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The Impossible Fortress
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
A dazzling debut novelat once a charming romance, a hilarious crime caper, and a moving coming-of-age storyabout what happens when a fourteen-year old boy pretends to seduce a girl to steal a copy of Playboy but then discovers she is his computer-loving soulmate. Billy Marvins first love was a computer. Then he met Mary Zelinsky. Do you remember your first love? The Impossible Fortress begins with a magazineThe year is 1987 and Playboy has just published scandalous photographs of Vanna White, from the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune. For three teenage boysBilly, Alf, and Clarkwho are desperately uneducated in the ways of women, the magazine is somewhat of a Holy Grail: priceless beyond measure and impossible to attain. So, they hatch a plan to steal it. The heist will be fraught with peril: a locked building, intrepid police officers, rusty fire escapes, leaps across rooftops, electronic alarm systems, and a hyperactive Shih Tzu named Arnold Schwarzenegger. Failed attempt after failed attempt leads them to a genius master plantheyll swipe the security code to Zelinskys convenience store by seducing the owners daughter, Mary Zelinsky. It becomes Billys mission to befriend her and get the information by any means necessary. But Mary isnt your average teenage girl. Shes a computer loving, expert coder, already strides ahead of Billy in ability, with a wry sense of humor and a hidden, big heart. But what starts as a game to win Marys affection leaves Billy with a gut-wrenching choice: deceive the girl who may well be his first love or break a promise to his best friends. At its heart, The Impossible Fortress is a tender exploration of young love, true friends, and the confusing realities of male adolescencewith a dash of old school computer programming.
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RaffaelliJ
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

I think I devoured this book in two sittings. Is it YA fiction? Yes. Do I care? No.

We were all 14 at one time in our lives, and the story of that time of unknowns, of being told to find yourself before you even know how to find yourself is baked into the history of every single person. This book is a sonnet of a tale telling us , not all love stories have the endings we expect, nor is the path that takes you there one you can plan.

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LeslieO
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Oh my @MommyOfTwo ! You really spoiled me! What a fantastic box of goodies! The books are great picks. The coffee/tea sounds yummy. Love the little coffee sign, the journal, the stickers, the bookmarks (so cute!), the candle. It is all so me! Thank you so much! 🧡🍁📚 #FallingForFallSwap

Thank for for organizing, @Avanders

Avanders 🍂🍁♥️🫶🏽 2y
keithmalek I enjoyed The End of October. 2y
MommyOfTwo You‘re welcome! Glad you like it all! 2y
44 likes3 comments
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EatSleepRead
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

I purchased this one years ago and it sat on my shelf for no particular reason. Love the 80s and coming of age stories? Love to see the geek win? This one is for you. 💾

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sprainedbrain
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

A quick, fun read. 1987: 14-year-old Billy and his two friends are determined to get their hands on the new Playboy with Vanna White. Ridiculous caper, computer geeking, some petty crime, teenage romance, and a multitude of 80s pop culture references ensue.

In some ways predictable, but still managed to surprise me near the end. The teenage kids are a bunch of jerks, but that sort of makes it more realistic.

#MakesYouLOL #Booked2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Cinfhen This sounds so fun!!!!! Im going to actively search it out even though it‘s been on my TBR for awhile 🙄 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Sounds like a good pick to just be somewhere than real life! (but not a fantasy ...) 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Sounds like a good pick to just be somewhere than real life! (but not a fantasy ...) 4y
UwannaPublishme Too funny! 😆 4y
93 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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sprainedbrain
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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I pulled this book off the shelf hoping it would work for the #MakesYouLOL prompt for #Booked2020... it is definitely working.

For example, this section where the 14-year-old boys in 1987 try to decide which cassette tapes to shoplift from the mall in order to resell them.

😂😂😂

Texreader Ha! Cutting Crew over U2! 🤣🤣🤣 4y
MsMelissa @Texreader I now have Died in Your Arms tonight playing in my head 😂 4y
sprainedbrain @Book_Fiend_Melissa @Texreader so many 80s music and movie references in this book... I‘m walking around my house singing Whitney Houston. 😂 4y
MsMelissa I just might have to check this one out then. It will be a trip down memory lane! 4y
Texreader @Book_Fiend_Melissa Actually I love that song! 🤣 4y
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Coleen
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

Such a fun read! If you love everything 80‘s like I do, you‘ll enjoy this. (Commodore 64, anyone?) 💻 ❤️😊

LA_Mead I loved this book so much. 4y
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Lauren_reading
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

80s nostalgia and remembering my computer programming summer camp back in 1989...this book was such a fun ya novel.

Coleen I need to move this up on my reading list! 5y
Purrfectpages I enjoyed this one! 5y
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Karen3
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

I had no idea what this was about going in and I loved it. Computer geeks, video games, teenage boys and the lengths they will go for stupid ideas, and young love. This is one that I would like to read again to catch some of the little hints in the code at the beginning of the chapters. As soon as my TBR is smaller... hahahaha who am I kidding. 4🌟🌟🌟🌟

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lauriedslack
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

Finished this one today. It was a fun romp through my childhood. Oh, the #BASIC ... #memories. Fun for computer #nerds, old #millennials, fans of boy posses a la StrangerThings. No sci-fi, but it has that vibe.

CoffeeNBooks Welcome to Litsy! 📚 5y
Slajaunie Welcome to Litsy!📖💚 5y
jillannjohn Welcome to Litsy! 5y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Welcome to Litsy 📖💖 5y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🤗 5y
9 likes5 comments
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JoyBlue
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Mehso-so

I have no recollection of how this geeky teen story came to be on my radar, but it was enjoyable enough. I liked the Will and Mary story line much more than the Will and everyone else parts.

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Rachel.Rencher
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Oh my gosh, @Smartypants you are so sweet for sending me this book! I had a rough last few hours at work, so coming home to some book mail definitely cheered me up. ❤

Thank you again, and good luck with your move! 🏠

Smartypants Yay! I‘m glad it arrived and especially glad to hear it gave you a better day! 😘 6y
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Smartypants
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Hello Littens! I am moving back to the Carolinas and have a bunch of FREE books I‘d like to gift to someone. They are in excellent condition! I will send via media mail at no expense to you! Please let me know if you‘d be interested in this one in the comments! A great coming-of-age story set in the 80s! #freebook

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melissarochelle
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

Had I known a square infographic was possible in Bookly I would have been sharing these ALL THE TIME. Also, great book that I randomly picked up from Target a few months ago.

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Conleyheather
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I‘ll be spending my summer in my new hammock with a book

TheBookKeepers Nice view!!! 6y
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Jwagstaffe
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
Pickpick

An enjoyable quick read with a good amount of coding lingo and character development.. kind of a ‘stranger things‘ meets ‘ready player one‘

PickwickPlockPlock Welcome to Litsy! 6y
6 likes1 comment
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Kangaj1
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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I picked up the following today (plus the tagged book, which hubby already swiped) at my local independent bookstore with a coupon. I had abdominal surgery this week and it was my first time out alone...I definitely overdid it but picked up some good ones!

dariazeoli Hope you‘re healing well! 6y
Jas16 Glad you are on the mend but hope you get some rest 6y
JenReadsAlot Hope you are doing well. 6y
ferskner Oooo! I know how that goes. I hope you're heading well and taking it easy! 6y
51 likes4 comments
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Kangaj1
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Free books I got this month! #bookhaul

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Awesome! I‘ve read Evicted and What Unites Us and really liked both! 6y
Jess7 Wow! Nice! 6y
Jas16 Awesome! 6y
mrozzz Cool! Some good ones here 👌🏻 6y
Purrfectpages I loved The Impossible Fortress! 6y
50 likes5 comments
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KerriArista
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

I thought this was a good,
Sweet book- but surprised that‘s it‘s not categorized as YA!!

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Audiobookhead
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

I finshed this one a couple of days ago I really enjoyed it. My wife had compared it to Ready Player One, but I disagree. It was a great coming of age kind of story set in the 80‘s. With a ending that I was really surprised by. Thanks for @MommyOfTwo for sending me this one for the Easter book exchange.

MommyOfTwo Glad you enjoyed it! 6y
Aswenson I loved this book! Very nostalgic. 6y
23 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Reviewsbylola
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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#virtualinsanity instantly made me think of this book. I read it only because of the #botmchallenge, as it was a pick spring of 2017. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it given that I‘m not a huge fan of YA or video games. This had a huge 80s culture vibe though that I totally loved. #aprella

Cinfhen Still want to read this based on your initial review💕 6y
Schuhbox Saving this for my son. He would love it! 6y
emilyhaldi I think my expectations for this were too high after seeing your rave reviews 😆 6y
Purrfectpages I loved this one! 6y
Mdargusch 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 6y
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Audiobookhead
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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@MommyOfTwo Wow! Thank you so much I love it all! I‘m super excited about The impossible fortress, and I am Legend! The Jyn Erso is awesome. @JoeStalksBeck loves her book, and EmmaLynn is going to start hers as soon as she is done with the one she is reading now. Thanks so much! Happy Easter 🐣🐇! #easterbasketbookswap

JoeStalksBeck @MommyOfTwo I‘m so jealous he got Impossible Fortress!! I love that audiobook!!! 6y
Gissy Nice! 👌🏼💖 6y
MommyOfTwo Yea, glad you all like everything!!!!! 6y
38 likes3 comments
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dariazeoli
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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@Jas16 !! Thank you so much for thinking of me! Unexpected #bookmail is the best mail, and I‘ll definitely #payitforward when I get to read this one!

A nice start to the long weekend ❤️

Jas16 Glad I was able to pay it forward and send it your way! 6y
53 likes1 comment
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Knightingale
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

Well that was just f***ing charming. A fun and quick little tale for those of us who were geeks in the 80s before being a geek was cool. Does it compare to Ready Player One? No, very different. Should you read it if you liked RPO? Absolutely.

Soubhiville Sold! And stacked! Thanks for the recommendation 😊 6y
Alfoster Loved it too! Now gotta read Ready Player One!😍 6y
looseleafbooks The summary didn‘t seem up my alley, but your review sells it! 6y
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Jas16
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Mehso-so

A fast YA read with oodles of 80s nostalgia but not a lot of depth. I tore through it but found most of the story pretty typical. Glad I read it but won‘t reread it.

Purrfectpages Oh no! I really enjoyed this one! 6y
Jas16 @Purrfectpages So many people did. I am in the minority on this one. 6y
flip58 80s? I must readit. 6y
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Callemarie
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

Guyyyyssssssss I LOVED this book. I felt like it had the spirit of ready player one but minus all of the adventure. Pretty much just typical teen angst but add the 80s and video games to it. It was a sweet story and I loved all the characters in it. Im mad I let this sit on my tbr for almost a year before I finally read it!!!!

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Callemarie
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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I‘m looooooooving this book and am going to power read to finish it tonight.

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Smartypants
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

This is one of the most charming books I‘ve read and I would love to see someone adapt this for the screen. A great coming-of-age story set in the 1980s. #videogames #nerds

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Samwise_Gamgee
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Next up on the list of books @vicgreentoriafield lent me six months ago.... 🤓 #currentlyreading

JoeStalksBeck Loved this! 6y
Purrfectpages I 💕 this as well! 6y
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Hannah_Haymond
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
Pickpick

There‘s a sweet kid and his friends, an impossible treasure, and an elaborate plan for a caper, so, yes it‘s an 80‘s coming of age story! I really enjoyed following Will as he navigates standard teen obstacles although there were a few twists that seemed a little forced. Overall a lot of fun and a wonderful dive into 80s nostalgia.

Purrfectpages Loved this one! 6y
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Hannah_Haymond
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak

Starting this one thanks to several positive recommendations on here. Excited to dive in! I‘m always up for a little 80‘s nostalgia.

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LA_Mead
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

I loved this book so much that I nearly cried when it ended—not because of the ending, which was perfect—but because I wanted the story to continue on forever. Such a great, funny read!

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JoeStalksBeck
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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This book is hilarious and brilliant . It‘s all 80s

Twocougs I thoroughly enjoyed it too😍 6y
Purrfectpages Loved, loved, loved it! 6y
JoeStalksBeck @twocougs @Purrfectpages I‘m loving it so far! 6y
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TracyReadsBooks
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

Yay & thanks Andrew Smith. This was the perfect read for the flight. I loved basking in the 80s in all its crazy glory—the music, the big hair, the beginning, in many ways, of the computer age as we know it. William Marvin longs to be a video game programmer— he‘s so focused he‘s about to flunk 9th grade because all he thinks about is gaming. An unlikely friendship gives him an opportunity to realize his dream if he can just stay out of trouble.

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TracyReadsBooks
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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So, I was reading The Prey of Gods but book emergency! Friend‘s flight got cancelled and she wound up getting on a 5 hour train home. Couldn‘t do that without a book so I gave her mine. And for reasons, even though I planned on bringing two books, I only brought one. Fortunately, I saw this book was blurbed by Andrew Smith and that‘s good enough for me. Fingers crossed it‘s a good read.

Louise Wow! You are a good friend! 👍 6y
SandyW How nice of you! 6y
TracyReadsBooks Thanks @Louise and @SandyW. 😊 I just can‘t fathom being without a book— couldn‘t do that to my friend! 6y
4 likes3 comments
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Purrfectpages
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Looking back over this year‘s reads and I realized I gave a lot of books four star ratings. This was the only book I was feeling generous enough to give five ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ at the time. #favoriteof2017 #jingleshelves

dariazeoli NJ in the 80s? Sold! Thanks for the tip 👍🏻 6y
erinreads I loved this book! Did you play the game online after reading it? Super fun! 6y
Purrfectpages @erinreads I meant to, but I never did! 6y
Purrfectpages @dariazeoli that was my thoughts exactly! 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️❤️ 6y
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LeenReads
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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So we stood up there for a long while, watching the sunset and discussing how it was one of those things you could never truly capture in 8-bit, not with the simplistic definition of violet (CHR$(156)), orange (CHR$(129)), and yellow (CHR$(158)). There were too many other colors, thousands of colors. The hardware could never do justice to it.”
― Jason Rekulak, The Impossible Fortress

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LeenReads
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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From Simon & Schuster: A love letter to the 1980s, to the dawn of the computer age, and to adolescence—a time when anything feels possible—The Impossible Fortress will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you remember in exquisite detail what it feels like to love something—or someone—for the very first time.

LeenReads A coming of age story/first romance double-dipped in 80s nostalgia and the advent of the personal computer revolution. Really liked this book except for a somewhat implausible plot twist that forced me to knock a 4 star rating down to a 3. (edited) 6y
3 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Smartypants
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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After reading the first chapter, I‘m super excited about this book! Rarely does an amazing first chapter turn into a dull book. One of the best opening scenes I‘ve ever read. I LOVE when a book just sucks you in! #greatbooks #goodfiction #funny

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Yossarian
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Great day for a huge turnout at the Collingswood Book Fair! Bought this one from the author at his booth.

Dragon What nice weather! 🍁 7y
saresmoore Neato! 7y
kspenmoll Looks like a beautiful day! 7y
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StaceyKondla That looks like a wonderful time 😊 7y
MrBook Nice! 6y
ApoptyGina69 Finally starting this one tonight! 6y
76 likes6 comments
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LauraJ
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

The perfect home-in-bed, too-sick-to-think-hard book. It's a simple story about a boy, a girl, computers and Vanna White. It's like a book version of comfort food.
#litsyatoz #letterR #catsoflitsy

Alfoster Good call! I liked it too!😍 7y
ValerieAndBooks Hope you feel better soon. It‘s definitely fine to mix up your reading! 7y
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LauraJ
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Up to letter R for #litsyatoz. Home sick today and my eyes burn. Have you seen how tiny the type is on the Rushdie book? With page-long paragraphs...not happening today. Switched to this 80's memoir. Already amused. #catsoflitsy

mrozzz 😲🤓 7y
rubyslippersreads Adorable kitties! 😻 7y
mcipher The Impossible Fortress was a really fun story. 7y
52 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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blissfullifeproject
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Q: What is your reading goal for this year?

Sace I'm wanting to finish my Goodreads challenge and to do it without padding the numbers with manga and graphic novels. Read more books in Spanish. Get a bingo on #tbrbingo 😊 7y
Reviewsbylola My GR goal is 125. I also hope to complete the #BOTMchallenge by the end of the year. 7y
myers85 To read good books! 7y
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WhatDeeReads Mine is 80 books. 7y
blissfullifeproject @Reviewsbylola what is BOTMchallenge? 😊 7y
Reviewsbylola The goal is to read every Book of the Month selection in 2017. So by the time the year is over, it will be 60 books. 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Mine was 100 but I'm at 115 now. Hoping for about 140. 7y
39 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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mhajder22
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
Pickpick

I couldn't resist falling in love with this book. I'm not sure if it's my constant nostalgia for anything 80's related but I have to say I loved everything about this from the storyline to the characters. Very quick read.

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aizekj
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Pickpick

Quick and fun! I should have read It sooner. 😊

Reviewsbylola I really enjoyed this one! 7y
19 likes1 comment
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Jerdencon
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Reading on the porch facing Jiminy Peak ski slopes in the Berkshires getting some reading in on a nice sunny, lazy day. The book is a little odd but getting in 'I' for the #litsyatoz challenge. I lost my google doc email of my challenge 🙁but think I have a list at work somewhere that I can look at in September.

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Kris10
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Hopefully the new toys I bought the boys will keep them occupied long enough to start my new book. 🤞🏻

Purrfectpages Hope you love it! I did! 7y
34 likes1 comment
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TeaWithLemon
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Mehso-so

This book was a big disappointment. That's not to say it was bad, it's just that after a few pages I had such high expectations. I had already cast the kids from Stranger Things in the movie version of this 80's nostalgia coming of age story. The 80's are definitely there - the Vanna White playboy, the Commodore 64, the pop music, the clothes - but the story was ordinary, and the big reveal was not very believable. Meh

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mcipher
Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Book, water, eye drops. Ready to stay up way too late reading! 😂

Nute Eye drops??? I never thought of that as a way to make a late night reading session happen. So funny.😂 7y
mcipher @Nute I got Lasik and I have to use them constantly! 😂 But yeah, they do help. 👍 7y
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Eliza-beta
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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I'm loving the trip back to the 80s in this wonderful book. Why was Vanna White such a big deal back then???

slategreyskies Is that an 80s photo of her? I remember her with very long hair. Maybe I'm remembering wrong... 7y
drokka I think she was a big deal because she was a symbol for feminists and anti-feminists. She had a a job, stood her own, (in the 90s she won some lawsuits), and I believe was paid a fab wage. On the other hand, she was dolled up, turned letters and didn't speak. Plus, for a while, I think she was a guest star on a lot of shows. Ultimately, I feel she weathered the blah blah blah about herself quite well. 7y
64 likes2 comments
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vicgreentoriafield
The Impossible Fortress | Jason Rekulak
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Oh my god, coolest addition in a book.

Purrfectpages I enjoyed this one! 7y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love your ring 😊 7y
erinreads The game is fun online! 7y
vicgreentoriafield @erinreads I have to try it when I finally get back from my work trip 7y
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