A/S/L

Author Jeanne Thornton performs her novel with a charming casualness that will immediately draw listeners in. In 1998, three queer teenagers bond over creating video games in the early days of Internet chat rooms. Nineteen years later they are all trans women in their 30s, and though they've lost touch and never met in person, they're still haunted by the game they never finished. Thornton's narration is intimate but understated. She uses similar voices for the three main characters, but with enough variation that they sound like distinct people. She's especially good at capturing the rhythms of online communication. This is a heartfelt, melancholy, and insightful novel about early Internet culture, nostalgia, queer and trans identity, and the physical and virtual spaces that shape us. L.S. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2025]