Title: Warcross
Author: Marie Lu
Series: Warcross #1
Author: Marie Lu
Series: Warcross #1
Publication Date: October 4th, 2018
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd.
Genre: YA
Pages: 402
ISBN: 0241321441
Source: Publisher
Rating:
Synopsis (from Publisher):
From #1 New York Times
bestselling author Marie Lu - when a game called Warcross takes the world by
storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths. For the millions who
log in every day, Warcross isn't just a game - it's a way of life. Struggling
to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking
down players who bet on the game illegally. When Emika hacks into the game
illegally, she's convinced she'll be arrested, and is shocked when she gets a
call from the game's creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with
an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year's tournament
in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job.
In
this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an
immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest
gamble of all.
Amazon | Goodreads
Marie Lu is the #1 New York Times bestselling
author of the Legend trilogy and The Young Elites trilogy. She
graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video
game industry, working for Disney Interactive Studios as a Flash artist. Now a
full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing
Assassin’s Creed, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles,
California (see above: traffic), with one husband, one Chihuahua mix, and two
Pembroke Welsh corgis.
If you fancy being transported into a
fictional world within a fictional world, this book is for you. If you like a
main character who can really show others who’s boss just by being her smart
self, this book is for you. In fact, if you enjoy something as general as
amazing, super descriptive and creative writing, then this book is most
definitely for you.
Warcross
was written for you, my dear fellow book lover, as it was made for me.
It
follows Emika Chen - rainbow-colored-hair, all around super chick
– around a futuristically situated world where a virtual reality game, the
one-and-only famed “Warcross”, becomes more of a reality for some than real
life actually is. She’s a bounty hunter, a hacker, and most importantly a
teenager trying to make ends meet after her father dies with massive amounts of
debt leftover to pay.
Warcross,
to her, was a way of life. Without it she wouldn’t get paid and probably would
be rotting away on a street corner. That’s why when she accidentally glitches
herself into the next Warcross championship, life as she knows it… will never
be the same after Hideo Tanaka (aka Warcross creator, aka genius, aka most
times annoying, aka predictable love interest but overall a puppy who cooks and
takes care of his parents, also, he is a liar and that makes him real but so
infuriating) calls her as a wildcard in the next games. She is suddenly thrown
into a darker world, with the promise of the light at the end of the tunnel
being just beyond her reach (also 10 million dollars which made me go on a
mental rant because c'mon Hideo, why?! Just 'cause you're rich doesn't mean you
can bribe people with money, geez).
I
went into this book as blindly as you can get. Seriously, I didn’t even read
the description. At first, I thought this would be a slightly-twisted version
of Ready Player One because when it started mentioning glasses and virtual
stuff I was all like… !!!. Turns out I wasn’t close. The two books touch on
some similar technology but they cannot be compared in the slightest,
story-wise. This is a YA, pure YA.
The
thing I loved about this book was the immense detail Marie Lu used to describe
the world. I have no knowledge whatsoever in coding and programming, even less
with VR, but it made me want to understand Emika and the decisions she had to
make throughout the story. This book was like a pure shot of adrenaline, all
set in an alternate world where technology rules. Even though in reality, I’m
not a huge fan of unnecessary tech but that’s beside the point. There are also
lots of quotable quotes (??) in this book that I want to reuse.
The
ending though!! I have to say that my senses have been honed down to a sharp
point when it comes to guessing endings and plot twists (because I’ve read so
much, in so many genres) but man… this ending caught me off guard.
**SPOILER**
Half-completely
(hey I guessed Sasuke would make a comeback and he did, I just never imagined
him ACTUALLY BEING ZERO and wanting to murder his brother).
**END OF SPOILER**
I
don’t want to spoil anything else so I won’t say anything else
about it. Just, wow. That ending.
Also,
major cliffhanger so beware.
Anyways,
this is great for when you’re in the mood of something not quite like any other
books in YA but still want that teenager-y feel to the story. I found myself
falling in love with the idea of the game, not so much with the characters
(though Emika was pretty great, she just seemed to be conveniently placed
throughout). Also, be prepared to fangirl over the Phoenix Riders because
they’re absolutely amazing and the diversity is insane. I give this a whopping
5 stars.
Great
job you genius Marie Lu. Now give me the sequel, pretty please.
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