Out of Character

Dumplin’ meets Geekerella in debut author Jenna Miller’s queer, body-positive YA love story that explores online and offline relationships in all of their messiness.

If you asked seventeen-year-old Cass Williams to describe herself, she’d happily tell you she’s fat, a lesbian, and obsessed with the Tide Wars books. What she won’t tell you―or anyone in her life―is that she’s hiding a secret identity as part of an online Tide Wars roleplay community. Sure, it’s nerdy as hell, but when she’s behind the screen writing scenes as Captain Aresha, she doesn’t have to think about her mother who walked out or how unexpectedly stressful it is dating resident cool girl Taylor Cooper.

But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass. For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her grades have taken a big hit. Also? In this heartfelt online romance, Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie . . . and Taylor might be catching on.

As Cass’s lies continue to build, so does her anxiety. Roleplaying used to be the one place she could escape to, but this double life and offline-online love triangle have only made things worse. Cass must decide what to do―be honest and risk losing her safe space or keep it a secret and put everything else on the line.

• An Offline-Online Love Triangle: Dating the real-life cool girl Taylor Cooper is stressful enough, but Cass is also falling for her internet best friend, Rowan―a girl she’s never even met.
• A Secret Fandom Life: By day, Cass is a normal high school student. But online, she’s Captain Aresha, the confident leader in a Tide Wars roleplay community, and no one in her real life can ever know.
• A Body-Positive Queer Romance: A funny and heartfelt story that follows a heroine who knows she’s fat and a lesbian―and is happy to tell you―as she navigates the delightful messiness of first love.
• Laugh-Out-Loud Romantic Comedy: Perfect for fans of Dumplin' and Geekerella, this story is full of geeky charm, relatable friendships, and the chaos of juggling two lives at once.

Jenna Miller (she/her) writes young adult books about fat, queer, nerdy girls who deserve to be seen and have their voices heard. When she’s not obsessing over words, she can be found making charcuterie boards, befriending people online, cross-stitching, or adventuring in the Minneapolis area. Out of Character is her debut novel and is followed by We Got the Beat.