Gamer Girl

Title: Gamer Girl

Written by: Mari Mancusi

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Summary:

After her parents’ divorce, Maddy has to leave her ultra-hip Boston life for a New Hampshire suburb, where she, her mother, and her sister stay with Grandma. Not only does Maddy have to deal with missing her friends and father, but Grandma ruins her first day at school by insisting she wear a unicorn sweatshirt and then by embarrassing a popular boy with stories of his childhood bed-wetting. Bullied by the in-crowd (“the Haters”), crushing on the wrong guy, and stuck with the nickname Freak Girl, Maddy escapes into her drawing and the online game Fields of Fantasy, where she can vanquish enemies and make friends far easier than at school. After encouragement from a sympathetic teacher, Maddy makes friends by starting a manga club. But just when things are improving, the Haters strike again. Mancusi believably captures the hopes, disappointments, and awkwardness of high school life. While the trendy elements may eventually become dated, the story of a girl finding her inner strength will always resonate.