BOOK REVIEW: WARCROSS BY MARIE LU

Title: Warcross

Author: Marie Lu

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Published on: September 12, 2017 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead 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. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

I’m aware of the hype that Warcross has gained. Readers seem to love the book (and its protagonist), so I wanted to see what was to like. Warcross is a sci-fi novel set in New York and Tokyo. Its world is a little more technologically advanced than ours. The main character is Emika Chen, an eighteen-year-old Asian-American hacker and bounty hunter. She’s living in Manhattan, New York when the book starts. Emika’s parents died some years ago, so she shares a cheap apartment with a roommate.

In the novel, Warcross is an uber-popular virtual reality videogame. It’s like a cross between Fortnite and Capture the Flag, with two small opposing teams. Warcross is so beloved that it has an annual Olympics-esque championship. It’s obviously lucrative, so many people engage in illegal Warcross gambling. Emika makes a living by tracking down such gamblers. Apparently, there’s so much crime that the police pay bounty hunters to catch low-level crooks for them.

BOOK REVIEW: ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES BY JENNIFER NIVEN

Title: All the Bright Places

Author: Jennifer Niven

Genre: Romance, Young Adult

Published on: January 6, 2015 by Knopf

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

 

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

 

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

 

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

I first heard about this book because of its 2020 film adaptation. It sounded interesting, so I bought the book to read first. All the Bright Places is a YA romance set in a small Indiana town. The protagonists are Theodore Finch and Violet Markey. They’re two high schoolers who meet one fateful day. Finch and Violet run into each other at the top of their school’s bell tower. The story is told from their alternating first-person points of view.

Just what were these two doing up there? From the start, we learn that Finch has a strange fascination with death. He went up to the tower to see what it’d be like to kill himself from a fall. The guy's not depressed or hopeless, just curious. One's got to admit someone who has thoughts like these must have some issues. Finch decides not to jump off. He then turns and spots Violet on the other side of the tower. She's not someone Finch expected to ever find there. It looks like Violet really will jump off. Finch manages to talk her down. By this point, several students have realized what’s going on.

BOOK REVIEW: THE SILKWORM BY ROBERT GALBRAITH

Title: The Silkworm
Author: Robert Galbraith
Genre: Mystery

Published on: June 24, 2014 by Mulholland Books

Private investigator Cormoran Strike returns in a new mystery from Robert Galbraith, author of the #1 international bestseller The Cuckoo's Calling.

When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days—as he has done before—and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives—meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.

When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...

Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike mystery series continues in this second installment. The eponymous private investigator returns along with his sharp-witted assistant, Robin Ellacott. These books take place in modern-day London, England. Strike’s business is booming after solving a high-profile case in The Cuckoo’s Calling. He was almost broke, so the increase in clients is a big help.

Strike’s next huge case begins when a woman shows up at his office. She’s Leonora Quine, the wife of an eccentric novelist, Owen Quine. According to her, he’s been missing for ten days. Leonora mentions that Quine likes going missing every now and then. This time it’s been too long, so Leonora wants Strike to find out if something happened to Quine. Strike is at first reluctant to take the case. It’s not just trivial; Leonora expects Quine’s agent to pay Strike’s fee.

BOOK REVIEW: CHAMELEON BY CIDNEY SWANSON

Title: Chameleon
Author: Cidney Swanson
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published on: September 6, 2011 by Williams Press

Sixteen-year-old Samantha Ruiz has a lot on her mind. The crush who kissed her but changed his mind. The BFF who thinks Sam is in an abusive relationship. The geneticist who wanted Sam dead but now wants her ALIVE. And of course, Sam’s still dealing with a tendency to disappear into thin air.

When Sam learns of her nemesis Helmann’s Nazi-like plan to establish a Thousand-Year Reign, she’s determined to fight him. Along with Will and Mickie, Sam flees to France to meet Sir Walter—their best hope for stopping Helmann’s brave new world.

But Sam isn’t any safer in France. Someone is following her. Someone invisible. Sam will have to figure out how to hide from an enemy she can’t even see.

This is the second entry in the Rippler trilogy. The main character is Samantha Ruiz, a teenager with a special power. Sam is a rippler, someone who can turn invisible. This series's version of invisibility is rather different, though. Ripplers don't just vanish from view; they become totally incorporeal. This means they can walk through solid objects, among other things. The second protagonist is Will, another young rippler. He takes Sam under his wing after discovering she's like him.

Despite having powers, ripplers are compelled to stay secret. Mickie, Will's sister, explained the situation to Sam already. There's a man known as Dr. Helmann who's targeting ripplers. He wants to control them all, otherwise they have to die. Mickie and Will have stayed hidden for years. It was a bit of a fluke that Will found Samantha. Unlike him, she cannot control her power. Samantha ripples when she gets into a state of calmness, usually when she's near bodies of water. Samantha's learned a bit about rippling from Will now. She still can't vanish at will, though.