Wildcard

Starred review from July 23, 2018
Sure to inspire even deeper devotion among Lu’s fans, this sequel picks up just three days after the Warcross finale, raising complicated questions about the consequences of technology and power. Emika Chen, exempt from Hideo Tanaka’s unleashed algorithm thanks to a lucky accident, is reeling from Hideo’s betrayal and the knowledge that Zero, the hacker whom Hideo hired her to neutralize, is Hideo’s long-missing brother, Sasuke, whose disappearance drives Hideo to create Warcross and the algorithm. Having realized that the algorithm, meant to eliminate violence, may be causing people to commit suicide, Emika enters a tenuous partnership with Zero and the Blackcoats, a secret organization working to destroy the algorithm, and attempts to gain access to it by winning Hideo’s trust. Though Emika maintains her moral center, she struggles to do right as the virtual world crosses into reality and becomes personal: “There’s a point where the lines start to blur, and I am standing in that place now, struggling to see through the gray.” Lu’s futuristic world, with its immersive technology, feels dangerously within reach in this action-packed escapade with a thoughtful, emotion-driven core. Ages 12–up.

Following the turbulent events of the Warcross Championships in 2017's WARCROSS, Emika Chen returns to put a stop to Hideo Tanaka's schemes. Nancy Wu also returns to narrate the final installment in the duology. Her performance perfectly sets the tone for the story, giving it a sense of urgency that matches the high stakes of the battle Emika and her team take on. But while Wu delivers the narrative well and captures the character of Emika Chen, other characters, especially males, aren't given as much presence. Also, multiple accents sometimes make it difficult to identify characters rather than clarifying them. C.J.S. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine