Synopsis
Longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize in Fiction and named a Top Ten Book of 2025 by The Atlantic and Slate, and a Best Book of 2025 by The New Yorker, TIME, Kirkus Reviews and more.
“A love story for those who love Severance (both Ling Ma’s book and the unaffiliated Apple TV+ series). . . ambitious, challenging, and brilliant.” —Elle
“Castillo’s flinty satire of the tech industry [transforms] into a sultry romance novel.” —The Atlantic
A bold and inventive novel about real romance in the virtual workplace—bringing Castillo's trademark wit and sharp cultural criticism to an irresistible story about the possible future of love.
Girlie Delmundo is the greatest content moderator in the world, and despite the setbacks of financial crises, climate catastrophe, and a global pandemic, she’s going places: she’s getting a promotion. Now thanks to her parent company Paragon’s purchase of Fairground—the world’s preeminent virtual reality content provider—she’s on the way to becoming an elite VR moderator, playing in the big leagues and, if her enthusiastic bosses are to be believed, moderating the next stage of human interaction.
Despite the isolation that virtual reality requires from colleagues, friends, and family, the unbelievable perks of her new job mean she can solve a lot of her family's problems with money and mobility. She doesn't have to think about the childhood home they lost back in the Bay Area, or history at all—she can just pay any debts that come due. But when she meets William Cheung, Playground’s wry, reticent co-founder (now Chief Product Officer) and slowly unearths some of his secrets, and finds herself somehow falling in love, she’ll learn that history might be impossible to moderate and the future utterly impossible to control.
About the Author
Named one of “30 of the Planet’s Most Exciting Young People” by the Financial Times, Elaine Castillo was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her most recent novel, Moderation, has been currently longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize in Fiction, is currently a finalist for the California Book Award in Fiction, and was named one of the Top Ten Books of 2025 by The Atlantic, Slate, and a Best Book of 2025 by The New Yorker, TIME, Kirkus Reviews, and more. She is also the author of the award-winning debut novel America is Not the Heart and the acclaimed book of essays How to Read Now. She is a 2026 Whiting Award winner, a two-time San Francisco Public Library Laureate, a Berkeley Public Library Laureate, and was also recently longlisted for the 2026 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. In the tradition of diasporic mothers everywhere, she works primarily so her rescue German shepherd Vincent can live a better life.
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