Fourteen year old Giannine is at her favorite gaming center to play a virtual reality game that puts her in the role of a princess trying to claim the throne of a kingdom. When a group of protestors in favor of censorship break into the building and damage the equipment, Giannine becomes stuck in the game. If she doesn�t win the game, her brain will overload and she will die.
The protagonist is Giannine, who is extremely believable and likable. �The novel's strength lies in its tenacious main character. Giannine's witty and sarcastic first-person narration keeps the lengthy story moving forward� (Horn Book Magazine 2002). She�s sarcastic, funny and smart. She possesses superhuman abilities thanks to the fact that she�s playing a game. She can die in the game without actually dying in real life. She has some problems with her home life, which most teens can identify with. She has real problems. If she doesn�t win the game, she will die in real life. She also has a strained relationship with her father. The antagonist is not a person, but the situation that she is in. The antagonist is the fact that she�s stuck in this virtual reality game and can�t get out. The protestors can also be viewed as an antagonist. The virtual characters in the game serve as allies and enemies depending on the choices Giannine makes while playing. In one game Penrod kills her. In another he�s one of her closest allies.
The plot is extremely unique, but believable too. �The story line is ingeniously developed� (Publishers Weekly 2002). It�s entirely plausible to believe that in the future there will be virtual reality games as realistic as the one discussed in this story. The plot begins in the real world as Giannine is on her way to the gaming center. Once she starts the game, she moves into an alternate world. The plot is extremely fast paced and exciting, which is somewhat surprising considering what the plot entails. Every time Giannine dies, she has to start the game over. She dies eight or nine times, but the story never gets repetitive. The plot has a lot of key action scenes but the climax occurs at the end when she thinks she�s dying, but in fact is waking up from the game and won it.
The setting is the game, which is set in some medieval land during a time of kings and dragons. This setting is unique because Giannine isn�t actually in the past, but in a game set in the past. The setting is virtual. The game has been programmed to deal with anachronistic speech from the player, but the characters in the game will recognize references to the present time that Giannine lives in. If the novel was simply set in the past, this wouldn�t be true. This is another unique aspect of the story.
The book has several themes. One, which the author makes obvious in her introduction, is that censors do more harm than good. When the censors break in and damage the machines they potentially harm the children that they insist they are trying to protect. Another theme is that the obvious paths and answers aren�t always the only ones or the best ones. Giannine wins the game her own way, not the way others would have done it. It�s her unique way of thinking and looking at problems that gets her through the game.
The story is told in first person from Giannine�s point of view. The story has a lot of suspense but a lot of humor too. For example, Giannine has ghosts following her but they decide to stay at Xenos�s father�s house. He gets mad and throws an old shoe at her and says �and this time take your stinking ghosts with you� (Vande Velde 295). A lot of the humor comes from dialogue between Giannine and computer characters, specifically the sarcastic remarks they make to one another. For instance, the queen says to Giannine, �There are those who would eat you up� and Giannine replies �Pass the barbecue sauce � I knew that already� (Vande Velde 61).
�The thrilling sf drama and intricate game details will capture the Dungeons and Dragons set, and the slapstick humor, tough girl protagonist, and fairy-tale plot will widen the audience� (Booklist 2003). This is an extremely enjoyable story that has action, humor, and even a little romance.
Booklist. 2003. Booklist. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 26 October 2004.
Horn Book Magazine. 2002. Horn Book Magazine. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 26 October 2004.
Publishers Weekly. 2002. Publishers Weekly. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 26 October 2004.
