Reviews for The leveller

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Teens want to escape into virtual worlds, where they can remake themselves into gorgeous and heroic avatars; parents want their kids to pay more attention to homework and chores. This book is for both camps. Nixy Bauer is focused on earning enough money to get into a good college. She's a bounty hunter, hired by frustrated parents to pull their kids out of MeaParadisusthe kids call it MEEPa virtual world where kids can go on spending sprees in virtual malls, remake themselves into the most popular kids at school, and experience danger and adventure, all while vegging out in their rooms. Her motto is "Nixy Bauer, Home in an Hour," and she delivers. So it's no surprise that she gets the call to rescue Wyn Salvadorexcept Wyn's dad created MEEP and should have been able to extract him without Nixy's help. It isn't until Nixy finds her way into Wyn's re-creation of pre-revolutionary Cuba and finds him stranded that she realizes Wyn's been kidnapped and can't get backand now, neither can she. Durango writes her fast-paced techno-thriller in Nixy's voice, her sassy turn of phrase helping to distinguish the present-tense narration. She and her friends on the chess team swear to one another in Norwegianan appealing quirk. Smooth entertainment equally likely to appeal to both gamers and nongamers. (Science fiction. 13-17) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.


Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Bounty hunter Nixy is paid by parents to pull fellow teens out of the virtual-reality world of MEEP when they exceed the time limit. When the game's developer hires her to find his son, she discovers he's not hiding but trapped. Readers probably won't see the shocking ending coming, and Durango adeptly balances breathless gaming action with rich character development. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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