Lu, Marie.
WARCROSS
New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2017
IL YA
ISBN 978-0-399-54796-6


(4 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

In a futuristic New York City, crime is so rampant that the police rely on bounty hunters such as teen hacker Emika Chen. When Emika’s skills suddenly force her into the spotlight of everyone’s favorite game, Warcross, she realizes that the stakes are higher than she ever thought possible. The lines between what is real and virtual reality - and who to trust or not - are blurred in this gripping venture into the world of gaming. Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award 2018-2019

Booktalk #2

Emika Chen is broke and desperate when she hacks into the International Warcross Championships and accidentally glitches into view for the entire world to see. When her phone starts ringing off the hook moments later, she is terrified that she is going to be arrested or worse. Instead she is given an offer she can’t refuse. Join Hideo Tanaka, the creator of Warcross, and the world’s youngest billionaire, and become a player at the elite level in order to help find a security problem within the game. The more she investigates, the more she realizes that things are much more complex than initially thought. With a world you wish you lived in, Lu weaves this story full of non-stop action, plot twists and even a little romance. (Mary Beth Kurspahić, Risdon Middle School https://evergreenbookaward.org/)

Booktalk #3

Emika Chen is a bounty hunter in a world full of virtual uncertainty. She tracks down criminals who bet illegally on Warcross, a virtual reality game that has taken the world by storm. However, bounty hunting is a competitive business and when Emika becomes desperate to make ends meet, she is sucked into the virtual world of Warcross. As she plays the game and gets close to those in it, she must determine who to turn in and whether or not to save Warcross from the hacker, Zero. (Prepared by: Toni Anderson, Lamar High School, toni.anderson@darlington.k12.sc.us  for South Carolina Book Award)

Booktalk #4

Warcross is the first book in the new Legend high tech sci/fi series.  Emi Chen is a hacker who makes a meager living working as a bounty hunter, tracking down people who bet illegally on a popular virtual reality game known as Warcross.  When she hacks into a Warcross tournament game to scavenge, she is discovered by the game's creator, Hideo Tanaka. He flies her to Tokyo and hires her as a hacker spy in order to find a villain known as Zero, who is after him. She poses as a player on one of the tournament teams, but in this virtual world filled with double crosses, it is hard to know who to trust.  A former video game artist herself, the author's attention to game detail makes this a very believable futuristic read. The bombshell revelation and cliffhanger ending will leave readers excited to read the sequel Wildcard, which is now available. (Warcross #1)  (Colorado Blue Spruce Award, ​

Booktalk by Sharon Nehls.)