The L.O.V.E. Club

Gr 9 Up–The L.O.V.E. Club was everything to O, until three years ago when the group broke apart after the disappearance of Elle, and Liberty and Vera moved away. O was left completely alone in Calendula, CA. Then senior year starts, and O is surprised to bump into Liberty and Vera at school—back for their last year in high school. Confused, estranged from her ex-friend group, and in for a sleepless night, O decides to go to the location where the L.O.V.E. Club hung out—an abandoned study room in the middle school library. O is shocked again when she arrives to see Liberty and Vera also there and a mysterious computer powered on with the phrase “Morning Glory Play Again?” on the screen. A click on the screen and Liberty, O, and Vera are sucked into the game Morning Glory, created by Elle. As they strive to beat the game, they are faced with monsters and challenges based on their memories and fears and are forced to confront not only their inner selves, but also grapple with the disappearance of Elle. Min successfully creates a heart-wrenching story of identity and friendship, showing how it can be affected by outside forces. Readers will be fully immersed in the expert worldbuilding, and the characters are fully imagined. The prose is written carefully with a purpose, but also lyrically. There are some points where the game rules don’t quite make sense, but the overall heart of the story outweighs that flaw. The teens are Chinese American.