Warcross

Rating: 4.5/5Genre: YA Sci-Fi/DystopianRecommended Age: 13+ (slightly mature scenes, trigger warnings for one bombing scene that might be upsetting to someone)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. 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 Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. 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.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.comDo you play Warcross? It’s all the new rage! You plug yourself into the NueroLink and you’re then totally immersed into a virtual world. Play the game enough times and you can become good enough to compete in the international championships! Or just glitch into the game like Emika does. Our rainbow haired hero had my attention and love from page 1. Determined, brave, and courageous, while those aren’t different from any other characteristics from any other YA novel Emika is just wrote differently and can definitely stand on her own in the YA field. Beyond my gushing over Emika, I thought the rest of the characters were not only so well developed, but also diverse and complex. Even the secondary characters were amazingly described. Every character was so vivid I could easily picture them in my mind. The plot was also extremely well done. I didn’t expect the twists I saw coming and now I’m left with more questions than answers! I also thought the pacing was very well done and the writing was as well. For this being my first Marie Lu book I didn’t realize what an amazing author she was until this novel. Now I totally see why people pine over her books! Her writing was so well done! I could gush about it for days!However much I loved this book, I had a few issues with this book. While I loved how Marie Lu included a very diverse cast of characters, I had some questions with one of the characters. One of the characters is wheelchair-bound and I never really got answers as to how this effects his avatar in the game. Does his avatar walk around or is the wheelchair still apart of the avatar? I also felt that the background could have been described better. I feel bad that I was comparing this book until it was nearly complete to Ready Player One. They’re on two different levels. However, since I did compare the two quite frequently, I felt that Ready Player One excelled in scene setting while Warcross didn’t. The setting was still good in my opinion, but I feel like there could have been more. I did like that Marie Lu did incorporate real world internet “sites” (if you know what I mean) and I loved the description of that world. I just wish I could have seen that throughout the novel.Verdict: Overall, an amazingly well done book that’s for gamers and n00bs alike! I felt inspired by Emika and I’m completely upset that I have to wait for the next installment of this book to come out. I feel that the technology incorporated wasn’t completely beyond realistic means of what could be one day and I loved all the internet and gaming references that Marie Lu hid throughout the book. I felt like a child collecting Easter eggs on Easter Sunday! Seriously an amazing read that any lover of games or YA sci-fi would absolutely fall in love with.

Marie Lu is an extremely accomplished author who has delved into multiple genres within her body of work. She's written a dystopia, dark fantasy, and now within science fiction. There's pretty much nothing Marie Lu can't pen with ease and a beautiful finesse. Warcross is a futuristic sci-fi thriller that debuts Emika Chen, a poverty-stricken bounty hunter and hacker who is just trying to survive and pay off her debt. It's not until she accidentally glitches into the popular virtual game Warcross during it's opening game., before she reaches her first major big break. She finds herself hired by the infamous brilliant creator of the game, Hideo Tanaka, who wants her to uncover a serious security breach within his game.Emika uncovers a dangerous plot that's being orchestrated by a mysterious man named Zero, who plans to make his final move at the Championship game. Over the course of her spying, Emika learns that one of her team mates on the Phoenix Riders is in league with Zero. As she begins to get closer to uncovering Zero's dangerous plot, things begin to heat up.Warcross is a virtual game that allows for players to escape reality and creates a virtual world that feels real to them. However, escapism isn't it's only use as Emika Chen knows well. The game has generated a criminal monopoly of sorts, causing illegal betting and an assassination hit list in a dark shady underworld beneath the original Warcross game. Emika is a lone-wolf kind of gal, but we see her grow into the relationships she makes as she makes friends with her teammates, even finding an intense romance with infamous billionaire creator, Hideo.The world itself is visually pleasing as it's filled with beautiful descriptions of the arenas each match takes place in. Lu is a master at knowing her audience and infuses her beautiful descriptions with a fast-paced plot that is always evolving. It's full of blood thirsty action, and adrenaline pumping competition. Many believe Warcross to be a cross between Hunger Games and the likes of Quidditch and Minecraft. A game like Warcross which encompasses the entire world is bound to lead Emika Chen at the mercy of the dark underbelly of the hacker world. Dark truths are reveal about the world of Warcross and those closes to her. One particular plot twist involving a character was so heart-wrenching, I'm still not quite over it. It will be interesting to see what Marie Lu plans to do with this series going forward, as the ending has left you knowing nothing will be the same ever again.Marie Lu is one of many recent authors who have strived to write compellingly diverse stories. Emika Chen is Chinese-American, her love interest Hideo is Japanese, the Captain of her Warcross team is wheel-chair bound, and characters Roshan and Tremaine are gay. Lu's creation of Warcross and it's world-wide appeal within the story has allowed for her to include people of all nationalities and races. I found that intersectionality is a major element within Lu's story and it was very refreshing to read. It was very much representative of what today's world looks like and that's important for our youth.Marie Lu has created a richly imagined virtual world that you won't ever want to leave. It's filled with passion and compassion, provides glimpses into what unresolved grief for a dead loved one can do to one's mind, and she infuses this story with enough complexity that makes it a must for all to read. Emika is an underdog that is resourceful and cunning, and her flaws just make her even more endearing. Warcross as a game is the perfect allegory for the emotional pull every gamer experiences when they are committed to the life of gaming. When a game is transplanted and takes over reality, you come to find that real life issues don't disappear, no matter how hard you try to escape. And with the grand-scale Warcross' platform has evolved into, you begin to see issues of hacking, murder, violence, gambling, and corruption become magnified 100 times over. Marie Lu has admitted Warcross is a love-letter paying homage to all of her favorite things. This book is a beautiful, richly colored, intense experience that I recommend all readers to embark on. Be sure to pick up Warcross as soon as you can, you won't regret it.

I was so apprehensive about reading this - I read The Young Elites by Marie Lu a few years ago and didn't think it was that great - but this was SOOO good. I expected it to be really similar to Ready Player One, which I loved, but other than being about video games, they are completely different. This is one of the best YA books I've read all year.Teenage bounty hunter, Emika Chen, spends her life working as a bounty hunter on Warcross, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. Needing to make some money quickly, Emika takes a risk and accidentally hacks herself into the worldwide Warcross championship game, and her whole world is turned upside down. She is surprised when the games creator, billionaire Hideo Tanaka contacts her and offers her a job to uncover a major security problem, and she is quickly whisked off to Japan into a world of fame that she could never have imagined. Very soon, however, her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major worldwide consequences.The setting of this book really pulled me in, particularly after Emika reaches Tokyo. The descriptions were brilliant and I could easily imagine Emika walking around the city. Warcross itself was really interesting - it seemed so well thought out and the fact that people could be connected 24/7 and that it could be used over their view of the real world really helped to show just how much of a phenomenon it was. People used it for EVERYTHING they did; it was more than just a game.Emika was a great main character. She was strong and determined to succeed in the task that Hideo sent her. As soon as she and Hideo met, however, I just knew where their story was going to go - they were going to fall in love and something was going to keep them apart. Although I couldn't really be bothered with this part of the plot, it really helped put the events at the end into perspective. I won't say any more, other than I was soooo shocked. Both of their backstories were really interesting. Zero, the main villain was really mysterious, but the fact he didn't really pop up in the real world made him seem a lot less threatening and less real. I did have an inkling early on as to who he would be - and for once I turned out to be right, and it still blew my mind.I'm really looking forward to reading further books in the series. It ended so well and with such a cliffhanger that I can't wait for the next one.4/5 stars.

I have actually come back after finishing this book to lower my review. This is based on the fact that this entire book is entirely predictable and uninspiring.Firstly I should mention that the book is clearly written for younger teens - the writing is basic and a little poor.Next, the plot itself. It is a shame because the idea was clearly very well thought-out, the premise to the book is original and exciting. However the author tries to excite the book through throwing in some awkward romance which doesn't really fit or work, and is cringy at times. There is little to no character development, and the plot is highly predictable. At times I actually almost wanted to stop reading as it reminded me so much of a secondary school project.Great idea, but better execution needed.

I had read, and much enjoyed, the Legend series previously, but hadn’t had much time to read of late. However, this title appeared on my daughter’s ‘year 7 summer reading’ list from school - in reference to STEM introduction. I enthusiastically bought us a copy, so I could read it alongside her. She initially rolled her eyes and expected something pretty boring I think! We both thoroughly enjoyed it and discussed excitedly what each new chapter brought. Doubly overjoyed to see we could dive right into book 2 in the series! It’s been so lovely to be able to share this with her!

I read Warcross expecting a roller coaster ride of a YA story with lots of cool tech, games and characters. Warcross delivers… Just. An enjoyable story that is driven by strong characters, Emika is a great protagonist who is very well fleshed out with a relatable backstory that realistically drives her through the story. Hideo is a good love interest and is really well introduced and developed. Hideo is a little predictable, but nicely done. Other characters have only just enough backstory and would have benefited from a little more interaction with Emika. As it is, side characters’ participation in the story is a little thin.The tech and game descriptions are very well done and allow the story to move on at a fast pace without drowning the reader in unnecessary details. I am looking forward to more game action in the sequel.Altogether, this is a really enjoyable story that moves along nicely, is really well written, and some great editing. I will definitely read the next in series. So why did I give it only four stars? Honestly, there is something missing from this story. It is a lovely read that I highly recommend, but I honestly think it is missing something important. Reading this story makes me feel that the writer has carefully plotted every cliché to be expected in a YA novel, and they are all perfectly delivered to maximise reader enjoyment. To my mind, this story delivers everything a YA novel should have, and yet…I am not sure where I am going with this, but this story touches briefly upon many dark areas of virtual reality gaming and life and this could have been explored more in this story. Instead, several times the story introduced a dark area and then runs away from properly confronting it. For me, this is a really good book that I enjoyed, but it could have been a great book if it had explored more of the darker side of VR.Read it and enjoy.

Every YA author at some point in their career probably says to themselves "I know! I'll do a virtual-world-gaming novel. It'll be really exciting!"Many then, for reasons best known to themselves, go on to actually do so.This example has all the requisite features; code (which always comes in 'sections') hovering it the air, encryption which can be cracked by just 'trying a bit harder', floating objects representing abstract concepts (encryption keys, etc.).It's not original, not convincing, and not exciting.