Mari Mancusi

Maddy's life couldn't get much worse. Her parents split and now she's stuck in a small town and at a new school. Most of the time, she retreats into her manga art, but when she gets into the Fields of Fantasy online computer game, she knows she's found the one place she can be herself. In the game world, Maddy can be the beautiful and magical Allora and have a virtually perfect life. And she even finds a little romance. But can Maddy escape her real-life problems altogether, or will she have to find a way to make her real world just as amazing as her virtual one?

Gamer Girl

Marianne Mancusi

Struggling to fit in after her parents' divorce sends her from Boston to her grandmother's house in the country, sixteen-year-old Maddy forms a manga club at school and falls in love through an online fantasy game.

Gamer girl

Briar's Reviews

Mari Mancusi has been a long time fave of mine and honestly, I've been looking for this book since it came out! I finally came across it in a charity book store and I scooped it up as fast as I could. 

If you're looking for a mid-2000s middle grade/YA book following a manga-loving girl who becomes a video gamers and the typical high school hijinks, then you've found your book! This book is so utterly adorable with a fast paced plot to fulfill all of your 2000s nostalgic needs.

Maddy's parents have divorced and man is that hard. She now lives with her Grandma, Mother, and little sister. Her Grandma is obsessed with unicorns and apparently embarrassing her?! Her Dad isn't super in the picture and even when he is he's too busy obsessing over that video game of his... The one Maddy wants to play... The one her Dad gets her for her birthday?! This changes everything! She meets an online friend who she is slowly falling in love with. It's a much needed distraction from the bullies in her high school who keep making fun of her for her love of manga and her incredible artistic abilities. 

This book is light and fun! I went into it hoping for an escape from reality and I sure got it! It's got middle grade meets YA vibes and is super light hearted. It's an easy read and is not super deep other than your typical "your better than the mean girls" and how to deal with divorced parents. I absolutely adored this book and I don't understand all the hate it gets. It's a fantastic read that is light, fluffy, and fun.

Five out of five stars.

Callie Anna

Better in many ways than I expected. Cheesy and predictable? Yes. Fun and sweet? Yes! The characters and setting were unique and the ending wasn't totally predictable. (No sarcasm there) I really enjoyed how the authorbdealt with issues and wrapped it all up at the end.

Lynn Braden

Maddy is new in school and has to find a place where she fits in. She loves Manga and starts a group at her school that discusses and works on Manga. At the same time, she reinvents herself in the fantasy world of gaming online when she becomes Allora the elfin warrior in the game Fields of Fantasy. She makes friends with Sir Leo in the game, but that isn't real life, and the boy she has a crush on at school is. What will Maddy do? Will she become more wrapped up in the world of fantasy or will she find a way to bring her fantasy into real life? This is a really good story about a girl who lives through the challenges of being in a new school and not fitting in.