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Looking for Group

Rory Harrison

3.41 · Rating details · 342 ratings · 85 reviews

Looking for group for the quest of a lifetime.

Dylan doesn’t have a lot of experience with comfort. His room in the falling-down Village Estates can generously be categorized as “squalid,” and he sure as hell isn’t getting any love from his mother, who seemed to—no, definitely did—enjoy the perks that went along with being the parent of a “cancer kid.”

Now that Dylan’s sudde ...more

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Hardcover, 368 pages

Published April 25th 2017 by HarperTeen

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· 342 ratings · 85 reviews

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Apr 11, 2017 Chelsea Humphrey rated it really liked it

Recommended to Chelsea by: Alinn

Shelves: from-publisher

Where do I begin reviewing a book so vastly different than any I’ve read before? I was intrigued the moment The Literary Box announced this as their next curator’s novel, partly due to the gorgeous cover and partly due to the content. When contacted for a review, I was initially curious how this road trip would ensue and encompass all the important issues discussed in the blurb. Would this be another surface level, LGBT 101 info dump where it’s nicely written for diversity, but doesn’t delve dee Where do I begin reviewing a book so vastly different than any I’ve read before? I was intrigued the moment The Literary Box announced this as their next curator’s novel, partly due to the gorgeous cover and partly due to the content. When contacted for a review, I was initially curious how this road trip would ensue and encompass all the important issues discussed in the blurb. Would this be another surface level, LGBT 101 info dump where it’s nicely written for diversity, but doesn’t delve deeper than a surface level plot? Does the reader feel like they’ve learned anything new, especially those inside a privileged bubble who may be completely uninformed to the plights of those outside their circle? I found out rather quickly, as I read this book in 2 sittings and less than 24 hours, that the story indeed was much deeper and more thorough than any YA book on the subject I’ve seen yet. As someone who is typically a fantasy reader, it was refreshing to branch out into the contemporary realm and ride alongside this makeshift couple as they learn some important life lessons.

While difficult to explain, there was simultaneously a heavy yet boisterous feel to this story; at times my heart sank with hurt for these two characters who have faced so many challenges in their short lives, and at others there was a great deal of laughter and joy that I felt privy to in their midst. I’d like to leave the plot untouched for now, as this is one best to read going in blind, but if you read the blurb you realize this is a journey that deals with issues such as cancer, gender identity, and how society as a whole reacts when we experience people who are different from ourselves. It did take me about 40 pages to really get sucked in, as there is a good deal of setting up Dylan’s back story and explaining how the game World of Warcraft is played. As a non-gamer myself who is married to a gamer, it was nice getting filled in on what my husband partakes in as a hobby, even if some of it did still go over my head. Once Dylan meets up with Arden, I was completely captivated. It was mesmerizing following the budding relationship of two non-traditional love interests; the message of love abiding in all forms really hit home here.

I’m sure a great deal of you are riding on the boat of curiosity wondering “how much detail does this book go into?” Here’s where I struggle to decide on age appropriateness: I’m an old school mom in the sense that I’m overly cautious about the level of mature content I offer my kids to read. Having a 4 year old who is now reading chapter books, and already being majorly behind socially and emotionally (likely due to her ASD), I’m already having to hardcore screen the books she reads. That being said, this is marketed to a target audience of 14+; there was one tiny scene that made me feel it might be more for the 16+ crowd. This had nothing to do with it being a non-traditional relationship or the fact that I think YA shouldn’t be offered this level of content-far from it! I think this book is a trailblazer in the LGBT genres, especially for the younger crowd. So I flip flop between being overly cautious, but also noting that kids are experiencing more mature content at an earlier age, and do we try to include this type of content earlier to give them a healthier, overall picture? I don’t have the answer, but I think just like every parent is different, so is every child, and maybe books can come on a case by case basis.

There were little details included that made an almost fantastical book feel grounded. EX: Along the trip, Arden’s 5 o’clock shadow starts showing. These small moments added up to bringing Arden alive and off the page; so many times I’ve seen transgender characters just painted surface level and included in a narrative simply to say Look! Diversity! The ending was a bit tricky; some will love it while others despise it. I fell somewhere in the middle; while I wish there had been a little more in a sense, I appreciate that Harrison left things emotionally raw and open. We all know I despise a picture perfect ending. I feel like I could go on for days, but know this: if you pick this one up, go into it for the journey. There really is very little plot and action; Looking for Group is more characterization through dialogue and internal monologues. While it was deeply moving, it consistently maintained a whimsical feel that kept the book from being too heavy. I laughed, I *internally* cried; it was fabulous. Highly recommended for those looking to deepen their understanding of the transgender community; this is a book that assumes you are treating Arden as female and doesn’t waste time with the Intro to Transgender etiquette. I’m really interested to see what the young crowd makes of this and I do believe we’ll be seeing more from Rory Harrison for years to come.

*Many thanks to The Literary Box for providing my copy for review; it was a pleasure to share my honest thoughts here on the blog.

***********************************************

I just received this in the mail yesterday and it has so many different elements that are drawing me in. I love the cover and was planning on picking up a diverse YA asap, so this really couldn't have come at a better time. I don't know of many YA stories involving a teen in cancer remission and all my tingly feel goods are blinking like crazy. Let's see how this one plays out... ...more

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Apr 12, 2017 Sarah Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, netgalley-edelweiss, r2r-read, romance, cancer, glbt, read-2017

(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)

“I’m everything. I’m the whole world.”

This was a YA contemporary romance story, featuring a gay boy, and a transgender girl.

I liked both Dylan and Arden, and both had had a rough time of it. Poor Dylan had had a brain tumour that was in spontaneous remission, and Arden had a father who insisted on calling her ‘David’.

The storyline in this was about Dylan and Arden going on a road trip to find a ...more

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Jul 31, 2016 Vee S rated it it was amazing

Shelves: queer-ya, trans-ya, disability, unsupportive-parents

Okay it's 1:26 am and I just finished this, so I'll polish this review later. But I have so many THOUGHTS, so:

This book... it's so many things that I've wanted. Some things that I've known I wanted, and somethings I had no idea I wanted.

Dylan, our main character, has made a "miraculous" recovery from terminal cancer. He identifies as gay, has basically no friends, and his mom doesn't really love him. All he's really had for the past several years is World of Warcraft, and the one good friend h ...more

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Mar 31, 2017 Serenity rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Nobody

A Twitter friend sent me a copy of a physical ARC back in December, after I expressed deep misgivings about what I'd heard about it, and I chronicled my reading of it through a continuation of that same thread.

Short version: I, as a trans woman, was profoundly concerned because Dylan, the narrator and protagonist, was referred to as a gay teen boy in all the advance word of mouth I was seeing, and his love interest was described as a bi/pan teen trans girl.

A gay boy. A trans girl as his love int A Twitter friend sent me a copy of a physical ARC back in December, after I expressed deep misgivings about what I'd heard about it, and I chronicled my reading of it through a continuation of that same thread.

Short version: I, as a trans woman, was profoundly concerned because Dylan, the narrator and protagonist, was referred to as a gay teen boy in all the advance word of mouth I was seeing, and his love interest was described as a bi/pan teen trans girl.

A gay boy. A trans girl as his love interest.

Just typing the above infuriated me all over again, because as a concept it's offensive.

The blurb didn't help, because it gave me the impression that "Arden" was the love interest's deadname and "Nuba" was her real name. That's not something I can blame the author for; authors don't usually write their own blurbs, especially not with a major publisher like HarperTeen.

And … the book was, essentially, everything I feared.

Dylan consistently uses the correct pronouns for Arden, in his narration, but that's about as far as it goes. He misgenders her when talking to others, deliberately and without consent, in order to "protect" her, and while she calls him out on it, there's still microaggressions throughout the text; for example, when he first meets her face to face, he mentions her broad shoulders and strong jawline (both stereotypes of trans women). There's also a scene where he notices some teen girls at a Wal-Mart whose heads Arden turns; we find out shortly thereafter that, at the time, Arden had some beard stubble (Arden buys disposable razors so that she can shave).

(view spoiler) ...more

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Oct 05, 2016 Dahlia added it

Shelves: 2017-releases, quiltbag-ya, interracial-romance

Still working out my thoughts on this one, but definitely overall positive. It has a bunch of the things I really liked about Jess, Chunk, and the Infinite Road Trip, which I'm really glad about, because - ta da! It doesn't have the fat-shaming! - but of course that book is from the trans girl's POV and this one isn't, so it's not like we're talking a total rec replacement. Rather, this falls somewhere between Beast and Jess on the trans YA spectrum, which is IMO a nice spectrum to see books on, ...more

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Apr 11, 2017 Kim at Divergent Gryffindor rated it it was ok

Shelves: rating-2-stars

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

I was so not informed that this is going to be a road trip book. Let me tell you about road trip books - I usually do not enjoy them. I don't know why, but when it comes to road trip books, I tend to get bored and I just want the book to be over already. This is why I tend to stay away from them. And in this world where change is constant, this fact seems to be something that has not changed yet.

In a way, my brain registers that this is an important book. It explores se Actual rating: 2.5 stars

I was so not informed that this is going to be a road trip book. Let me tell you about road trip books - I usually do not enjoy them. I don't know why, but when it comes to road trip books, I tend to get bored and I just want the book to be over already. This is why I tend to stay away from them. And in this world where change is constant, this fact seems to be something that has not changed yet.

In a way, my brain registers that this is an important book. It explores sexuality in a way that YA books I've read have not explored yet. But here's the thing - I was so confused by how it was explored in this book as well. The main character Dylan is gay, and the other character Arden is a trans woman, so that makes her a girl if we are to follow the events in the book. But then Dylan and Arden falls in love, and it just made my brain go, "Oops, what the heck is happening here?" If someone knows how this works, please explain it to me because I just don't get it, and I just can't get over that fact.

Other than that, my main problem is that I couldn't connect with the characters nor the story. I think I couldn't connect with the story because of my luck with road trip YA novels. But the characters, I'm just so confused by them. I don't want to say that Dylan is whiny, but Dylan is whiny. And Arden was just confusing. Also, I think that the characters don't have enough depth to them. I feel like I couldn't describe in a way that I could describe other characters, and that was a huge problem for me.

I liked the resolution of this book though. I like how everything was not perfect - because that's how real life is like. It wasn't sunshine and kisses and happily ever after, and we know that the story goes on even if we can't see them anymore. The novel ended in a neutral note - neither happy nor sad - though I know that in the future there will still be a lot of happy and sad times. In that way, I think the ending was realistic.

Overall, I didn't like much about the novel because I couldn't connect with the story nor the characters. I like that it explores LGBT and cancer, but it had me confused as heck. ...more

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Sep 12, 2016 Llinos rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, lgbtq, books-set-in-the-actual-real-world

This is such a beautiful story of friendship, love and support between two kids who really need acceptance and understanding and find it in each other, and I liked that it showed how real, deep and close online friendships can be, but also how meeting in person can change how you perceive someone. A lovable, heart-warming read.

Read the full review at Starship Library. ...more

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Jul 09, 2017 Morgan FJ rated it it was ok

I really wanted to love this book - it had the potential to be a wonderful story, but I can't get past the romantic plot-line (a gay boy and a transgender girl falling in love). Was it a lesson on sexual fluidity? Was it a clueless author? Blatant disrespect? I'm not sure what the point of their romantic relationship was but it seemed incredibly disrespectful to both characters. The rest of the book I enjoyed I guess, but the ending was not satisfying at all. I don't really know how to rate this ...more

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Mar 31, 2019 Sandrasson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, audiobook-19

All the stars, as many as I can give it!!
Dident expect what wonder this was. The voice, the story, the adrupt ending. The, for me, open endning. Also, the WoW references was great, I knew about the places, the meaning behind them and the jokes. It was a beautiful story.

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Apr 04, 2018 Isaiah rated it it was amazing

Arden is a magically wonderful character that I instantly fell in love with. She is everything I could have ever wanted and then some.

You have to try this book.

For a full review check out https://mibookreviews.wordpress.com/2... ...more

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Jun 02, 2017 April rated it it was amazing

Shelves: absolute-favorites, publisher-reviews

This story is a fabulous combination of road-trip story and geeky online gamers joking about World of Warcraft and teens figuring out themselves and their families and life and especially love. Dylan is a poor gay boy from the broken side of the tracks who has only just been given that dubiously "fabulous" designation: Cancer in Remission. Arden is a trans girl with a distant rich family, a father who still calls her David. But in the digital worlds of online gaming, they are a powerful cow-cler ...more

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Mar 05, 2017 anne rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary, arc, edelweiss, lgbt

TF is this book's problem though? It's as if it's picking a fight with me. *cries*

"You’re going to turn the next page, because you still have hope. You hope there’s a little something more, and it’s nothing personal. People do it at the end of every book. I think that’s why publishers put in all those extra pages. So you have a chance to shuffle and flip through them while it sinks in. It’s over. The trip is done.

You know it’s over, but you’re going to turn the page anyway." ...more

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Oct 30, 2017 Nicole N. (A Myriad of Books) rated it it was ok

Shelves: standalone, romance, young-adult, not-for-me, thought-provoking, contemporary, ya-contemporary, 2017-releases, lgbtqia-main-characters

Sigh. I wanted to like this book a lot more. It mentions World of Warcraft which is my favorite MMO (even though I don’t play it anymore :P), and the blurb on the front flap of the book also sounded promising. Alas.

This review will most likely contain spoilers. There are a few things in terms of the plot that I don’t think I can convey properly without a spoiler warning. Please be aware as you continue. While this isn’t a spoiler, there is some misgendering and deadnaming, which, I believe, does Sigh. I wanted to like this book a lot more. It mentions World of Warcraft which is my favorite MMO (even though I don’t play it anymore :P), and the blurb on the front flap of the book also sounded promising. Alas.

This review will most likely contain spoilers. There are a few things in terms of the plot that I don’t think I can convey properly without a spoiler warning. Please be aware as you continue. While this isn’t a spoiler, there is some misgendering and deadnaming, which, I believe, doesn’t do the trans community any justice. I can’t speak for the LGBTQIA+ rep in the book, so if I say something wrong, please correct me.

Well, I went into this thinking it was would be absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I was incredibly let down. 😦 The plot itself is pretty good, two friends who become something more on a mission, but I soon found the writing and the format didn’t do anything for the story.

What I did enjoy were the references to World of Warcraft. While I haven’t played in years, some of the general situations (like the Barrens chat and the class characters) I remembered quite easily. I could definitely relate to Dylan using the game as an escape from his life. He’s in remission but has an addition to one of the drugs. He lives in a very run-down apartment in a rough neighborhood, with a mom who at one point, preferred her son to die from the cancer rather than having to deal with him.

His mom is seriously one of the worst parents. She doesn’t get a lot of page time, and thank goodness, because then we meet Arden’s dad, whom Dylan refers to as Concrete Block. Arden’s dad does not accept his daughter’s true gender and constantly deadnames her.

At the same time, when Dylan and Arden go on their “quest”, there are situations that Dylan misgenders her in order to “protect her.” It happens twice, and both times we see Arden visibly upset, but it’s only after the second time that she corrects Dylan and tells him how it makes her feel. Dylan feels awkward, but he doesn’t do it again.

There is one particular things that confused me. Dylan is gay. He says that from the very beginning, but he falls very much in love with Arden, a trans woman. Yet because Arden’s dad does not accept his daughter’s gender and due to Dylan’s description of Arden and even Arden’s description of herself (over six feet tall, built like a rugby player), I wondered if maybe Dylan is bi but he doesn’t realize it yet. (If I remember correctly, he thinks about this briefly, too.)

There was one person who accepted Arden and that’s her mom, but she isn’t really in the picture. Her mom fought her Arden and even offered to buy Arden hormone blockers. Unfortunately, Arden’s mom didn’t because her husband didn’t want her to. Ugh, whatever.

As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that Arden most likely has suicidal thoughts and possibly depression as well. This “quest” she has with Dylan helps her–helps them both, I think, although Dylan can’t help but compare his very poor lifestyle with Arden’s rich one. However, one of the worst parts in this book that I don’t think did Arden any justice was when Dylan listened to the voicemails her father left on her phone–messages where her dad continually deadnames her while Dylan forces her to listen even though she is quite obviously distressed because of it. In the end, her dad does use his daughter’s true name, Arden, and for some reason, that makes Arden want to return.

And what does she do? She leaves Dylan with a bunch of money which he lives off of for a few weeks. He doesn’t want to return home, and it’s made quite clear in the book that his mom doesn’t really want him to come home either. She really uses him for his pills (which he later disposes) and the “sympathy points” it draws from those who know Dylan’s medical story.

Overall, I was left very unsatisfied and a bit uncomfortable. Like I said earlier, I can’t speak for the rep in the book, but I personally don’t believe it was written well. I can appreciate the rep, but still have problems with it. Arden appeared comfortable in her skin, even though she had problems with her dad. I can hope that their relationship improved because he finally acknowledged his daughter, but who knows? ...more

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Apr 21, 2017 Nicole Field rated it really liked it

This is not a romance. Anyone wanting to read this book is probably best advised to know that ahead of time. Although there are romantic elements throughout the book, this is a roadtrip of self-discovery as well as a story about friendship formed through a little online game called World of Warcraft.

Possibly the biggest thing I liked about this book was that it didn't assume that the reader would know what World of Warcraft was or, if they did, didn't assume that they would know any of the in-ga This is not a romance. Anyone wanting to read this book is probably best advised to know that ahead of time. Although there are romantic elements throughout the book, this is a roadtrip of self-discovery as well as a story about friendship formed through a little online game called World of Warcraft.

Possibly the biggest thing I liked about this book was that it didn't assume that the reader would know what World of Warcraft was or, if they did, didn't assume that they would know any of the in-game content. This didn't stop the main character, Dylan, from making game references either in his head or with Arden, but every time one was made, he stopped to give a quick description of it. As a non-computer gamer myself, I really appreciated that.

Next, I can't count the times that people have talked about putting together books where the online friendship between two people is the main part of the relationship between the characters. Well, here you have it. Dylan knee jerks his way into Arden's house after shame over not being able to enrol into school because his mum wouldn't take the time to accompany him as per school rules.

This knee jerk leads him to Arden's front door and the first time these two have met each other outside of the game they play together. He sees for himself that Arden's dad is a bit of a transphobe, and suggest they go out on a road trip. Which they do. In the process, they find that they are from vastly different financial backgrounds and that there are some flaws with the ways in which Dylan views Arden in real life.

While there were some flaws with the ways that Arden being trans was handled, they were all in the first person PoV of Dylan who came to better understandings as the book progressed. I particularly loved the way that Dylan comes to understand family, and doesn't in the end tar everyone's family/parents with the same brush as his own mum. There was a truly beautiful moment at the end with Arden's dad.

And then the book ended and I was just WHAT? My main complaint was actually how fast it ended. There were far too many threads left open that I wanted to know, such as how Dylan got home again...

Inevitably, I suppose that some people will compare this book to The Fault in Our Stars because it's both YA and about a cancer surviver, but honestly I don't think that there is much in common. That said, people who enjoyed one will probably enjoy both. ...more

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Apr 17, 2017 Luke Reynolds marked it as dnfs

Shelves: arc, disappointment, lost-interest, my-2017-dnfs, realistic-fiction, teen-fiction, lgbtq, has-potential

ARC Review (4/17/17, received from Sarah Prineas)

I'm unfortunately not feeling this one. Dylan has spent much of the 32 pages (not counting the acknowledgements that start the book off) whining about how hard his life is post remission and being judgmental towards random people and his mother, and it all reads very "woe is me" and it's getting irritating. I also feel like plot points are just being dropped randomly into the book with no explanation, like Arden and World of Warcraft were. With ab ...more

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Jun 04, 2017 Debbie rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary-fiction, dead-tree, 2017, book-subscription-box

This came in a YA Quarterly box I impulse purchased, and I'm so very glad I did. This book hadn't been on my radar AT ALL, and I doubt I'd have picked it up even if I'd run across it because the description didn't grab me (I also don't WoW, so while I'm geeky, I am not the geeky that this book is geared to, I think). But this was such a lovely book with the message of finding your own family who will accept you as you are.

It's a coming of age story with a road trip, with two main characters who ...more

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Aug 26, 2017 Jessica rated it really liked it

I'm crying in a coffee shop. This book broke my heart. ❤❤❤ ...more

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Jun 17, 2020 Dani St-Onge (Literary Lion) rated it it was ok

For more reviews and bookish content: http://literarylion.ca/

"You know it’s over, but you’re going to turn the page anyway."

I’ve read a lot of books about road trips recently and this ain’t it fam. I don’t know what put me off about this book but it put me off hard. The writing style doesn’t flow very well. The two characters are supposedly best friends but have extremely low chemistry which makes the ensuing romance more awkward than fun. They both have tragic backstories. There’s a lot I didn’ For more reviews and bookish content: http://literarylion.ca/

"You know it’s over, but you’re going to turn the page anyway."

I’ve read a lot of books about road trips recently and this ain’t it fam. I don’t know what put me off about this book but it put me off hard. The writing style doesn’t flow very well. The two characters are supposedly best friends but have extremely low chemistry which makes the ensuing romance more awkward than fun. They both have tragic backstories. There’s a lot I didn’t like about this book.

I think the main thing that bothered me is that this book only references World of Warcraft here and there. This game is the foundation of their friendship. Something they’ve done every day for years…and it gets a few passing mentions here and there. It’s not nearly as woven into the fabric of the book as you would expect. This is not a WoW book. This is a road trip book with WoW seasoning.

One of the main characters is a trans girl – and representation is important. Unfortunately her love interest is a gay boy. He addresses that he shouldn’t like Arden because she’s a girl and he, Dylan, is gay. No resolution is ever made to this. Not even a throwaway line about maybe being bi. It feels icky. I’m appreciative that the book strives for diversity and representation. That it explores sexuality in a way teen books rarely do…but I don’t know if I love the way it ended up going about it. It felt problematic.

There needed to be a more clear resolution to Dylan being gay and falling for Arden who is a girl. Dylan could have been straight, bi or pan. This book didn’t need to be a romance. There were so many more appropriate routes to take and this book took none of them.

That is all beside the fact that both Dylan and Arden are poorly fleshed out with no chemistry. We’re TOLD they have fun together, but we barely see it. Mostly they fight, chat awkwardly and occasionally have some cringe-worthy joke based conversations. They don’t feel like real friends and certainly not like lovers.

The parents are also hilariously terrible. Dylan’s mom in particular who wishes her sick child would just die and spends all her money on drugs instead of his medical care. She was an awful caricature of a human being, but so few pages are spent on her existence that I have to wonder why she was included at all.

The plot is just a meandering road trip through a few quirky roadside attractions. Dylan and Arden bicker and miscommunication the whole way and then fall in love for some reason. I did like that the ending wasn’t some grand happily ever after and instead was bittersweet – so that, at least, is a point in Looking For Groups favour.

Also the chapter titles were weird. Either go with the distance away theme or actual titles. The mash up between the two was confusing. ...more

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May 14, 2017 Eli Oldham rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2017

If I could have, I would have read this in one sitting. As it is, I'm totally ready to read it again. ...more

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May 29, 2017 Kayla rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley-and-edelweiss, reviews-completed

I have to admit, I don't ever read the synopses for any of the books I read. I like going into books without knowing anything about them. That way, I can't get spoiled for the plot. Due to that, I thought this book was something completely different when I requested it. There's a web-comic called Looking For Group, and I thought this book was a novelization of that. It wasn't. The two have nothing to do with each other. That being said, once I started to read the book, and got over my initial di ...more

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Aug 20, 2016 Julie rated it really liked it

online friends who meet up and go on an adventure to California. they have been flirty over a game. boy has some health issues and girl has some family issues too. great story . I liked the mention the game and looking for others to help on their quest.

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Jul 05, 2017 Daniel rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So, let's start with some positives.

One. I'm thrilled to be seeing more inclusion of LGBT youth in YA fiction. And, even more impressed when the story doesn't revolve around them being so. (Although, I guess that's only partially true for this book for one of the characters...but still, this is far more than the usual "I'm in the closet and need help coming out" or "I'm in the closet and have been forcibly outed" trope I've seen time and time again. Not that I'm against those sorts of stories, b So, let's start with some positives.

One. I'm thrilled to be seeing more inclusion of LGBT youth in YA fiction. And, even more impressed when the story doesn't revolve around them being so. (Although, I guess that's only partially true for this book for one of the characters...but still, this is far more than the usual "I'm in the closet and need help coming out" or "I'm in the closet and have been forcibly outed" trope I've seen time and time again. Not that I'm against those sorts of stories, by any stretch of the imagination. I've just read a lot of them! And, while one of the characters is sort of experiencing a journey of acceptance, they are pretty comfortable in their own skin and their issues aren't a driving force behind the plot itself!)

Two. It's a quick read. The writing style sucks you in and before you know it, 350ish pages have disappeared! The story is addicting and you NEED to know what happens to Dylan and Arden on their quest.

But, y'all, this book's got some issues. First of all being, I can't really believe half of the stuff going on. If my car gets stolen, and it's my dad's Mercedes....I don't think I would be as nonchalant as Arden. Especially given her father's attitude that has been established. It seemed kind of unrealistic that they would just keep going forward with no effort to find the vehicle or at least report it stolen! The fact that these two are able to make it as far as they do, with relatively no trouble....I just can't fully buy into that and it seemed to convenient throughout. So that sort of took me out of the story. As a matter of fact, a lot of the events in this book are just so far fetched that I cannot imagine them happening in real life.

Also, in reference to the pills, I appreciate the fact that Dylan disposed of them later on...and I guess I can understand why he would need to hold on to them psychologically....but the fact that at one point he sells them for cash just put a bad taste in my mouth. I feel like it's promoting the idea that selling prescription medication is okay as long as you don't need it. And there's already enough of that going on in the world. Honestly, I'd rather have seen someone dealing with addiction than just using them to sell. I don't know why it bothers me so much, because I'm far from a teetotaler, but it did for some reason so I'm including it in my review. Feel free to disagree, because I'm aware it's an odd observation.

Finally, I guess the book kind of ended? But the ending that was there seemed so rushed. And then the narrator telling us that there isn't going to be more written on the next page kind of seems like a cop-out. But, maybe that's just me. Once again, I have a really difficult time buying the ending or having any hope that things turn out well for Dylan once the book ends...but maybe that's the point?

All in all, though. It was an enjoyable reading experience with two characters that it is difficult not to become enamored with, despite some far fetched plot points and an ending that left me not-quite-satisfied.
...more

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May 11, 2017 Desiree rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, own-voices, contemporary, romance, 2017-release, diverse-characters, lgbtqia

This book is difficult for me to rate, and difficult for me to review. There are so many things going on in this book: online gaming, LGBTQIA+ relationships, discussions of class/socio-economic differences, neglectful and abusive parents...plus the main character is a cancer survivor. And it's a road trip book. It was a lot, and at times it was pretty intense. This is not a light and fluffy read. However, there was something compelling about this book that kept me hooked.

I can't speak to the LB This book is difficult for me to rate, and difficult for me to review. There are so many things going on in this book: online gaming, LGBTQIA+ relationships, discussions of class/socio-economic differences, neglectful and abusive parents...plus the main character is a cancer survivor. And it's a road trip book. It was a lot, and at times it was pretty intense. This is not a light and fluffy read. However, there was something compelling about this book that kept me hooked.

I can't speak to the LBGTQIA+ representation, but it did seem to be handled in a respectful and not exploitative or patronizing way. I've read reviews from people who identify as LBGTQIA+ and they seem to be mostly positive about the way the author wrote these diverse characters. Also, I believe this is an own voices novel, so I would hope that the representation would be good.

One aspect I thought was really interesting and something that many can relate to is the difference between being friends with someone strictly in an online fashion as opposed to actually knowing a person in the context of the real world. Arden and Dylan have 'known' each other for years, through their mutual love for World of Warcraft. They've spent countless hours playing and talking with only the other person. But then they meet in real life and it's awkward. There are long, drawn-out silences that wouldn't happen online. It's very interesting, and it rings authentic to me.

One minor annoyance for me was the visual structure of this book. Instead of being written in a traditional format with indented paragraphs flowing from one thought/comment to the next in the course of a scene, every paragraph is followed by a kind of line break. Now, these are common at the end of scenes within the same chapter, but this was every single paragraph, which took some getting used to, as I'm accustomed to a break in text signifying the end of a scene. I guess it just messed with the pacing a bit for me. Again, this is minor, but I just thought I'd throw it out there.

I'm curious to check out more from this author. This book was unlike any YA I've ever read. It was sarcastic, funny, sad, uncomfortable, and bittersweet. ...more

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May 25, 2017 Janine rated it liked it

I started out completely excited about what seemed like a fresh concept for a book about two teens that form a friendship playing video games online.

See Dylan is in remission from cancer, but may have a slight addiction to the drugs prescribed to him while he was indeed so very sick and literally on the brink of death. He also has some issues with his mom, who honestly couldn’t care less about him. She saw his illness as a means to an end. Now that he is recovered, his mom honestly couldn’t be ...more

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May 21, 2018 Miranda rated it liked it

Shelves: royal-books

The book Looking for Group by Rory Harrison was entertaining and heartfelt, but was at times rather cliché. It focuses on Dylan, a gay teen who has miraculously had his cancer disappear, and his friend Arden, a transgender girl who he met online while playing the game World of Warcraft, as they set off on a quest to see the Ship of Pearls in California. Their road trip details many philosophical conversations, a budding romance, and the overall contemplation of life.
The book was good, but it se ...more

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Jul 12, 2017 Samantha rated it liked it

Dylan may have survived cancer, but surviving his mom is another matter. With a run-down home, his mother bored after taking advantage of his time sick, and unable to register for school, Dylan starts to drive. He finds himself at the home of Arden, the girl he’s been playing World of Warcraft with for years but never met in person. He proposes an epic, real-life quest, and before they know it, they’re on the road. But running away from problems doesn’t erase them, and as something blooms betwee ...more

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Aug 18, 2018 Megan rated it liked it

Shelves: realistic-fiction

As insightful, raw, and, even at times lyrical Dylan's narration is, it can't save the story from its warped worldview and can only to do so much to bolster the limp plot. I listened to the audiobook (the narrator does an incredible job) while on a (not much fun at all) road trip, which is probably why I made it all the way through.

The title and opening chapters play up the "geek appeal" aspect of the story, but beyond the very detailed WoW references, there wasn't actually any other geeky cont ...more

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Nov 11, 2017 Ricky rated it it was ok

I sorta remember I picked this book up because of Zac Brewer's blurb on the cover, because as far as I know, Zac Brewer almost never blurbs books, and he's one of a few authors whom I would absolutely LOVE to see blurb for mine someday. Suffice it to say I was actually extremely disappointed in what I read. I mean, it should've been pretty well tailor-made for me, this book, with its strong queer rep - Dylan being gay, Arden being trans. And I totally see why Uncle Z blurbed this one, because li ...more

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Jun 05, 2017 Kimberly rated it it was ok

Member of "quarterly" which sends 3 books quarterly to members. had no choice but to pick YA because literary had a wait list. An author is chosen and one receives annotated copy of author's book along with 2 other books in same genre and other gifts the featured author might send.

I guess I just wasn't into this book. I had a LOT of questions while reading the book and maybe I am looking at it from an adult's perspective as well as looking at my childhood and I found this unbelievable and boring ...more

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Jun 09, 2017 Erin Cataldi rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017

I'm generally not a massive fan of teen road trip books (I loathed Paper Towns by John Green), but despite my initial misgivings I found myself liking this book. There's a little romance, a lot of self-discovery, resilience, and oodles geek love (tons of World of Warcraft terminology and asides, but everything is explained for non-gamers). While trying to register for school (after a lengthy absence from battling cancer), Dylan snaps. They're not letting him register without his mom and his mom ...more

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YA Buddy Readers'...: Looking for Group by Rory Harrison - Starting April 11th 2017	11	19	Apr 12, 2017 01:04AM

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About Rory Harrison

Rory Harrison

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Rory Harrison lives in the American Midwest and is sorted into Slytherin. She’s a geek and a gamer: she and pop culture are >>likedis<<. Some of her favorite games include Skyrim, Dragon Age 1 & 3, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 1 & 2, Life Is Strange, Goat Simulator, and whatever else strikes her fancy at the moment. When she’s not reading, writing, or gaming, she’s having very strong opinions abo ...more

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Quotes from Looking for Group

“You’re going to turn the next page, because you still have hope. You hope there’s a little something more, and it’s nothing personal. People do it at the end of every book. I think that’s why publishers put in all those extra pages. So you have a chance to shuffle and flip through them while it sinks in. It’s over. The trip is done.

You know it’s over, but you’re going to turn the page anyway.” — 2 likes

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