One of my favorite books this year! It reminded me slightly of A Little Life because it follows friendships over a lifetime, physical disability, and trauma. I thought the video game component was so fun and intriguing and I learned a lot about the video game industry in general. I loved the exploration of Korean identity.

I had mixed feelings about Sam's character overall felt similar to Jude from A Little Life. While I appreciated the disability representation as an amputee and chronically ill, I found him a bit annoying at times. He felt a bit like a 'pick me' character regarding his relationship with Sadie and Marx.

Overall, I enjoyed the style of Gabrielle Zevin's prose and the way they created such dynamic, realistic (and at times, unlikeable) characters.