Lauren Myracle is fearless. Her novels take on current issues, her novels are fresh and honest, her novels are real- almost inexplicably real. From “The Winnie Years” to “Internet Girls” to Shine, Lauren Myracle has proven herself to be truly audacious, truly candid and truly captivating. Yet, most importantly, Lauren Myracle pulls off whatever risks she takes, evident especially in yolo.
Beware, world. The Internet Girls are back — with a twist. It’s freshman year of college for the “winsome threesome,” which means everything as changed. There’s the distance: Zoe’s in Ohio, Angela’s back in Georgia, and Maddie’s in California. Yet this separation applies not only to the girls, but also to their boyfriends. Ian is on the other side of the country, and Zoe’s afraid that Doug will break up with her since they attend different schools now. But Maddie has a plan. Even in the face of change, even when it seems like the girls are heading towards different lives, the internet girls will always be close. yolo is the story of Zoe, Angela, and Maddie as they embrace the present and make college more than just a memory.
The Internet Girls series can be categorized as “coming of age,” yet I’ve always believed that the series is at its core one about friendship. It’s this friendship that Myracle further explores, one that changes amid the challenges of college, yet stays incredibly real. Of course, the girls’ friendship also changes because each one of them has developed tremendously since the start of the series. The characters also develop in yolo; Zoe especially learns to overcome heartbreak.
A caveat– yolo will leave you with more questions. As I read the last page, I still felt like Myracle didn’t give a full ending. While open endings suit some books, yolo is not one of those books. Although I feel confident the girls will figure out their relationships and lives, I still want to know exactly what happens to them! And more importantly, why aren’t the girls on Facebook chat or Snapchat or really, anything more current than AIM? AIM makes the book feel dated, even though it was released recently.
At the end of the day though, it doesn’t matter how Zoe, Maddie, and Angela are communicating with each other, no matter how dated the book may seem. Friendship will never be dated, friendship will never go out of style, and that’s exactly what Lauren Myracle proves.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (August 26, 2014)
Length: 208 pages (Hardcover)
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ISBN #: 9781419708718
Source: Netgalley
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