Thursday, March 4, 2021

A Strange Lonely Girl Faces Danger in the Near Future

 


In her Seattle apartment, Linda Russel lives in fear of encountering people. She had a strange lonely childhood growing up practically without supervision on a twenty acre estate. She was allowed to run wild until one day she witnessed a terrible scene that sent her scrambling over the wall to get away from the horror.


Living in her apartment, she’s alone until she meets Anvi and her dog Nibbler. Anvi, but particularly Nibbler break through Linda’s shell and they become friends. Anvi introduces Linda to her Virtual Reality (VR) game which changes Linda’s life. She is immediately drawn to it.


Another nightmare happens. Linda’s childhood home burns down. She feels she must go and Anvi drives her. As she returns so do the memories of that time. Linda finds that in spite of the danger, she can no longer hide from the truth about her childhood.


I found the plot and setting for this book very original. The near future builds on the world as we know it, but everything is more advanced. I enjoyed the descriptions of the technology, particularly the VR games.


Linda is an interesting character, but I couldn’t warm up to her, perhaps because she is so withdrawn. I found the brash Anvi more likable. However, Nibbler was my favorite. I love stories where dogs have an important function.


I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

No comments:

Post a Comment