Q U I C K S T A T S
Characters-⭐⭐⭐⭐
Setting-⭐. 5
Writing-⭐⭐
Overall rating-⭐⭐⭐
// Content Warning: Addiction / Child abuse / Death (of parent) / Dementia / Grief / Kidnapping / Medical content / Rape //
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books
Age group: Young Adult
Genre(s): Science fiction
Pub date: September 12th 2017
P R E M I S E
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.
M Y R E V I E W
In a world run by a game Warcross, which was created by a thirteen-year-old, this book follows Emika, a rainbow coloured broke eighteen-year-old bounty hunter slash hacker who was about to get booted out of her tiny apartment room but was saved by a job opportunity thrown at her by Hideo, the now twenty-one-year-old creator of Warcross. But unlubky for her, the reason she was discovered was because she saw a fireball during a tournament and went 'gimmeh' and instead ended up glitching into the tournament, and is now a wildcard entry.
Her job: Find the notorious hacker Zero.
The good: She gets a load of cash and a good home.
The bad: She suspects one of her team mates to be Zero, or at least associated with them.
Emika was amazing. Hideo was amazing. Together, AMAZING (x2). I love the socially awkward and sunshine pairing, but as much as Hideo was socially awkward, he sure as hell was cocky when they established the mind link. Hideo, what's going on in your head, I want to know.
I love the found family trope and this book had it so that's a plus point. The team mates were awfully sweet and watching them grow closer made my heart burst. And I also want a best friend like the H-girl (I forgot her name sadly) because I need her to teach me her ways; I want to be an assassin if you can't tell (I swear I'm not insane, I just have an obsession with daggers and ripping out men's hearts).
The world building was quite confusing (no, very confusing) and I have so many questions:
Is Warcross a virtual reality thing or has it seeped into the real world too?
Can the audience see how you really look like?
Is the team room a part of the virtual reality jazz?
HOW DO THE PHONES WORK?
DOES HIDEO FALL IN LOVE WITH EMIKA'S AVATAR OR EMIKA? 😭😭
T R O P E S
Working together to lovers
Found family
R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
East Asian main character
Gay side characters
S I M I L A R B O O K S
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (let's just pretend the second book doesn't exist because, honestly, what the fuck was that?).
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