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alivaster's review against another edition
4.0
What else can I say about this book besides I LOVED it. I finished it in less than three hours while on a plane flight. Would highly recommend. I was greatly amused as a fellow female gamer too. It was a world I could relate to, though I'm less hardcore. =)
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
3.0
If you are a gamer, this book is for you. If not, it's a lot of sports anime and sci-fi and gaming culture. I learned some new terms (dox? feint?). I liked the story of how toxic gaming can be for girls/women and people of color. The protagonist is a Chinese American girl and she hides her identity so that she won’t get harassed.
andreatypesbraille's review against another edition
2.0
2.75 stars
This was disappointing.
It felt like there were too many plot lines.
A basic setting intro to when the story is happening would have been great at the beginning of the book, not at the very end in the last chapter.
I’m still not sure how the reader is meant to feel that Reyna, the main character, made the correct choice when there was an easy workaround solution to both problems.
Seeing as this meant to take place in the future (sometime after 2065) I would think racism, sexism, cheating, and the threat of doxing would all be easily reportable offenses in the online gaming community. So how these 4 offenses would become major obstacles didn’t make sense to me.
Ona personal note, it felt like the story of Reyna’s mother being sick was both overdramatized and not given enough weight. Are we really supposed to believe that a 12 year old is going to be able to play semi-professionally in a battle royale of the top junior players at the same time her mom is heading into surgery? It didn’t make sense.
This almost received a full 3 stars from me, as I felt the imagery of beautifully described. I liked how the action sequences were mapped out. The in-game dialogue was interesting to read. However due to the issues described above, as well as how long the story took to finally resolve. The climax occurred around 2/3s of the way through the book, and was followed by a final third of the book being full of the same “girls can play just as well as boys, and girls of color deserve the spotlight especially too!” A valid discussion, but it was rehashed so many times over throughout the entire plot that at this point it was beyond tedious.
I transcribed this for a 6th grade ELA class. I hope there will soon be better stories of POC girl gamers for this age range.
This was disappointing.
It felt like there were too many plot lines.
A basic setting intro to when the story is happening would have been great at the beginning of the book, not at the very end in the last chapter.
I’m still not sure how the reader is meant to feel that Reyna, the main character, made the correct choice when there was an easy workaround solution to both problems.
Seeing as this meant to take place in the future (sometime after 2065) I would think racism, sexism, cheating, and the threat of doxing would all be easily reportable offenses in the online gaming community. So how these 4 offenses would become major obstacles didn’t make sense to me.
Ona personal note, it felt like the story of Reyna’s mother being sick was both overdramatized and not given enough weight. Are we really supposed to believe that a 12 year old is going to be able to play semi-professionally in a battle royale of the top junior players at the same time her mom is heading into surgery? It didn’t make sense.
This almost received a full 3 stars from me, as I felt the imagery of beautifully described. I liked how the action sequences were mapped out. The in-game dialogue was interesting to read. However due to the issues described above, as well as how long the story took to finally resolve. The climax occurred around 2/3s of the way through the book, and was followed by a final third of the book being full of the same “girls can play just as well as boys, and girls of color deserve the spotlight especially too!” A valid discussion, but it was rehashed so many times over throughout the entire plot that at this point it was beyond tedious.
I transcribed this for a 6th grade ELA class. I hope there will soon be better stories of POC girl gamers for this age range.
robinlikesreading's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a cute short middle grade read about a 12 year old gamer girl (Reyna) who participates in the biggest tournament of her life so far.
I really liked this one. I liked how it was set in the future. Gaming has been developed a lot so it wasn't just gaming with a controller but with a VR headset and actually feeling like you're in the game (similar to Sword Art Online I imagine).
I loved Reyna. She was a badass and she tried to prove a point. There's a lot of sexism in this book. People believe girls can't game which is why Reyna makes her game avatar look like a guy and she hides her identity in the game.
A really fun book if you love gaming.
I really liked this one. I liked how it was set in the future. Gaming has been developed a lot so it wasn't just gaming with a controller but with a VR headset and actually feeling like you're in the game (similar to Sword Art Online I imagine).
I loved Reyna. She was a badass and she tried to prove a point. There's a lot of sexism in this book. People believe girls can't game which is why Reyna makes her game avatar look like a guy and she hides her identity in the game.
A really fun book if you love gaming.
justinekorson's review
5.0
Little me, who loved Yu-Gi-Oh!, would’ve LOVED this book. The Dayworld game sounds so cool and Reyna was an awesome character. She was shy and sweet but also could kick some serious butt in the game!! I love Katie’s YA books and when I heard about this one I had to buy it. She did not disappoint!!
thebooklovingduck's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
writehollydavis's review against another edition
4.0
Sports anime and gaming collide in the best way! I enjoyed Reyna's arc and her badassery for a 12 year old. Was a great message for young kids about overcoming sexism and just the realities that women and especially WOC will have to work harder in life for the same things as cis white men.
timberwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75