The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover. The author’s name “Christen Randall” is written at the top in thin purple caps. The title “The No-Girlfriend Rule” is directly below this in larger purple caps, except for “no” which is written in light yellowish-cream caps. In the bottom left corner of the cover, two lines of small purple caps read “Sometimes romance is right in character.” The background is orange and shows various comics, posters and action figures on a wall and counter top. On the right side of the cover, two women. The woman on the left has long orange hair, a purple t-shirt, lighter purple pants, black flat shoes and a purple over the shoulder bag. The woman on the right has short red hair with a black undercut, a yellow t-shirt, green pants and white sneaker shoes with green, orange and red stripes. /end]

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Content Warning:

• Panic Attacks
• Fatphobia
• Homophobia
• Misogyny
• Body Shaming
• Transphobia
• Toxic Relationship
• Sexism
• Fetishisation
• Infidelity

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Summary:

Julie Murphy meets Casey McQuiston in this unforgettable queer romance about a teen girl whose foray into fantasy tabletop roleplaying brings her new confidence, true friends, and a shot at real, swoon-worthy love.

Hollis Beckwith isn’t trying to get a girl—she’s just trying to get by. For a fat, broke girl with anxiety, the start of senior year brings enough to worry about. And besides, she already has a Chris. Their relationship isn’t particularly exciting, but it’s comfortable and familiar, and Hollis wants it to survive beyond senior year. To prove she’s a girlfriend worth keeping, Hollis decides to learn Chris’s favorite tabletop roleplaying game, Secrets & Sorcery—but his unfortunate “No Girlfriends at the Table” rule means she’ll need to find her own group if she wants in.

Gloria Castañeda and her all-girls game of S&S! Crowded at the table in Gloria’s cozy Ohio apartment, the six girls battle twisted magic in-game and become fast friends outside it. With her character as armor, Hollis starts to believe that maybe she can be more than just fat, anxious, and a little lost.

But then an in-game crush develops between Hollis’s character and the bard played by charismatic Aini Amin-Shaw, whose wide, cocky grin makes Hollis’s stomach flutter. As their gentle flirting sparks into something deeper, Hollis is no longer sure what she wants…or if she’s content to just play pretend.

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Notes:

There is an audiobook.

There is an ebook. There is a kindle edition.

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Archivist Comments:

I can’t really get any content warnings at the moment because it hasn’t been released. I’ve seen a couple of notes saying there should have been trigger warnings but then, ironically, no warnings apart from the occasional reference to an infuriating boyfriend. I will update this when it releases.

Edit 31/03/2024: This book was released March 5th of this year. I have updated this entry with the information that is now available.

I have tagged this “comedy” because people keep mentioning the romcom vibes it has.

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