About
Hollis Beckwith isn’t trying to get a girl—she’s just trying to get by. For a fat, broke girl with anxiety, the start of senior year brings enough to worry about. And besides, she already has a boyfriend: Chris. Their relationship isn’t particularly exciting, but it’s comfortable and familiar, and Hollis wants it to survive beyond senior year. To prove she’s a girlfriend worth keeping, Hollis decides to learn Chris’s favorite tabletop roleplaying game, Secrets & Sorcery—but his unfortunate “No Girlfriends at the Table” rule means she’ll need to find her own group if she wants in.
Enter: Gloria Castañeda and her all-girls game of S&S! Crowded at the table in Gloria’s cozy Ohio apartment, the six girls battle twisted magic in-game and become fast friends outside it. With her character as armor, Hollis starts to believe that maybe she can be more than just fat, anxious, and a little lost.
But then an in-game crush develops between Hollis’s character and the bard played by charismatic Aini Amin-Shaw, whose wide, cocky grin makes Hollis’s stomach flutter. As their gentle flirting sparks into something deeper, Hollis is no longer sure what she wants . . . or if she’s content to just play pretend.
Cover art by Simini Blocker
Art direction and design by Rebecca Syracuse
⟡ ⟡ ⟡
Acclaim
An instant USA Today bestseller
A Junior Library Guild Selection
★ “This sparkling debut is a love letter to queer, fat, neurodivergent girls and to the importance of friendship, chosen family, and LGBTQ-inclusive spaces. The romance between Hollis and Aini is endearing and joyous, and it’s underscored by the depth of the friendships that Hollis makes among the entire S&S crew.” —Booklist (starred review)
★ “Fans of Dungeons & Dragons and Amy Spalding’s No Boy Summer will cheer for Hollis in this joyful and inspiring coming-of-age romance.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
★ “In this dazzling debut, Randall navigates serious topics such as mental health and toxic masculinity alongside joyful themes surrounding self-realization and cultivating genuine camaraderie and affirming safe spaces. A fully realized cast helps to flesh out Hollis and Aini’s developing connection and their individual quests for happiness against a lived-in-feeling gaming backdrop.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“What began as a desire to have something more in common with [her boyfriend] becomes an outlet through which Hollis finds valuable things she hasn’t had before—confidence, artistic inspiration, and relationships that are more honest and open . . . Many readers will feel seen in these pages.” —Kirkus Reviews
⟡ ⟡ ⟡
Availability
Simon & Schuster / BookShop / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Amazon
For best practices against capitalism, please order from an independent bookstore or check out books from your local library whenever possible. (And whenever you support queer- and BIPOC-owned bookstores, know that I am sending extra love and appreciation your way.)
