Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi

Booktalk version: Maddy is forced to leave her friends and school behind when her parents divorce, and she and her mom and sister move in with her grandmother in a small town. Maddy's interests in manga and gaming seem to rub the popular crowd the wrong way, and she feels the only escape she has is through an online multiplayer game, where she meets the knight of her dreams, Sir Leo. As she feels more comfortable at her new school and makes some new friends, she begins to wonder about the true identity of Sir Leo, and could he be her real-life knight in shining armor?

Full-length version: On the recommendation of a 6th grade girl, I began reading Gamer Girl while we were at our 6th grade end-of-the-year outdoor education camp. She had it at camp and loaned it to me to read. I read all the way home on the bus, and reluctantly returned it to her and then promptly checked it out from my local public library so I could finish it.

This is a book for the 12-16-year-old set, so I won't be carrying it in my library, but as a gamer and a bit of an outsider and geek myself, I identified with the main character, Maddy Starr. Maddy is forced to move into her grandmother's house when her parents divorce, and has to leave her friends and interests behind in Boston when she begins school at a new high school. From the first day, when her grandmother insists that she wear a unicorn sweatshirt instead of her goth clothes, Maddy becomes a target for the Haters, her name for the popular group of boys and girls.

Maddy finds solace in an online multiplayer game that her father plays, and though it begins as a way for her to connect with her father who lives hours away, she finds a new gaming friend in "Sir Leo" and begins to have a crush on this online character. Maddy does understand about online safety and follows the rules set by her parents, but somehow gets the idea that Sir Leo is really someone she knows in her new school. They have discussions as their online characters and Maddy begins to feel less alone.

Maddy also finds a sympathetic teacher who helps her realize that her interest in manga might have an impact on her future, and offers to help Maddy start up a manga club at the school. Suddenly Maddy finds a group of people similar to herself and finds out that not everyone at her school is part of the popular group of Haters.

Readers who enjoyed Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli will find a similar sympathy for Maddy, yet in an updated game format, where some conversations between characters take place within the game in an instant message or texting format. I did not find this distracting from the main text, and often the gaming messaging moved the plot forward or brought out specific characteristics of the players.

Those who root for the underdog or who secretly (or not so secretly) wanted the popular group in their school to disappear, will love Gamer Girl. The gaming speak and environment will be familiar to those who play online games, but the social situation will be familiar to all, as these situations are universal to all experiences growing up.

There are a few instances of language that make this book more middle to high school reading, but no adult situations other than a crush and a kiss or two.