Retro, wily YA lit that jumps between genres and expectations with glee

Retro, by Sofia Lapuente and New York Times-bestselling author Jarrod Shusterman is an unlikely candidate for the cat video and potato chip challenge. That’s our internal and highly unscientific procedure for reviewing things. Essentially, if you’re able to partake in said thing and are able to read, or do it only one time, then it would fail the potato chip challenge. This is a case where Retro passes the challenge that’s normally reserved for illustrated books and collections of comic strips, in addition to potato chips and cat videos. Just try to watch only one cat video, and you’ll fail quickly, much like trying to read only one chapter from Retro.

The reason that’s ironic is that mglit or YA chapters are normally organized in a traditional format. Each chapter is around 15 pages long and adds to the overall narrative. For the record, I do like that format, but it’s worth stating that some of the middle school children who I teach crave books that engage them in different factions.

The first disruptor in Retro that mglit/YAreaders will see is that it starts out in the future with one of the main characters being held prisoner. She’s being held captive, thankfully they allowed her to keep her Walkman, which allows her to play music. How she’s able to have the vast number of cassettes to allow the myriad of songs is something that’s not answered, but the playlist of songs is available on Spotify.

As each chapter starts it’s given a popular song listed with the artist who performed it. The songs will loosely align with the arc of the chapter, but not so much that Girls Just Want To Have Fun is solely about girls at a party.

Retro is mglit that takes place in the modern world, so why is it called Retro? It centers on a group of high school kids who have all the accouterments that today’s youth have. This includes all of the issues and drama that come with them, such as popularity, ‘likes’, bullying, and such. Luna is our main heroine and she’s not immune to any of those things. She comes from more of a working-class life but has a couple of friends in each Breakfast Club group.

After a viral event goes sideways due to someone sharing something that they shouldn’t have, the entire school is on edge. The social media platform on which it is shared steps up the plate to propose something bold, for those who want to do it. Limbo is the company and they’re the biggest social platform at the school. They announce that they’re going to have a contest where the winners will receive free college tuition to any school that they want.

The only catch is that the participants have to surrender their cell phones for the senior year of high school. Anyone who wants to do this will be closely monitored and kicked out of the competition immediately if they engage in something like checking email or social media. They also compete in a series of challenges throughout the year that’ll challenge them, but also reward them in some cases.

It’s all fun and games until people who are competing in the challenge start disappearing. Their bodies don’t wash up on the shore or anything, they just disappear. Factor in an almost even mix of boys to girls, and throw in a little teenage drama, social media stressors, thriller elements and mystery. The result is an mglit/YA book that’ll hook in readers who otherwise might not approach something that resembles leisure reading.

Books that are good for reluctant readers are always going to mesh with those who enjoy reading, but Retro manages to hit both targets. It’s got enough thriller elements for the YA romance folks and enough real-life for the YA action crowd. Retro might not demo up as high as other books because of its shorter, almost scattered chapters, but those YA fans will know their people when they see it.

Retro is by Sofia Lapuente and New York Times-Bestselling author Jarrod Shustermann and is available on

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