Graphic Novel Review: In Real Life

In Real Life
Written by Cory Doctorow
Illustrated by Jen Wang
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“This life is real too. We're communicating aren't we?” 
― Cory Doctorow, In Real Life

In Real Life follows Anda as she gets into gaming and discovers issues within the gaming world, as well as the actual world. It examines girls in games, gaming for money, "gold farming," and differences in how other countries treat their employees.

Frankly, this story was a little too after-school-special-y for me to truly enjoy it. It wasn't bad, not at all, but it may have been improved by more text and back story; in this context there were too many "issues" to care about the characters. That being said, the artwork was gorgeous. Jen Wang did a beautiful job.

Maybe I didn't love the book, but I'd still recommend it to young gamers, particularly girls who think maybe it's not ok for them to like gaming. It's a super fast read, so it's worth the half hour it takes to get through it.