I Should Read That

I read Warcross last year and tore through it.  I’m not usually the type to like books about virtual reality and video games, however I found the world of Warcross to be so incredibly compelling and I really loved the characters.  Eager to read more about this thrilling world, I was thrilled to read an early copy of the sequel, Wildcard.  The concluding book in the Warcross duology is just as fun and fast paced, but the stakes have grown even higher for Emika Chen.

Wildcard is just as thrilling as Warcross, but it goes deeper into the world that Lu creates.  I absolutely love her vision of near-future Tokyo and we get to see more of it in Wildcard.  The thing that really worked for me is the fact that Lu decided not to pull a Hunger Games/Catching Fire on us -- Catching Fire is just a rehashing of the first book’s plot, something that I found incredibly annoying, and I'm seeing this trend in YA books lately.  Instead of just having another Warcross-focused book, Lu branches out further into her world, making it all the more exciting.  The games haven't gone away -- we get a couple of gaming scenes and there are events going on in the background -- but this book is all about Emika and Hideo.   I love that this book is all about choices and murky morality -- it's the exact kind of plot that works so well for me.

I've redacted a lot from this review because of possible Warcross spoilers, so check out the link above for my full review. Wildcard is such a fun and enjoyable read that expands upon the fantastic world and plot of the first book -- it’s another very solid read from Marie Lu.  It’s a different book from Warcross and some readers may be disappointed by that, but if you’re interested in digging deeper into the dark underworld that was only touched upon in Warcross, you’re in for a treat.