I really wanted to like this story but the main character “Girlie” is just miserable. Her family is from the Philippines and there are many cultural references. Girlie goes through life as if everything she does and everyone she meets is against her. She is always defensive and very judgmental of other people as well. Her job as a moderator for a social media company just adds to her misery. One day her company joins another and she is given a promotion to do live moderation and she becomes interested in her new boss.
I want to thank Netgalley and Penguin Group Viking Penguin for the digital ARC.

Blazing, terrifying, full of sharp wit. I’ve never read anything like this one before. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

I was taken aback by the first chapter but quickly recovered and was drawn into the story. I found Girlie unlikable at times yet I also found myself chuckling along with with her wry observations more than once.

One of my favorite reads this year! Castillo deftly crafts an immediately engrossing, laugh-out-loud funny, eminently-annotatable Rolex (as protagonist Girlie Delmundo likes) of a novel offering a critique of, among other things,

- corporate greed
- AI
- the effects of technology/video games/VR on human relationships and connection (negative and positive, including the potential to use VR therapeutically)
- the shadow of colonialism/imperialism/capitalism/consumerism
- and family dynamics as the child of immigrants

within the framework of a Regency-style romance.

As a Filipina-American, it was so gratifying to see myself and experiences represented — the passages about Girlie’s attempts to find a fitting fake surname for work (I chuckled at the Tagalog words even before the English translation), the food and parties, the complicated family dynamics and regret borne of parents who may not have known better, not wanting to carry the pressure and trauma of who came before, etc. — but as an avid reader, the story, world-building, humor, wit, and style kept me wanting to come back for more, just like the Playground users in the novel, and not wanting it to end. The climactic scene at the virtual St. Louis World’s Fair was such a satisfying payoff, although I was surprised someone as erudite as Girlie didn’t immediately guess the setting. It was also extremely refreshing for Girlie to be queer AND staunchly childfree.

The only turn-offs were a passage comparing Girlie’s love of deadlifts to the simplicity of the Eucharist (?!), William saying he’d rather burst into flames than attend Mass, and the extreme materialism of Girlie (her proclivity for luxury watches, which is revealed to be a connection to her deceased father who committed su1cide just before she graduated college) and female relatives (gushing over which Birkin they wanted next), although I’ve seen this acquisitive mindset manifested in Pinoy family friends.

I look forward to reading Ms. Castillo’s prior work soon!

This book caught me off guard with how much I loved it. A lot about it feels like it could get tropey: content moderation, silicon valley dystopian greed, trauma plots, contemporary romance between impossibly attractive peopel, etc... But it's not. First, Girlie (alias, of course), is a complete BDE, IDGAF badass - the fact that its both authentic and maladapted from childhood trauma aside - and I could not get enough of her character: her relationships, her family, her arms-lengthing of people, her (predictable but still cool) knowledge of niche status symbols (vintage watches), all of it. Is her love interest, William, fully fleshed out before the penultimate chapter? Not really, but doesn't really matter. The romantic slow-burn was great - at times, it was barely there, so it was nice to read characters that weren't fully consumed by their obvious chemistry. The distance they give each other makes sense with the internalities they're each dealing with (or not dealing with). The whole thing feels understated in the end - sort of like luxury belongings - but in a way that made me pay more attention. I don't often re-read, but I might. And I usually read galleys with the neuroticism of a person with a long tbr pile, but I didn't; apparently this was the right book at the right time for me. Big recommend.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

I picked up Elaine Castillo’s Moderation because I was deeply intrigued by the topic of social media content moderation, specifically the work humans do on the back-end for large tech companies and the trauma that can come with it. The beginning of this book didn’t grip me like I was hoping, but once Girlie receives her promotion by her parent company, Playground, as a VR moderator, it became hard to put down. Castillo’s writing is witty, introspective and relatable in a way I wasn’t expecting.

The author uses the framework of a romance novel to critique the ways that capitalism and technology exploit individuals, especially immigrants, and society as a whole. There are (surprisingly?) several hilarious scenes interspersed with these heavy themes, and the net result is a well written, incisive novel that offers something for all readers. Recommended for all libraries.

This book is absolutely bonkers in the best possible way! Castillo has created something genuinely unique—a razor-sharp tech satire that seamlessly morphs into a swoony romance without losing its edge. Girlie Delmundo might be the most compelling protagonist I've encountered all year: a content moderator so good at her job that she's getting promoted to VR moderation just as the world's falling apart.
The premise sounds dystopian, but Castillo makes it feel plausible and immediate. Girlie's isolation from family and friends for her VR work creates genuine pathos, while the corporate perks that solve her financial problems feel both seductive and sinister. The Severance comparison is perfect—both capture how work consumes identity in late-stage capitalism.
Then William Cheung appears, and somehow this tech nightmare becomes an actual love story. Their relationship develops with surprising tenderness amid all the corporate absurdity. Castillo never lets the romance overshadow her cultural critique, but she also never lets the satire undermine the genuine emotion.
The writing crackles with intelligence and dark humor. Castillo understands both the seductive promise of tech solutions and their inevitable human costs. The ending feels both hopeful and realistic about what we can and can't control.
Absolutely essential—a novel that captures our current moment while being wildly entertaining. Pure genius.

I couldn't get past the description of the video the protagonist had to watch, which was somewhere in the first few pages. Oh well!

A very unusual read that walks a line between dystopian fiction, a workplace drama, and a romance. There's a lot going on, but I thought it all mostly worked, especially because the main character is so well drawn and engaging. She has a great voice, and the chemistry between the love interests felt real.

The title itself is "Moderation" and the protagonist is a content moderator. Be warned that unsavory content (the things that would get removed/deleted/blocked on social media) is mentioned, but is not the focus, of the story, especially the beginning of the book. If you can get past that, Moderation is another great novel from Elaine Castillo. She took us back in time for a bit in America is Not the Heart; Moderation is set in an alternate contemporary setting with mentions of Apple watches, Teslas, and virtual reality products for consumers. I know what the blurb says, but I was honestly more interested in what made Girlie a top notch content moderator. What makes her tick? While I was wary of William and Girlie's other bosses/colleagues, I did enjoy how the remaining characters were fleshed out as the story progressed. It's a very human story, even though it's wrapped in shiny virtual wrapper. As someone who works in a Silicon Valley-adjacent industry/setting, I appreciate how Castillo touched upon the caste-discrimination issues in tech, Girlie's knack for luxury timepieces, and the corporate life cycles as fueled by mergers and acquisitions. I ended up finishing the book late into the night without meaning to, which is a rare thing at my age.

Moderation made me feel a subtle unease about the digital future. Elaine Castillo seems to have captured the core contradiction of our time: we are globally connected but isolated, we censor the virtual world but cannot control our real feelings. Girlie is a symbol of the modern generation of young people - talented, ambitious but also scarred by economic crisis and climate change. Her love for William in virtual reality makes me ponder whether genuine emotions can still exist in a world increasingly mediated by technology.

He was also desperate to skip ahead, get there faster, wanted to be early for the future that had never once been promised; not even imagined. "Nice to meet you," she agreed, reaching for him, meeting him there
Oh my GOD! Elaine Castillo is a damn genius! How she is able to weave a budding relationship within a story about AI and corporate greed is BEYOND ME. Her prose is just beautiful, and so is her character development. She allows her main character, Girlie, to draw clear lines in the sand as definition but still grants her some give, so as to keep adding to that definition.
Her world building is so damn SMART! The new world AI of it all works hand in hand with Las Vegas, both being physical testaments to profitable entertainment. I am still in awe of how well Castillo was able to give detail to such a vast topic as Virtual Reality, while also saving room for the small glances and the 'reading between the lines' good romance is known for.
This book is beautifully complex within 300 pages. And I want so so much more of it. Thx to NetGalley for my early copy!!

This book is a whirlwind of witty banter, hidden secrets, and deep emotional exploration as Girlie tries to balance her skyrocketing career with a love that feels both impossible and necessary. Castillo nails the tension between the digital and real worlds, exploring how the future of love might look, but never lets you forget that some things, like human connection, can’t be controlled. It’s messy, it’s intense, and it made me want more!