BUT, the writing/reading age progresses as the character's age increases, which I loved as a writing choice, and I am so relieved I saved this for a rainy day because it was exactly what I needed at the time.

Elliot is 13 at the beginning of the book, but by the end our little boy has most definitely grown up, so if anything I feel like I should warn anyone looking for a "safe" (non-explicit) YA that this skirts the gray area a little bit. It's not explicit per se, but it's also not fade to black and Elliot *is* sexually active. With more than one person. I'm never a good judge of where YAs fall on that line, but I'd say this one may be right around it, which could really throw people off based on the almost middle grade writing style at the beginning.

The fantasy plot/writing also skirts this line of working as a middle grade story while also having some really clever, funny things to say about the inherent problematic-ness of ... teenagers sacrificing themselves in sword battles? Etc.?

It was great. Highly recommended as a fantasy romance that's successful in both halves of its genres, as long as you're in the mood for YA.

Would this be a good choice for next month's friendship tag?

Yes, definitely