Guy in Real Life

It is Labor Day weekend in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and boy and girl collide on a dark street at two thirty in the morning: Lesh, who wears black, listens to metal, and plays MMOs; Svetlana, who embroiders her skirts, listens to Björk and Berlioz, and dungeon masters her own RPG. They should pick themselves up, continue on their way, and never talk to each other again.

But they don't.

The story is told by multiple narrators, including in-game characters, and across several types of gaming. Music is very important as well. And in the end, it all comes down to identity, which is the root of many high school stories as people try to discover who they are in relation to their family and friends.

I'm intrigued by the storytelling aspects of tabletop role playing games, and although I haven't played a massively multiplayer online role-playing game like World of Warcraft in a long time, I really enjoy reading about other people's experiences in creating avatars and exploring other worlds and identities. This book will interest gamers of all ages, as well as anyone who enjoys a great love story.

Check out Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff

Lissa Staley

Librarian

Lissa Staley is a familiar face around the library and throughout Topeka. As Community Connections librarian, she comes alongside people and organizations while they work to learn, experiment and improve their own lives and the community around them. From Library Trivia and NaNoWrimo to voter education and non-profit support, she enjoys helping people make connections to the community and each other. She reads a combination of speculative and science fiction novels, self-help and social justice, and local news, while trying to make sense of them all together.

Teens