Day’s YA: THE L.O.V.E. CLUB

THE L.O.V.E. CLUB by Lio Min
9781250359827
8/5/2025
Flatiron Books
Ages 14-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss and NetGalley

The L.O.V.E. Club is made up of four best friends . . . or it used to be, anyway. Since the days in middle school when they would spend hours playing video games together, Elle has disappeared, and Vera and Liberty have moved away, leaving O behind with her grief, loneliness, and no memory of what happened to Elle. It’s been three years since they all last spoke, but Vera and Liberty have moved back for their senior year, and now the three estranged friends are suddenly back in each other’s orbits.

They may be trying to avoid each other, but they can’t help but be drawn back to their clubhouse where they used to spend their days and nights gaming together. Once there, O, Liberty, and Vera are drawn further back together when they are suddenly transported into a mysterious video game that seems to be created by their missing Elle. It soon becomes clear that the game, Morning Glory, is based on their own life experiences, insecurities, and secrets—secrets they’re keeping from each other and secrets their mothers have kept from them. In this world—just as in the real world—they have to grapple with grief and heartache, but they also must battle deadly bosses and dangerous enemies around every corner. As they work their way through the game, truths are revealed about Elle’s disappearance, about their mothers, and about their complicated shared histories.

Lio Min’s debut, BEATING HEART BABY, was one of my favorite books of 2022, and THE L.O.V.E. CLUB is shaping up to be one of my favorite books of 2025. It’s truly a work of art; a hauntingly beautiful story of love and friendship, wrapped up in a visually stunning botanical video game. The friendship between the four girls is realistically messy and lovely. Anyone who has experienced middle and high school knows that it can be a complex time of personal growth and self-discovery, and Min has encapsulated it perfectly. Min also portrays the intricate dynamics between mothers and daughters with love and care.

The video game setting that Min has created took my breath away. Morning Glory is a beautiful and terrible world filled with blossoming flowers and plants, and with the girls’ worst nightmares and insecurities. I was completely immersed in both the pages of the novel, but also the game within the pages. This novel is a skillful blend of sci-fi, mystery, and horror, but it’s so much more than that. It’s also a rumination on grief, gender and queerness, class, race, and, ultimately, love. Hand this to anyone who wants to be swept away by lyrical writing, powerful characters, and an enchanting world.

Happy reading!
<3 Emily

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