Can somebody explain the popularity to me?
The entire book felt like a pandering self-insert. It was a great love letter to video games and development in media but a lot of the book felt like it was just trying to convince me why workers in video games are so misunderstood and why i should feel bad for them. The characters themselves were pretty well written but it felt like abuse after abuse for them for the sake of edge rather than anything that leads somewhere. By the end it just felt like a contest of who can have more mental illness.
The jumps between the present a future felt a little jarring, like we were suppose to get a glimpse of how successful they would someday be but once we reach it, it just passes all of it and moves on to the next scenario. They didn’t feel like they served a purpose or even blended together. Half the time i felt like the book was them reminiscing and the rest was exclusively present day.
Even the ending felt a little out of place to me, out of nowhere turning into a gun violence psa that doesn’t go anywhere. It happens and the characters suffer but it felt like the author was trying to make a point out of it, send a message, but changed their mind last minute and went back to video games. It was just never brought up again or the consequences of how it effected the world. Not even so much as a “life goes on.” It just isn’t addressed and we go back to focusing on Sam and Sadie.
I normally love the slice of life books. I went into it with no expectation and not knowing the plot. It just felt a little directionless?
by Burnt_Granola