The L.O.V.E. Club

A YA book, THE L.O.V.E. Club is a deep exploration of grief and fractured friendships through the eyes of our main protagonist, O. It is now three years since her friend Elle disappeared and now her two other friends, Liberty and Vera, are back in town. But they’ve not spoken since Elle’s disappearance and the other two’s departure from Calendula. O is hesitant to talk to them again, but when the three of them wind up meeting back at their old club room, something strange happens. They are dragged into Morning Glory, a video game that Elle apparently created before her disappearance. Vera and Liberty are ready to fight to get out of the game, but O is torn. She can’t remember anything since Elle’s disappearance. Is there something in this game that can tell her what happened to Elle? Can she see her again?

There are many trigger warnings that can be applied to this book and I strongly suggest you look them up before reading. Some of the warnings include violence and injuries. Protect yourself and your mental health.

What I Loved:
This book explores grief and trauma, and the aftereffects of both, in a unique but not unfamiliar way. Posing the entire thing as a journey through a video game, with levels being separated by characters and flashbacks to the incidents that made each character who they are in the present day. It lends fresh eyes to a familiar topic.

The way Lio Min has the reader explore the grief of each character is impactful. We are only given O’s perspective on things, but that does not dampen the emotions. The three teenagers are forced to confront physical manifestations of their demons and the people/things that shaped them. Readers are given flashbacks that show the moments that developed these characters as well as dialogue between the characters to fill in missing pieces. Lio Min’s writing douses the entire thing in emotion. From anxiety to fear to anger, readers are made to understand the circumstances that led to the present day and they empathize with these characters.

Lio Min has a descriptive storytelling voice that lends itself well to a fantasy game. From settings to outfits to enemies, there is meticulous detail given to everything in Morning Glory and it drags readers into its story. You can feel the chill and the adrenaline from being chased by a specific enemy. You can visualize the scenes and the characters. Lio Min somehow managed to make this book featuring a video game, read like a video game so much that I want to own the video game.

This book also has a very realistic presentation of teenage friendship, especially with a group of friends who knew each other as kids and have grown up together. Good and bad, this book showcases both in equal measure. The love, but also the growing apart. Wanting to help someone while also not being able to because they won’t help themselves. At times heart-wrenching, but also oh so believable. Credit where credit is due, Lio Min managed to write friendships and the way they can be formed, but can also be broken.

What Left Me Wanting More:
The chapters in this book can be long. It’s not always a bad thing since it means that every level is captured into one chapter, but it can leave the reader feeling drained and impatient. Especially if the reader, like me, enjoys taking breaks after each chapter or 2. Just a fair warning to any future readers.

It may have also been nice to get some more specific dates on when certain events occurred. Up until the very end, when everything is revealed, there were some events that I still wasn’t sure where they fell into the timeline of events.

Final Verdict:
A journey of grief and love, THE L.O.V.E. CLUB explores trauma and the scars it leaves behind. Combined with complicated friendships and realistic characters, this book shines as it delves into difficult topics with care but not minimizing the topics at hand.