Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi
Synopsis:
After Maddy’s parents divorce, she’s stuck starting over at a new high school. Friendless and nicknamed Freak Girl, Manga-loving artist Maddy finds refuge in the interactive online game Fields of Fantasy. In that virtual world, she reinvents herself as Allora, a gorgeous elfin alter ego, and meets a true friend in Sir Leo. Maddy can’t hide behind Allora forever, especially as a real-life crush begins edging in on her budding virtual romance. But would anyone pick the real Maddy, gamer girl and Manga freak, over the fantasy?
Review:
Gamer Girl is a young adult novel by Author Mari Mancusi with video game/virtual reality themes interwoven with the intricacies and drama of high school life.
Maddy has just moved in with her grandmother after her parents divorce. She misses her friends, her old school, her old life. Depressed and angry at the world, things are only made worse on her first day of school when her grandmother manages to embarrass her in front of the entire school – the popular kids in school, the “Haters” as she calls them, painting a target on her back.
Labeled as Freak Girl, Maddy attempts to escape her horrible new life by submerging herself into the online MMO Fields of Fantasy. Reminiscent of World of Warcraft, the game is the perfect place for Maddy to become something else – Allora, an elfin princess with magical powers. While playing online, she meets another player named SirLeo. She and SirLeo quickly become close, even closer than she could have ever expected. When the online crush starts to affect her real life, Maddy scrambles to keep things from falling apart around her.
As a male gamer, it was interesting to read a novel that details what it’s like from the other perspective. To see through this girl’s eyes was a fascinating experience for me. I greatly enjoyed the humor throughout the novel, and the various references to comic and manga books – of which I am a huge fan of.
The only downside of this novel is that I felt Maddy’s character was, at times, very selfish and shallow. When she thinks she’s figured out who SirLeo really is, she gets sad that he isn’t some handsome knight. It’s a little vain, in my opinion. Especially since it was based solely on how he looked rather than his personality. She constantly says how nice the boy is, but that she doesn’t feel the spark with him. It was a little maddening.
Other than that, the novel was written expertly, painting a terrific picture of Maddy’s life and all the hardships she faces. I’d recommend this to any fellow gamers looking for a good read about online gaming romance and how it can seep into real life.
Four out of Five stars!