TMI

Gr 9 Up—Best friends can be quite different; Megan's idea of fun is wandering around an art museum, while Bailey would rather go shopping or work on her video game in development. Bailey is suffering the disappointments and regrets of a recent breakup with Simon, the guy who fed her obsession with video games. While playing Call of Duty, she flirts with Ryder, a fellow gamer whom she meets online. Her feelings for him quickly overshadow her friendship with Megan, to the point that she neglects to plan anything for her birthday. Ryder constantly makes excuses about his inability to speak with Bailey on the phone or in person. Blount has a good handle on teen culture, especially the importance of social media. Vivid descriptions of characters' physical characteristics, thoughts, and actions are kept in check without slowing down the narrative. The alarm shown by Bailey's friends over her relationship with Ryder and Bailey's defensiveness and dismissal of their concerns are realistically expressed. The impulsivity and rash decision-making common in the teenage years are honestly portrayed. Subplots involving dead and absent fathers abruptly turn this otherwise believable story of online fakery into melodrama. Recommended for collections in which problem novels or "ripped from the headlines" stories are popular.—Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA