Reviewed by L. Chapman, September 2022
Warcross by Marie Lu is a science-fiction novel which follows Emika Chen, a New Yorker in insurmountable debt just trying to figure out how she will pay her rent and not get evicted. So how does one manage to have all their debt paid off and their rent paid in full until the end of the year in a single night? For Emika, all it took was an unfortunate mistake. After a long exhausting day of trying to cover her rent, Emika tunes into the highly-anticipated opening of the annual Warcross tournament, and sees a $15,000 power-up. Emika, with experience in hacking, decides to hack into the game and steal the power-up so she can be able to pay her rent and some of her debt. She does it successfully, but ends up accidentally glitching herself into the game as a result, garnering the attention of the 520 million people watching and Henka Games, which created Warcross.
On top of the riveting story, Lu’s use of imagery, suspense, and foreshadowing truly enhances the story. The descriptions and use of imagery are alluring and subsequently give the story life, making Warcross an action-packed novel.