The next website I’m brought to is part of the-trying-to-find-Mr-WTF from the video. DogParksLA.com is a feat of true marketing in that it is actually functional, with a bunch of listings for dog parks – using Google Maps listings, but still, so actually useful if one were an LA resident with a dog!
And as the parks get explored, we find that Mr. WTF could basically be orchestrating this whole novel, because next thing you know, Mags has discovered her first clue from him. Another website, about seaside villas. I shit you not. There’s even an application, look:
That’s not all. There are blueprints of the apartments. A flyer for a gym (I have a feeling this will play into something later on. Maybe quite soon even). A grievance committee document with notes. I wonder if one of these two dudes listed there as residents – Jeff S. (#268), Eryk C. (#160) – is Mr. WTF. One of them has a dog that there is a complaint lodged against. But that man didn’t attend the meeting – he is a resident of #316. Could I have figured it out already?!
And, of course, there’s a contact form. Which I used. And will keep using at every chance I get.
Oh no! Page 50 has a mistake – a text is on the wrong side of the screen!
While lots of books try to be “contemporary,” there is still a certain awkwardness in the way most of them manage to integrate technology. Either people are constantly “thumbing” their phones, or they ignore them completely or they’re living in a romantic past where cell phones weren’t a thing (Landline, anybody?). What this book does so superbly is that it integrates tech in a way that makes sense and is realistic for the characters, precisely because it’s so interactive. Get to page 57, you’ll see what I mean (hint: it has to do with using your phone camera as a shortcut).
Page 65, typo 😦 “steak” instead of “stake”. But then again, it’s Shari, the ex-bf-bonking roommate, so maybe it’s on purpose?
Contacted my next website, the Madelyn Evans Gallery. Or MEG. My cat’s name is Meg!
I’m a little in love with Mr. WTF for turning himself into a Cinderella (next mission is find his other boot!) plus, I can’t help but wonder who the person behind the camera who’s shooting his videos is. Could he be the true Prince Charming?
Even better, Mags has (predictably) a super artsy Instagram. Check it out. http://instagram.com/magsmarclay It’s sort of creepy, but awesome, how she’s searching for someone who may or may not be for real, while we the readers are reading someone who might as well be for real but actually isn’t. A character brought to life by the power of the internet, where we believe people are who they say there are in this age of verification.
I wonder if Vrommans’ actually sells Mags’ zine, DIY Collage. Anyone in LA feel like finding out and reporting back?!
Slightly Ignorant 