Editorial Content for In Real Life: A Novel

Hannah has been friends with her best friend, Nick, for four years now. They talk every day, send each other packages in the mail filled with things like food and souvenirs and know everything about each other. Hannah is even starting to feel something for Nick that can only be described as “more-than-friend feelings.” But there’s always been one problem looming over their friendship: it’s purely an internet based one.

Hannah and Nick have never met in person, but that is about to change during Hannah’s spring break. Normally a rule follower, Hannah decides to live wild for a few days and go to Las Vegas to surprise Nick, together with her friend Lo and her sister Grace who decide to come along for the ride. Things quickly backfire when she finally meets Nick and realizes he lied to her about a few major things, including the fact that he has a girlfriend. Now, Hannah is left to figure out if she ever really knew Nick and what her true feelings for him are.

I recommend IN REAL LIFE to anyone who enjoys a fast paced and light hearted contemporary, especially if they have their own internet friendships.

Though I have read about many relationships and situations in books over the years, I have never read about an internet friendship before. Because of this, I instantly gravitated toward IN REAL LIFE. Reading about two internet friends struck me as very relatable, since I have become friends with many of people on the internet, especially through the Booktube community. Whenever Hannah wished she could just hang out with Nick in person like a normal friendship or watch movies with him in a theater instead of over Skype, it reminded me of my internet friendships and made me feel more connected to the characters. Internet friendship is a form of friendship that has become more and more common for many teens and it was nice to see it well represented in a YA novel.

Speaking of internet friendships, that was my favorite part about this book. Even before I got to see them interact in person, I was already a fan of their friendship. Little stories from their past four years were littered through out the book and were very lovable and cute. Hannah and Nick had a funny and cute back and forth whenever they talked. The entire time I was reading, I just wanted to yell at them to kiss or at least confess their feelings for each other.

Though I enjoyed Nick and Hannah together, when I was left with scenes featuring just Hannah or Hannah’s inner monologue, I did not enjoy it as much. Hannah seemed really indecisive and could be annoying to me at some points. As the book carried on and her night seemed to be getting worse, she got really negative about it. I wished she would cheer up and enjoy the fact that she was in Vegas, a place she’d never been before. In the end, I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt because, let’s face it, her situation was pretty rough. By the end, I enjoyed Hannah as a character even with her flaws.

I recommend IN REAL LIFE to anyone who enjoys a fast paced and light hearted contemporary, especially if they have their own internet friendships. IN REAL LIFE was a whirlwind of a book, taking place almost entirely in one night. It was a fast and lovable read that instantly found its way into my heart. And because of it’s reliability, fun plot, and cute friendships, I know it’ll stay in my heart for a long time to come.