Title: THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS
Author: JASON REKULAK
Genre: YOUNG ADULT FICTION, HISTORICAL FICTION (THE 1980s)
Length: 285 PAGES
Publisher: SIMON AND SCHUSTER
Type of Book: SOFTCOVER
Received From: SIMON AND SCHUSTER through the Goodreads Giveaway program
Cover Design: WILL STAHLE
Release Date: FEBRUARY 7, 2017
ISBN: 9781501166839
Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ๐๐๐๐๐
I LOVED THIS BOOK. Although THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS is targeted at young adult readers, anyone who, like me, grew up in the 1980s will find this book a trip down memory lane.
Jason Rekulak may be a debut author, but it is obvious that his years working as an editor for Quark Books embued him with an excellent sense of the proper balance between the plot and character development.
Will Marvin and his two best friends are the ultimate underdogs. It’s 1986 and Vanna White is the ultimate girl next door. When the boys learn that she is featured in Playboy magazine, they are determined to get copies.
Will is a nerd. I can relate. I remember taking classes in Basic Code and doing anything on a computer took hours and hours of entering programming code. But, Will loves it. Hos ultimate life goal is to design video games for a living.
Then he meets Mary Zelinsky. She is a computer nerd too. Will is stunned. He had no idea that there were girls who liked computers. Remember – this was the 80s and women were still battling the secretary stereotype.
Can Will get the girl, perfect his video game called The Impossible Fortress, and get his hands on the dirty pictures of Vanna White?
This novel will have adult readers waxing nostalgic for the less complicated days of their youth and both adults and young adults alike will be able to relate to the terror and elation of discovering the opposite sex for the first time.
THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS is liberally sprinkled with pop culture references and readers will find themselves digging out their old mixed-tapes.
I absolutely loved this book and I will be recommending it to all my friends. I doubt this is the last we have heard from debut author Jason Rekulak and I, for one, can’t wait to read whatever he comes up with next.
I rate this book with an enthusiastic 5 STARS ๐๐๐๐๐
Now, I’m off to my basement to try to find my old Atari system. I can’t wait to play Space Invaders – old school style.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
JASON REKULAK was born and raised in New Jersey. He has worked for many years at Quirk Books, where he edits a variety of fiction and non-fiction.
He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two children. THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS is his first novel.
To learn more and to play a version of The Impossible Fortress game, visit his website.
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