In Real Life by Cory Doctorow is a vibrant, thought-provoking graphic novel that follows Anda, a teen who becomes part of a massive online game. As she befriends a gold farmer from China, she learns about social justice and economics. Insightful and fun, it’s perfect for fans of gaming and activism blended with engaging storytelling.

Nice, quick, easy read!
The art style is fabulous, and the plot is good, but not amazing. Gamers will love it and will have their attention captured from the start.
The thing with “In Real Life” is that the plot is not so clearly set at times. It makes it a bit more realistic but it does make it a bit harder to stay engrossed at times. However, overall it is a good read and enjoyable.
A copy of the book was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.

LOVED this book, and look forward to more work from this creator. We received a couple of copies from the publishers at my library and ended up buying several more.

Oh how odd! Looking back at this, I never gave a review. Naughty!

Anyway this graphic novel touched me so deeply. I loved it so much! I really enjoyed the characters and the story. I also really enjoyed the graphic style. I felt like I could really connect with In Real Life.
If you're a gamer, it's a must read! You will really see yourself within the pages.

First and fore most I loved the cover, the art work in the whole book is outstanding, It's colourful but not too childish and bright that distracts from the text.
I love the topic on feminism and how is talked about through a gamer perspective and some of those interesting things that happen in the intimacy of a computer where parents don't have direct interaction with. I'd like to see more of the characters and their development, because I felt it fished quite suddently.
In the other hand I'm not sure how I feel about the other deeper side the story where an American pokes her nose in some other country and fix things super easily. I wish there was a realistic way of putting the same subject out there for younger audiences to understand those real issues but not in such a naïve possitive light that is so unrealistic.
Thank you Netgalley for sending this book my way.

Beautiful illustrations immersive and interesting story. I now really understand why this graphic novel recieves so much hype, it truly deserves it. Would recommend it in a heartbeat.

Kindle file was just some programming text. No ebook was present. For example it was just “<http://blah blah stuff like this >” no book was present

IN REAL LIFE features a teenage girl named Anda who, thanks to a cool speaker at her school, starts online gaming in an MMROPG game alongside a guild made up of only girls. Their initiative is to open up the online gaming world for women round the world and kick some serious butt while doing it. Anda learns about unfair Chinese labor conditions and does everything she can to help make it right. Ultimately the story is about human rights across the world and how the internet and games allow us to connect with people across the world in different ways.

I really enjoyed the story and the artwork. I read the whole thing in one sitting because it's just that good. The only thing I would change would be to make it longer! I would love to read more about this, and I generally just feel like there needs to be more fiction that involves gaming. IT'S AWESOME AND I LOVE IT.

This is a fantastic graphic novel, whose characters and plot are relevant today - and will be relevant for years to come. Juveniles, especially those who spend time playing online games with people from around the world, will see themselves in Anda. This book is a fantastic way to introduce juveniles to the plights of children across the globe; children just like them. Don't question, just read it.

This book was so relevant, it was amazing. Honestly, it would be a great one for book clubs because there’s a lot to talk about. Some issues that come up are cultural differences, responsible gaming, ethics, and online dangers. I loved how girl-centric it was, but I was bummed that a man wrote it. Obviously, he’s a super cool person to be able to do that and pull it off with flying colors. It just would have been so awesome to see a woman do it, as women are under-represented in both gaming and comic worlds. Overall, very interesting and fun to read!

All of the fangirl arms! Seriously I can't believe it took me so long to get to this in my tbr pile but after reading The Prince and the Dressmaker I just had to tackle it immediately. Absolute perfection. Doctrow as always shines in this brilliant writing. The plotting, the pacing, and the character interactions were sublime and I wouldn't change a single thing. Wang is quickly becoming one of my alltime favorite artists and writers and I am determined to get my hands on all of her work, past and future now.

Anda's family has just moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, not far from the Grand Canyon, and now she finds herself at a new school. She's an ordinary teen, kind of on the chubby side, finding a place with the group of kids who play Dungeons and Dragons during their free period. Since computers are her thing, Anda is taking a programming course where Liza McCombs from Australia comes to speak with the females in the class. She's in the process of organizing a guild, exclusively for girls, to play Coarsegold Online, a MMRPG (Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game). It seems that women players have a tendency to hide their gender behind male avatars, afraid to show their true selves for fear of discrimination. This guild is looking to induct women into its fold if they pass the three month initiation. Anda is all in, as long as her mom lets her use her credit card to pay the twelve dollar a month fee.

Anda's avatar, Kali Destroyer, represents her inner voice - bold, beautiful, with bright red hair and skills galore. She soon levels up as she masters the game play. Inside the MMRPG, Kali teams up with Sarge (Lisa) and they begin to destroy the Gold Farmers who are illegally mining for valuable objects which are then sold to other players for profit. Unfortunately, the profit is a big business, and the Gold Farmers are actually abused Chinese workers who are forced to work long hours for little pay. Anda befriends Raymond who wants to learn to speak better English. He's about her age and works the overnight shift, but his previously injured back is causing problems. Thinking she can help she advises he go on strike to get some health care (just what her own dad's union is doing with his company). Unfortunately, this advice only gets Raymond fired. To top it off, Kali Destroyer has been earning money by her antics and her mother cuts her off from the Internet, afraid that she's in danger. Liza also suspends her (and Lisa) for not following the gaming rules. Anda feels responsible for Raymond's troubles and looks for ways she can contact him and help him out of his difficulties.

Disclosure: I'm not a gamer, although my son has enjoyed the gaming experience participating in various leagues although not an MMRPG.

There are a lot of positives in this graphic novel. Number one is the colorful illustrations and the fact that the characters are portrayed as real people, not ones with Barbie Doll looks. Anda has insecurities, but grows stronger as Kali Destroyer, building confidence to the point where she proudly dies her hair red. The girl power is a plus. There is also a bit of a lesson, details given by Cory Doctorow in a forward, letting the uninitiated know about Gold Farmers, a real phenomena. Anda's attempts to assist her friend are noble, even when they backfire. After all, this is a book for teens who need to know that they have a voice in this world. However, the resolution to the storyline, although rectifying the situation, is unrealistic at best. I also question the entire premise that a school would allow someone like Liza to solicit gamers to her league.

Given all that, I feel that the intended YA audience will enjoy this book, especially the fact that an average high school student becomes the hero, no matter how impracticable the ending. Gamers need to have their existence avowed.

Four stars and a thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting story and great artwork – but it did get a bit preachy and simplistic at the expense of the story. Still, it was a fun, quick read and I'd read more from both this author and artist.

Great way to introduce adolescents to the economics behind multi-player games. Liked the ambiguity of right and wrong and the idea of social activism through gaming avatars.
Very realistic depiction of the characters in real life with less than perfect bodies and natural plumpness.

After reading this tale I can't believe it has taken me this long to read something by Cory Doctorow. People recommend his stuff to me all the time, and I couldn't believe how powerful this tale was. I was emotionally affected by it, and I have come to the conclusion that this tale is very special indeed. Firstly, I learnt something from it! It was equal parts shocking, sad, and fascinating. I hope this graphic novel will teach kids a little something about empathy, about other cultures, and about humanity. I think this is a powerful little read, and I will be making everyone read it.

I loved this book. I don't really like graphic novels, but when it comes to this one, and especially this author, it makes me question whether I should start reading these types of novels.

So, I’m really confused at this book. I requested it and the publisher lists the release date as February 13. But when I check on Goodreads, it’s been out since 2014! I don’t know if there are content changes or it’s being released by a new publisher. But I’m going to go ahead and label this as an ARC review.

This was actually a lot shorter than I thought it was. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but for something as all-encompassing and deep as the topic surrounding this graphic novel is, I really wanted there to be more. If you’ve been a gamer for at least a few years, you know the topic of gold farming and then selling to make a profit is nothing new. Due to the regions where gaming is popular, it’s easy for something like this to be pushed onto the back burner.

The main character, Anda, is shy, but when she’s permitted by her parents to join the gaming world of Coarsegold Online, she finds her niche, and finds that she’s good at it. This causes her to feel confident in her public life, too, like at school and with some of her friends. But when her mother learns this game she’s playing as real world consequences and actions, she’s hesitant to let her daughter continue. Anda, of course, reacts negatively, and that’s after she meets the gold farmer.

Reflected in her own life is just a small fraction of what the gold farmer experiences. And when I say small, it’s miniscule. It’s such a large social issue to tackle in less than 180 pages. Anda wants to help, but it’s hard for her to see the repercussions of her actions even in the online world. There is a moment when she’s confronted by one of the gold farmer’s friends, and that’s when she realizes it isn’t that easy.

This graphic novel does have a happy ending, both online and in Anda’s life. I enjoyed the storyline and illustrations. As a female gamer myself, it’s nice to see myself reflected in a story and it really drew me into the story. It’s also a quick and easy read, which, personally, helped me with my reading goal (which I recently changed from 90 to 75 due to personal reasons).

I've been wanting to pick this up for such a long time and this was way more than I expected! First, I LOVE the art. The style and colors are fun and beautiful. It might be my favorite part of this graphic novel. Second, this story was interesting and I think important for all the different issues it brings up. Of course like with most graphic novels I always want it to be longer but I feel it was still a good length and ended well.

This remains one of my favorite graphic novels and I think it was a big reason that I feel in love with the medium in general. I highly recommend this book to all readers; I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

I finally read Ready Player One recently and I feel like this story contrasts it by being a great illustration of finding a way to ground a virtual fantasy world in a real world awakening. An excellent story of girl gamers and the need for refuge and camaraderie in high school. I can't wait to recommend it to people.