Review: The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

Title: The Impossible Fortress 
Author: Jason Rekulak
Format: eARC
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: February 7, 2017 (Today!)
Source: Publisher

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "
Billy Marvin’s first love was a computer. Then he met Mary Zelinsky.

Do you remember your first love?

The Impossible Fortress begins with a magazine…The year is 1987 and Playboy has just published scandalous photographs of Vanna White, from the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune. For three teenage boys—Billy, Alf, and Clark—who are desperately uneducated in the ways of women, the magazine is somewhat of a Holy Grail: priceless beyond measure and impossible to attain. So, they hatch a plan to steal it."

My Two Cents:

"The Impossible Fortress" is a story about that awkward first love and video games. It's the 1980s and Billy is a 14 year old boy with dreams of being a great video game designer. He is utterly and thoroughly obsessed. His friends are obsessed with getting their hands on the Playboy that has the nude pictures of Vanna White. Both of these desires will clash in this book in a thoroughly entertaining book. This is a fun love letter to the 1980s!

Although I was just a little kid for the part of the 80s that I've lived through, I still love the pop culture that permeated the decade. Billy and his friends recall so many of the movies of the time that I've seen. I loved all of the schemes that they go through in the book. Their trio is a group of constant hustle - they always seem to have a way to make them money or notoriety or both. I loved following their adventures in this book.

As much as I liked the hijinks of Billy and his friends, I loved the relationship between Billy and Mary. At first, Billy just sees Mary as someone that can help him with his latest video game but he begins to see her as something more. Mary is such a great character. She is strong, secure, and sure of herself. She is no shrinking violet and she seems like such a good fit for Billy. Of course, in a book like this, love is not without its trials and tribulations. I loved the way the author wrote their relationship. Both of the characters have so much detail that they truly stand on their own. You are pulling for them the whole way.