A thoughtful and thought provoking look at massive multiplayer online role playing games, this made me think about them in a new way. I loved the empowerment of female gaming, a group that tends to be underestimated in the genre, while the ties between real life commerce and gaming was also an interesting dimension. I loved the artwork, the illustrations were simply beautiful

My thanks to NetGalley and First Second Books Square Fish for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I am not sure what I did wrong, but somehow my download didn't have all of the pages, so I missed out on the nuances of the story line. I did follow the basic plot and I really enjoyed the artwork. I just feel like I missed something.

I don't know if I'm just an old fart, but I didn't think that schools had guest speakers come in to classrooms to basically try to recruit kids as players of MMOs. So that docked a star right there. Then there is the "American saves the poor oppressed people in a foreign country who just don't know better" trope, which kicked it down another star.

The artwork was really pretty and it was nice to have the characters be normal looking, instead of the typical societal ideal way to appear. So that was a plus.

3, not bad, but didn't knock my socks off, stars. Recommended for YA and maybe older who like MMOs.

I was incredibly taken in by Jen Wang's artwork.  I originally requested a copy of this book because I really like Cory Doctorow and thought the summary of the book looked interesting, but one of the strongest points of the book was the artwork.  It helped a lot in terms of feeling the difference between Anda's gaming world and how fantastic it was as compared to her "real life" outside of the gaming world.  I also think that the way that the Chinese gold farmers were illustrated did a lot to communicate their situation.

Overall, book is an interesting idea of playing with the idea of "real life" as the title implies.  The conceit of the book, that real life can be in play even in these fantasy worlds of MMOs, was a really interesting one and something that I think a lot of people probably do not think about overly much.  It felt like a very realistic portrayal of a teenager who is able to escape into a game, and I was never taken out of it by the reaction of her parents (being overly protective) or her fellow gamers, who maybe took the game a little too seriously.  It all felt incredibly plausible in a general sense.

That said, I am not entirely sure how strong I felt the solution to the main issue of the book was.  I think that bringing in the idea of organized labor was interesting and something that makes a lot of sense.  I feel like the conclusion of the book just progressed too quickly, however, and as a result, felt like it was not a fully developed conclusion.  I thought the idea was brilliant and really liked the friendship that was built, but was just left feeling like something was missing.  That said, I love Doctorow's worldview and conviction that the internet is going to potentially lead to people being able to come together and solve some of these bigger problems around the world.  This book is definitely worth a read, and I would love to see a follow up to the story.

Awesome graphic novel for girls/feminists/anyone really. In Real Life is about a girl named Anda, who recently moved to a new town. She has found a group of friends in the school D&D players and seems to be dealing with the change okay. Then, a guest speaker comes to her class to talk to the girls about an mmorpg where they can play as themselves (girl gamers). Anda loves the game, but soon discovers there are people working to take advantage of some of the game's workings. Anda begins to learn not everything is as black and white as she thinks, both online and in reality.

I loved the feminist undertones of this book, especially that they came from a male author. Honestly, I'm not really a gamer girl myself, but I understand the plight that Sarge describes in the game ("I've spent my whole life proving I'm as good as any other dude... and I had to do it without cheats.") It's not fair and I like that the author took the time to include that in the story. I also enjoyed Anda's personal growth. From being a little shy and self-conscious to being bold and sticking up for both boys and girls. Love it. As with most graphic novels I read, I felt there could have been more to the story. Certain aspects could have been fleshed out more, but it was still a great read.

3.5 stars

When Anda moves to her new home in Flagstaff, Arizona, she feels alone and isolated and wanting something new and different…until prominent girl gamer Liza challenges all girls to join her guild in a popular MMO called Coarsegold Online. Once in, Anda meets Lucy aka Sarge, to introduces her to a way to make money: killing gold farmers, bots who repeat meaningless tasks, earning skills and levels so other players can buy them without having to work for it. Everything is going great, until Anda meets a gold farmer named Raymond who is not like the rest…

This was a very quick read about a girl who learns that not all good intentions are right, especially when one doesn’t really understand the situation. Although everything worked out well in the end, the main problem was still there and threatened to come back later on.

I had a very hard time connecting with Anda, mostly because you don’t really see her inner thought process at all—you see her feelings and emotions drawn on the page, but not what she’s thinking—and there’s a disconnect between her bloodthirsty character and her ho-hum self for much of the story. It is interesting to see how she envisioned her online alter ego, and how vibrant the online world is for her instead of the bland world she lives in.

All told, this is a quick story about consequences, online gaming, cultural differences, economics and the power of groups and instant communication.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This is a popular premise - the gaming world breaks into the real world - and it dates back to our favorite classic fantasy books from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis to the recent book to movie Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011). Authors use this premise to talk about societal issues through the fantasy world or the world of gaming as a way to tell a contemporary allegory.

It is as surefire a formula for YA success as the dystopian novel. Add the additional plus of a female gamer (girl power is the theme this decade) and IRL appeals to manga fans who are ready to tackle social justice and equality along with Anda.

Solid 4 stars for the lovely illustrations. The story opened my mind to a different side of gaming. It didn’t quite explore the topic as fully as I would have liked, but it’s a great starting point.

Anda has been asked to join a guild in an online game that she loves. She's one of the best warriors around and being asked to join this guild of elite female warriors is a real accomplishment.
But when Anda befriends a Chinese gold farmer, she begins to question her ethics and the way in which her guild operates. When he goes missing, what is she to do?
This book is a wonderful ode to online gaming and the world in which you can escape into.

Anda spends most of her free time playing Coarsegold Online, an MMORPG, where she can be a hero, meet people from all over the world, and make new friends. Things get complicated when she meets a gold farmer in the game. A poor Chinese kid plays the avatar who's job it is to collect valuable items in the game and sell them to players with money to burn. That's strictly against the rules of the game, but Anda quickly begins to realize that these things are less straightforward when a real person's livelihood is at stake in real life.

I don't know how, but this is the first story by Cory Doctorow that I've ever read. I know, I can'be believe it either. Either way, In Real Life is a pretty great graphic novel. It's a lot of fun with all with quite a sense of adventure and it's good seeing Anda begin to come into her own as the story progresses. Doctorow also uses this story to discuss more difficult topics, like poverty, culture clash, harsh working conditions, and exploitation. The author manages to successfully work with a fair bit during the short amount of time we're with these characters and he makes it really engaging while he's at it. By the way the art style perfectly fits the tone of the story, both in the game and in real life scenes. Overall, In Real Life is a good introduction to the work Cory Doctorow. If you like the work of Noelle Stevenson and Gene Luen Yang, then I have a feeling you may also enjoy this new graphic novel. I know I will definitely be back for more of Doctorow's earlier novels.

After joining an MMORPG, Anna is recruited by Lucy for “cash missions.” After Lucy – who prefers to be called ‘Sarge’ – gets KO’d in battle, Anda goes on to complete the mission: slaying gold farmers. Tiny, defenseless, and not putting up a fight, these little creatures initially baffle Anda: are they players or just bots? Lucy maintains they must all be killed. Anda complies.

After coming across some carefully placed rocks and flowers spelling out a website’s URL, Anda learns that some people choose to shortcut their in-game process by purchasing gold and already-leveled characters. Anda and Lucy continue to fight against this “injustice” by obliterating gold farmers. Lucy admits that these missions are being bankrolled by other (territorial) gold farmers.

Using translate, Anda speaks to one of the gold farmers, and learns he is a 16-year-old Chinese boy who goes by Raymond (his name in his English class). Raymond has lied about his age to secure a job, so he can help keep his struggling family afloat. Although he works long hours farming gold, his alternative is to spend long hours in a zipper factory. With no health insurance, Raymond has been sneaking into the bathroom and lying on the floor to hide his back injury. Anda vows to help him. Having seen the (slow, but ultimately positive) progress made following a local workers’ strike, Anda convinces Raymond to rally his coworkers and demand medical insurance through his employer.

This does not go well.

The next time Anda sees Raymond’s avatar, she is shocked to discover she is actually speaking to another gold farmer from the same business, NYCI. He chastises her for interfering in a situation which she does not truly comprehend. Shortly after, Anda receives an email saying she is suspended from her guild for anti-gold-farming missions.

By creating another avatar (and with some info from Lucy), Anda is able to connect with one of the workers from NYCI. She asks what she can do to help, and he asks that she help spread Raymond’s message. With the message spread, the NYCI workers gather and make demands for a better workplace. Unrelatedly, Anda is allowed back into the game, and becomes a full member of her former guild.

At her guild’s virtual celebration, she is approached by a figure who asks her to dance. It is Raymond, cloaked in a completely different avatar, who has found another gold-farming job. He thanks Anda for helping him learn some English. The book closes with Anda introducing Raymond to her other guildmates.

In the introduction to this book, Cory Doctorow presents a tall order: a story that incorporates behavioral economics, politics and labor, and why those who are poor are often stuck in their situations. Rather than simply (worst case scenario) vilify the people behind the undesired actions – in the story, the gold-farming that affects the in-game currency market – or even leave their background vacant, Doctorow presses readers to try to understand the situations which lead people to have few options other than endless labor.

This book tackles a complex subject while casting a little bit of hope that change is possible.

I really enjoyed the artwork. It is beautiful and very well done. If I was just basing this book on the art it would have gotten 4 stars. However, the story needs some work.

I understand that the idea was to show a character who lives a privileged life to find out that not everyone has the same opportunities, but the resolution made it seem like she fixed the problem in China. The Chinese gold miner story line was way too oversimplified. This is not how any of that would have worked in real life though. All I could think is that the company that Raymond worked for would have just hired more players instead of a strike actually working. Also, a strike would have taken a lot longer to pan out in the real world and this book made it seem like it happened fairly quickly. The resolution was just way too simplistic and problematic.

Some other thoughts I had on the novel:
• The game Coarsegold Online is very similar to games like World of Warcraft. It's not my type of game but I see the appeal.
• I liked the main character, Anda. She is very kind and caring if a bit naive.
• I loved the idea of an all-women’s guild and encouraging girls to play video games. I really wish that society could get past the misconception that women don't play video games.

As I started reading this book, I realized that the plot sounded familiar. A few more pages in, and I discovered that I read this title in 2014/15 when this graphic novel was first published. I’m not sure if this is a reprint with the new 2018 publication date.

As a novel bringing awareness to social change in graphic format, I respect the storyline and message. The graphics make readers feel as though they are playing the game, and I appreciate the overall theme of online gaming--a huge interest for middle grade readers/tweens. I even cheered at the D&D reference. Sometimes the plot or characters seemed choppy and less seamless, and I found myself looking back to double check where Doctorow first introduced Sarge. A solid and engaging read for tweens about morally right versus wrong intertwined with a lesson in socio-economics, I waiver between 3-4 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read an ARC of this book! I love all of Cory Doctorow's work so I was very excited to read this one as well!

I really enjoyed this book! The blend of virtual reality and actual reality was incredibly well done and I really enjoyed the way the plot moved along. The main character, Anda, was believable and sympathetic, and I felt she had a lot of depth and developed well over the course of the book.

What really made this book amazing, though, was the artwork. The graphics are stunning and they bring the story to life in a beautiful and meaningful way. Although the story is fun, it wouldn't be so incredible if it wasn't accompanied by these graphics.

Definitely recommend!!

In Real Life is a graphic novel – and I beautifully illustrated one at that. The art even varies slightly between the real world and the game world to help you visualize, the colors are really nice, and the panels are played out in a way that makes the story really easy to read, even if your not big on graphic novels. Its a good one to start with if you want to get into them.

I liked the characters – they all seemed very real, fallible and honest. Anda was super relatable. I liked the story – it had a nice message about empathy and how you can never fully understand someone else’s struggles, but it doesn’t shove it down your throat. I will say that if you don’t know at least the basics of MMORPGs, you might not fully get some of the dialogue as its a big part of the story, but you don’t need to be a professional player of league of legends or anything to get it (I dislike MMORPGs even though I love video games and normal RPGs).

The ending felt a little abrupt – and you have to suspend your disbelief a little, as things are resolved a little too easily. But its a cute story overall.

I really enjoyed this!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang. This was my introduction to them both, so I opened the book with great expectations. The idea of a graphic novel about gamer girls intrigued me (especially since I've played video games since I was a child) and the cover art really lured me in.

In Real Life tells the story of Anda, a high school girl that loves her video games. Her world changes after a professional gamer named Liza visits her school. Shocked by the fact that so many girls still game online anonymously as males, Liza urges the girls in class to join her guild in popular MMO Coarsegold as probationary members. The only catch was that they had to play with girl avatars.

While playing the game, Anda learns a lot about morals and ethics. She learns about gold farmers, those who "farm" game items and sell them for real money to online gamers with money to burn. At first Anda partners with a crew member to kill off the gold farmers or "spam" as her partner calls them, as a way to make their own money playing the game. Everything is literally easy money until Anda "cyber meets" gold farmer Raymond. Raymond is a 16-year-old kid from China who plays this game as supplemental income for his family. Developing an online friendship with Raymond teaches Anda many lessons about what's right and wrong, labor laws, healthcare and how our decisions online can affect our real lives.

I was really impressed by this story, as I've never read a graphic novel that tackles how injustices online can affect "real life" quite like this. While reading, we see protagonist Anda mature a lot, even taking a stand for what she believes in (even though she has to be educated on making assumptions about people of different cultures). And can I make mention of the fact that she's plus sized and dyes her hair a bright shade of red half-way through the read? Kudos to the author and illustrator for showing us not all heroines look the same!

Not only was the story compelling and well-paced, the illustrations were beautiful! I enjoyed the entire read in one sitting and enjoyed every bit of it. The gamer girl geek in me rejoiced each time I turned one of the vibrant-colored pages.

I recommend In Real Life to all young gamers and maybe even some of the older ones who appreciate graphic novels as well. There are lessons about friendship, morality, bullying, culture differences, and self-esteem that I believe will resonate with many teens and young adults. I will definitely be purchasing physical copies in the near future. Thank you to First Second Books and Netgalley for an ARC of In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang.

⭐⭐⭐🌟

In Real Life is so beautifully illustrated. I found myself staring at the beautiful artwork for much longer than it took to read this book. I love the feminist themes that run throughout this story. In Real Life bridges the gaps between gamers, readers, and graphic novel lovers.

I enjoy reading Cory Doctorow's previous work. I think this book speaks to the geek girl quite well. It is (I've heard) enjoyable even if you aren't a gamer-though I'm sure that makes it a bit more difficult to understand at some parts and less enjoyable overall. If you are familiar with playing an MMORPG this book will speak to you. Doctorow did a great job illustrating the characters points and making people realize that even online there are consequences for your actions. This book is also beautifully illustrated!

Hmm...On the one hand, I loved a lot about this book. It was great seeing the positive features of video games with Anda becoming more self-empowered as she played the game and invested in her avatar. The moment when she dyed her hair to look like her character's was one of my favourites. The art is just gorgeous and so well suited to the subject matter.

However, there were a few things here which did make me a bit uncomfortable. The whole "Anda helps out the gold-farmers in India" plot did feel a bit white-saviour, not to mention the persistent feeling that the author had a clear agenda when writing this book. It took away from the story a lot for me and would make me a bit wary about recommending it. All the same, an interesting look at one of the darker sides of video games.

First thing I want to say is that this book isn't what it looks like at first. It is activist: it discusses about some pretty serious actual topics. I think this makes it more interesting. It offers with it's beautiful imagery and it's fun theme enough interest for any reader to engage in the topic until the end.
One of the sad point of it, is that I wish it would be a serie. The game looks fun, the "graphic" are wonderful and the characters likeable. Thumbs up !!

I wish that I could have read this book. <br>
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I downloaded the protected PDF and tried to open it with Adobe Digital Editions at least twelve times. The first... maybe ten times it wouldn't even "fulfill", just gave me a server error. The last couple times it opens, but every page is covered with black or a weird glitchy-looking black-and-white mess. My ADE has no issues fulfilling any other protected PDF from NetGalley.<br>
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I hope you guys can fix the file. I'm so sad. This looks so good, I wish I could read it. :(