Recommended by Caitlin G.

In the early years of the Internet, teens discover "BBS," a bulletin board system they can connect to - and connect to each other. That's where Allie meets Samir and they meet up and run away from her abusive stage magician father; and the Internet is also how Richard stays connected to old friends and makes a new friend/protector in the fierce Tina, who brings him to "Evol House," a haven for anarchist punks. It's the Evol BBS, too, that gives Allie and Sam the answers they need about the emancipation of minors, and the hope that Allie might not have to go back to a bad situation.

The art, like early computers, has a limited palette of black and white and blue.

See also: Mall Goth by Kate Leth, High Desert by James Spooner

"We need more information. We need research. Facts. Complex problems can always be solved with the right information." ( )

Set in the 1990s, teenaged early users of the internet use it to find friendship and cope with bullying and child abuse. A little slow and slice-of-life at times, but still engaging. I do wish the geographical settings of the two parallel storylines were a little clearer earlier on.

I like the occasional bits of ASCII art and the old-fashioned text-based user interfaces. Made me nostalgic for the day I first sat down at an internet-connected computer at college in the '80s, grumbling about the administration requiring me get an email address and wondering why anyone would want to bother with this ugly and useless green information exchange when all I really needed was more playtime with "Risk" and "Lode Runner" on my black-and-white Macintosh. ( )

This book was not at all what I was expecting. The description tells you it’s the story of the beginning of the modern computer era. However it’s really four students from different backgrounds that come together because of bulletin board servers in the early 90s. These kids are just learning about computers but actually learning more about themselves and who they can trust. This book was a super-fast read. The artwork is all done in black, white, and blue which really sets a somber tone. This book says its volume one and I really think I want volume 2 but I don’t know how long I’ll have to wait for it. There are trigger warnings for this book, there is abuse of a child. It’s right in the beginning and it’s verbal, not quite physical but still physical, and really grabs the reader off from the beginning. However this still makes for a fabulous read for any high schooler or adult. ( )