Okay, this is a tough one since I liked this book a lot but apparently not enough.
The beginning was great. While reading I really felt that this was an original, fresh take on a story. The way the characters were introduced, the characters themselves, the video game theme, all of it was very intriguing. What I enjoyed most was accompanying the two protagonists on their creative journey. You can feel how ambitious and driven they are and how difficult and consuming creativity can get. I also liked that the story was set in the nineties. All felt very real.
What I didn’t like as much was how these characters developed, especially Sadie. I couldn’t relate to her or to how she dealt with certain situations. Particularly when it came to her friendship with Sam. I’m very fond of platonic relationships between men and women. Probably because they’re still so rare in fiction. But this friendship was missing something. I see how it worked when they were kids but how it survived adulthood is a mystery to me. I feel like this book was a few chapters too long. It started out great but fell apart as it went on.
Even though it didn’t turn out to be as amazing as I thought it would, I still enjoyed reading it. And I loved that it was about video games. On that note I’d like to end this review with my favorite quote from the book.
“To allow yourself to play with another person is no small risk. It means allowing yourself to be open, to be exposed, to be hurt. It is the human equivalent of the dog rolling on its back—I know you won’t hurt me, even though you can. It is the dog putting its mouth around your hand and never biting down. To play requires trust and love.“
