On reading forums where I sometimes hang out, this novel by Gabrielle Zevin kept popping up for the past few months as a favourite among users. I was intrigued, so I jumped in completely blind. I didn’t even know what it was about, all I saw was the unusual title and the funky cover design.

The story revolves around two characters, Samson and Sadie, who became friends through unusual circumstances as teenagers and reunite years later to work together on making video games. Still in their early 20s, they develop and publish a game together, Ichigo. It becomes a hit and they emerge as a successful development studio. During the following years, their friendship – and partnership as game developers – evolves and goes through highs and lows as they settle into this new life.

It’s a bit reductive to say this is a story about two young adults making games. I’ve never felt the games, while absolutely integral to their personal lives, were the main story here. As with most “Coming of Age” stories, we get involved into them as characters as they navigate through life, how they deal with their success as developers in regards to their own values and ambitions. What are their choices and the motivations behind them.

I don’t read a ton of novel in that particular genre, so I have very little to compare this book to. However, I will say that I have rarely seen characters being as fleshed out and alive as Samson and Sadie are. The author does a really good job at making them feel human ; imperfect, vulnerable and proud. I guess the word that comes to mind is “nuanced”. Not the most original take, I get it, but that’s how I felt reading about them and their personalities. Plus, if you ignore for a moment the fact that they become successful game developers at a very young age, everything else feels grounded in reality. How they talk, how they react, how they think. The main characters are not always likeable, but they’re incredibly interesting nonetheless.

I really enjoyed the author’s writing. I felt like she crafted this story with a lot of care. If I had to nitpick, I’d say it’s a bit too long at nearly four hundred pages. I think she could have cut thirty to forty pages (blasphemy!) and the story might have had a better flow to it. A great novel overall that will definitely speak to young adults and even slightly older ones like me.