Warcross (Warcross Series #1)

by Marie Lu

Overview

“A vibrant, action-packed shot of adrenaline.”—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“The Hunger Games meets Minecraft.”—Seventeen

From #1 New York Times bestselling author—when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399547966
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Series:	Warcross Series , #1
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Marie Lu is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Young Elites, as well as the blockbuster bestselling Legend series. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry as an artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing games, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles with her illustrator/author husband, Primo Gallanosa, and their dogs.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1
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Excerpted from "Warcross"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Marie Lu.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

The book is as visual, kinetic and furiously paced as any video game; Lu, a former art director for video games as well as the author of the best-selling Legend series, has quite the way with otherworldly action scenes…There's romance, a lost sibling, spying, a diverse cast of gamers and nifty tattoos. It's Gleaming the Cube meets Strange Days meets Blade Runner, and it's a lot of fun.

The New York Times Book Review - Marjorie Ingall

Praise for Warcross:
A New York Times Bestseller
A Kirkus Best Teen Book of 2017
A Publishers Weekly Best YA Book of 2017
A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2017
A Boston Globe Best YA Book of 2017
A POPSUGAR Best YA Book of 2017
A Paste Magazine Best YA Book of 2017
A Bustle Best YA Book of 2017
A 2018 YALSA Teens’ Top Ten Pick

“A vibrant, action-packed shot of adrenaline. Lu delivers characters with heart and determination, then sets them loose in a luminously conceived world of infinite possibility.”—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows

★ “With a keen eye for detail, Lu (the Young Elites series) vividly imagines a future society where gaming is woven into daily life . . . Think The Hunger Games meets World of Warcraft.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Marie Lu’s Warcross is unlike anything I’ve ever read—clever, smart, romantic—yet exploding with color, action, and unrelenting speed. I flew through this book—it’s absolutely fantastic.”—Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes

★ “A stellar cyberpunk series opener packed with simmering romance and cinematic thrills.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Clear your schedule, because you won’t stop reading Warcross until you’re done. Addictive, fast-paced, and totally immersive, this book takes you from a futuristic Tokyo on a high-tech tour of incredible virtual worlds. Packed with danger, intrigue, and heart-pounding gameplay, set in a world built with an incredible eye for detail, Warcross is Marie Lu’s best book yet.”—Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling author of Illuminae

★ “A highly engaging and incredibly exciting science fiction novel for young adults.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“An immersive world that I didn't want to leave. Warcross is pure genius. I'm ready for the sequel!”—Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures and author of The Lovely Reckless

“[A]s brightly hued as Emika’s sleeve tattoo and rainbow hair — a fast-paced, fun-filled adventure.”—The Washington Post

“The novel is a page-turner, and even those who are not gamers will cheer for Emi as she tries to discover who is genuine and who is not.”—VOYA

“The Hunger Games meets Minecraft as a teen hacker enters a virtual reality in Marie Lu’s electrifying novel Warcross.”—Seventeen

“[A]n inventive first in a series that showcases Lu’s versatility as a storyteller. . . . Dystopia, dark fantasy, and now a sci-fi thriller—what can’t Lu do? Her boatloads of fans can’t wait to find out.”—Booklist

“[A]s visual, kinetic, and furiously paced as any video game. . . . It’s ‘Gleaming the Cube’ meets ‘Strange Days’ meets ‘Blade Runner,’ and it’s a lot of fun.”—The New York Times 

"Warcross is the kind of all-consuming fantasy novel that pulls you head-first into a brand new world that begins to feel so familiar you can’t wait to get your hands on the next one."—New York magazine

From the Publisher

★ 2017-06-14
A down-and-out teen, days from eviction, competes in the championships of the world's most popular virtual reality game.Emika Chen, 18, has been on her own for six years, living in poverty with a juvenile record, supporting herself by bounty hunting. She survives on ramen, with $13 and a debt of $3,450 to her name, and few joys: memories of her dead father, her crush on the world-famous 21-year-old inventor Hideo Tanaka, and her passion for Hideo's game, Warcross. Universally adored, Warcross is an immersive battle game with CGI-ready virtual combats. When Emi exploits a Warcross bug in a last-ditch attempt to make some cash, she glitches into the game. Suddenly, she's a media darling, and Hideo Tanaka himself summons her to Japan for a top-secret job. Whisked away on a private jet, Emi is flabbergasted by the perks of her new position—one of which is membership on one of the world's top pro teams. Emi (an American with an implied Chinese heritage) grows fond of her multiethnic team (with a wheelchair-using captain), but could one of them be a saboteur? Brief shoutouts to Lu's Legend series will intrigue ardent fans, though they don't seem to imply a connection between the worlds. A stellar cyberpunk series opener packed with simmering romance and cinematic thrills. (Science fiction. 13-adult)

Kirkus Reviews