Oh my gosh this story was so good.
I get really annoyed when I hear people harping on the everyday "wisdom" that social media is ruining social interactions. I can see where that basis comes from, I have seen some uses of social media that make only the most fleeting of connections, but to make that as a blanket statement is to ignore so much of the wonderful potential of technology to connect us, and no more so than for the disabled who may have difficulty with mobility and communication in person but with the help of technology they can interact on a much deeper level and with other people they relate closely too than has ever been possible before.
I love that this story focuses on the positive aspect for this group of people, and this person in particular fledgling to this new group. It does really well at showing the anxiety that any of us, but especially teenagers who are often still trying to figure out how they can fit in with their peers, feels when trying to interact with a new community. I love that it hashes out some of the customs and norms of the group without infodumping and while conveying the core of the story it needs to tell.
I love how it handles the relationship with her mother. Like albionmoonlight said, there is conflict there because the mother is not the mother she needs at that moment but she is not a bad person, she is trying to be the best mother she knows how to be and maybe that doesn't match up with the daughter's needs right now, and the daughter understands her mother is trying to help even as she's frustrated with it. In the end, when it's really important, there is no hesitation to believe her daughter and to take the action that her daughter asks her to take to hopefully save her friends life. I hope that moment will act as a bridging point for building a relationship they can both be more comfortable with, and it gives me warm fuzzies that despite their frustrations in the moment of crisis they worked together and helped.
Wonderful reading by Christiana Ellis. Especially, IMO, when she is dithering over other people's reaction to her. I really believed that uncertainty and anxiety and it came across well. And also especially during the revelation of her friend in danger and when she understood what was happening and was able to glyph "understand" and then her friends followed suit and this newbie to the group was able to transform a big confusing mess of misunderstanding into the help that her friend needed.
I haven't read a lot of Kate's work, but what I have read I looove and this is probably my favorite of hers that I've read so far.