Author Spotlight: Warcross by Marie Lu - 5 stars!

I write young adult novels, and have a special love for dystopian books. Ironically, I was born in 1984. Before becoming a full-time writer, I was an Art Director at a video game company. Now I shuffle around at home and talk to myself a lot. :)

I graduated from the University of Southern California in '06 and currently live in LA, where I spend my time stuck on the freeways.

Title: Warcross

Genre: YA Sci Fi

Author: Marie Lu

Publisher: Putnam

Publication: September 12th 2017

Cover Rating: 5/5

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Warcross by Marie Lu is a fantastic Sci-Fi story about Emika Chen and her struggles with life in a futuristic world not too far off of where we currently are. She is a self taught hacker and she makes money to pay the bills by being a bounty hunter, catching criminals that usually commit crimes in Warcross. What is Warcross? It is a virtual world where you can fight other people while attempting to steal the other teams Artifact. The game is played through a pair of glasses and almost the entire world is in on the craze.

Warcross is having their yearly tournament and somehow, while Emika is watching it, she glitches the game and everyone can see her. She is afraid that she will be going to jail now but the exact opposite is what really happens. Her idol, Hideo Tanaka, the very young inventor of the Warcross teachnology, has a job offer for her. A very interesting job offer, with high stakes and high pay. Which is perfect considering she was struggling to pay her bills. From there we are taken on a really fun journey through the Warcross tournament and possibly straight into Hideo Takana's arms.

If you are a gamer or just like reading books about gamer stuff then this is totally for you. No, it is NOT Ready Player One and I AM GLAD! I am so tired of people comparing every game-related book to that one. This book stands on its own as so much more than just a gamer book. It has some really deep meaning to it and I just completely loved it.

The ending of the book was surprising but also not. I kind of guessed who Zero was but I didn't guess the Hideo part. So many people wish for world peace but to what extent are you willing to go to achieve that world peace? That is the question I felt was floating around at  the end. I cannot wait the read the next book to find out what happens with EVERYTHING. This book was insanely good!

Always remember, it's not just a game. It's a way of life.

Overall, I gave the book 5/5 stars.