Warcross

4.5 stars

Wow. What a great book! I LOVED the Legends book series but was pretty disappointed in the Young Elites series, so I am relieved that the author I loved from the Legends series is back.

Warcross is a game that has taken over the world. Millions of people spend all of their free time in the virtual world, while others use it to try to make money. As with most things, there is also a dark side. Emika Chen, a teenage hacker, struggles to make ends meet by working as a bounty hunter tracking down people that illegally gamble on Warcross. Facing eviction, Emika takes a chance and hacks herself into the International Warcross Championships, a world-wide event watched by millions. Once in the game, however, something goes wrong and she enters the action of the game. Her identity is out and she becomes an overnight sensation.

Rather than being arrested, the billionaire creator of the game Hideo Tanaka pays off Emika’s debts, flies her to Tokyo and offers her a job. Hideo tells her that someone is trying to break into the game’s security and he needs her to go undercover as a bounty hunter to track down the culprit. Hideo enters Emika into the International Warcross Championships as a wild card contestant as her cover. She instantly becomes famous and must learn to play the game as a team. As she starts her investigation, Emika discovers that the job will be much more difficult than expected, and the consequences much higher than she thought.

This book is fast paced and engaging, with plenty of twists and turns. The characters are fairly well developed and Emika is clever and charming. The book ends on a pretty big cliff-hanger that leaves the reader wanting more. I can’t wait for the next book in this series! If you liked Ready Player One, you will like this book. I recommend you read this book right away!