L V

Wow! I don't know what to say about this book. I don't want to judge the choices Jeanette's fairly educated parents made in life – I was just happy to read about how she and her siblings persevered and made it through the other side fairly intact. Jeanette and her siblings were forced to grow up fast way too young. What these kids did to pull themselves out of poverty is beyond words –I'm not sure I could've done what they did had I been in their position. But no matter how the parents are perceived by the reader, one will note that they made it so that the family would remain a family no matter what, and for that, I do admire them.

I am not a gamer at all and yet this book still managed to keep me interested in its story. It has something for everyone – video games, 80s pop culture references, action, danger, humor. If you're not into gaming and can't relate to the references, it's still a good read. I treated it like an Easter egg hunt and Googled references I didn't know too much about. It made me feel like a competitor in the game, and it made the read much more enjoyable. It was so much fun to dive into the history of the references and how they connected to the plot. The movie adaptation I created in my head while reading this action-packed book was awesome, and I am hoping the movie to be released in 2018 does this great page-turner of a read justice.

The start of the story was somewhat vague to me. All of the names each god was known by- coupled with  the intertwining story lines- was a bit overwhelming and hard to keep track of, but all does come together in the end. Like many GR reviewers, the author's intention of comparing Shadow to Jesus went over my head.