Arena Series, Book 1

February 15, 2016
Jennings’s debut novel has a strong concept but doesn’t do it justice. In the 2050s, virtual gaming is now a competitive sport in which athletes can “die” and yet keep playing. But the costs are high, as Kali Ling learns when she and her teammates battle to win their game’s highest prize. It feels plausible that competitive video gaming and virtual reality might combine in sports that let viewers enjoy excessive violence with no apparent consequences, and there’s lots of potential for interesting stories with that background. However, the after-school-special nature of the narrative, which boils down to Kali helping her teammates win only after she kicks drugs and stops partying, lacks complexity and fails to engage. Once Kali straightens up and flies right, there’s no stopping her or her team: they win every match, and she outwits her awful manager and has an inevitable relationship with the male character who challenges her life decisions. For a book about fighting, there’s a remarkable lack of real conflict. Agent: Leon Husock, L. Perkins Literary Agency.

February 1, 2016
A video game that inflicts real pain on its players--what could possibly go wrong? In this debut novel, quite a lot. In 2054, Kali Ling is on Team Defiance, part of a competitive Virtual Gaming League in which players compete in a virtual world. When a player's avatar takes damage or dies in the game, they experience unimaginable, real physical pain, leading gamers to develop drug habits and mental illnesses. When the team captain overdoses and dies, the league quickly covers it up, appointing Ling captain and bringing in a new player, Rooke. Ling immediately hates him but also wants to have sex with him (even though the last captain died in her bed days before). As their insipid romance blossoms, they fight their way through the tournament and discover what else the league has been covering up. The end result boils down to Ready Player One plus The Hunger Games minus anything that made those books enjoyable. The prose is amateurish, with stupefying turns of phrase such as, "L.A., the West Coast equivalent of New York" and "My heart rifled into my throat." Ling's half-Chinese heritage is stated as if it's a personality trait, then repeated ad nauseam in place of any character development. Descriptions of ongoing drug use read like a tween recounting what the kids who smoke under the bleachers said. Tender moments between Ling and her love interests are purple nonsense ("He tasted like an autumn night"), and descriptions of actual sex--"I drove my fingers through his hair, and his tongue assaulted mine"--are thoroughly anti-erotic. Scenes meant to be hilarious aren't; for example, Ling nearly screams with laughter upon learning that someone is from "CANADA." (In all caps, because it's just that hilarious.) Worse still is a scene in which a character reveals that his girlfriend died because, well, she did so many drugs that she thought she could fly and leaped from a balcony to her death. That urban-legend reference should be a joke, but the only joke here is on the reader. Game over, man. Game over.

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March 15, 2016

The year is 2054, and virtual gaming is one of the world's most popular sports. Millions tune in to watch the Virtual Gaming League's competitions and the biggest is the RAGE tournaments--a fight to the death among teams of elite athletes. Kali Ling is the first woman to captain a RAGE team. When her group is disbanded, first in virtual defeat, then in the death of a member, the grim knowledge underneath the shine of fame rises to the surface. As Kali tries to guide her team back up the ranks in the tournament, she will face not only the gladiators on the killing fields but the demons in her own life. VERDICT Depicting the action and excitement of virtual gaming that made Ernest Cline's Ready Player One such a hit, Jennings's debut delves into the real-world issues (drugs, sponsor demands) that athletes face. Add strong female characters to the mix and readers seeking more fast-paced sf about virtual reality will be pleased.--KC

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2016

In this riveting story of professional athleticism, players make their names known in the virtual arena rather than the stadium. Their challenges are far from typical: they face opponents and fight in the virtual world with swords and medieval fervor and then slam back into reality. Death feels real, pain echoes even after they unplug, and these athletes cope in the most dangerous of ways. Kali must lead her team to redemption in the arena following a surprising and devastating loss but also keep them alive as they navigate the seedier side of professional gaming after a teammate dies. This title is mystifyingly slow; though it kicks off with fast-paced action, it drags until the "second act." Readers will sympathize with Kali's struggles with personal loss, and as the story progresses and new characters are introduced, this quickly becomes an addictive read. VERDICT Those who make it through the lengthy exposition will delight in this real-world gaming tale that blends sports, video games, friendship, and just a dash of dystopia.-Ashley Prior, Lincoln Public Library, RI

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2016
PRESS THE START BUTTON TO BEGIN . . . . In 2054, video technology has advanced into a fully immersive, virtual sport where contestants feel every aspect of the adventure. Death is experienced, although in the gamer's reality it is nothing but a do-over. Kali Ling is the top female fighter in the Virtual Gaming League, a superstar pro athlete with every need supplied and any vices censored. To the VGL, image is everything. Gamers always put on a good show, promoting sponsors and giving the audience what they want. When her team loses their preseason Death Match, it puts them in the losers' bracket going into the RAGE tournament. Then a teammate dies, requiring a replacement to be brought in a week before the gladiatorial competition, and Kali is made captain and expected to turn defeat into a glorious victory. Can she be the leader her team needs, becoming the first female captain to take the championship? Jennings' debut, with action-packed battle sequences and older computer-game references, will appeal to fans of science fiction like Ernest Cline's Armada (2015).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)