Arena by Holly Jennings
“Sure, I was part Asian. I was also good at video games. Why couldn’t those two things ever be separate? Why couldn't I be good because of dedication, hard work, and talent? But nooo. Somehow, the shape of my eyes
alone made me better at pushing buttons on a controller.”
So I’ve just finished reading Arena by Holly Jennings. If you can believe it, this is actually my first read of the summer (eek! It’s nearly the end of June!). Things have been a bit busy around here, but I absolutely loved this book, and finished most of it in one sitting.
Every week, Kali Ling fights to the death on national TV. She’s died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier… The RAGE tournaments—the Virtual Gaming League’s elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a fight to the digital death. Every kill is broadcast to millions. Every player leads a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses. And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real. Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world—until one of her teammates overdoses. Now she’s stuck trying to work with a hostile new teammate who’s far more distracting than he should be. Between internal tensions and external pressures, Kali is on the brink of breaking. To change her life, she’ll need to change the game. And the only way to revolutionize an industry as shadowy as the VGL is to fight from the inside…
I just loved the idea of this book, because it takes video gaming, and projects us into a future where it is a bona-fide sport. Kali and her teammates spend ten hours a day lifting weights, practicing hand-to-hand combat, running, and training. Watching Kali struggle to win the RAGE tournaments with a dysfunctional team and invincible opponents was totally relatable to any athlete or sports fan. Her ongoing trouble with sponsors and her media image gives the readers a peek into the imperfections that plague people that are forced to live in the public eye. And her struggles to find meaning in the real world hit close to home in a time when people are getting dangerously addicted to the virtual world. Kali handles herself like a true warrior, never letting any faults seep through the cracks. She is quick to attack, but always on hand to defend her teammates. The way that she grows and learns to find peace with herself outside of the virtual world makes a great read. I would recommend this story to people that enjoy reading about pro athletics, celebrities, corruption, and flawed main characters. While this book features a diverse cast of characters, the focus is not on the fact that Kali happens to be female or Chinese. It’s about an elite athlete and the troubles that are hidden from the public eye. The athlete just happens to be a woman and half Chinese, but that’s just a part of who she is, not a defining part of the story. PS I’d give this book a pg13 rating :)
Every week, Kali Ling fights to the death on national TV. She’s died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier… The RAGE tournaments—the Virtual Gaming League’s elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a fight to the digital death. Every kill is broadcast to millions. Every player leads a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses. And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real. Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world—until one of her teammates overdoses. Now she’s stuck trying to work with a hostile new teammate who’s far more distracting than he should be. Between internal tensions and external pressures, Kali is on the brink of breaking. To change her life, she’ll need to change the game. And the only way to revolutionize an industry as shadowy as the VGL is to fight from the inside…
I just loved the idea of this book, because it takes video gaming, and projects us into a future where it is a bona-fide sport. Kali and her teammates spend ten hours a day lifting weights, practicing hand-to-hand combat, running, and training. Watching Kali struggle to win the RAGE tournaments with a dysfunctional team and invincible opponents was totally relatable to any athlete or sports fan. Her ongoing trouble with sponsors and her media image gives the readers a peek into the imperfections that plague people that are forced to live in the public eye. And her struggles to find meaning in the real world hit close to home in a time when people are getting dangerously addicted to the virtual world. Kali handles herself like a true warrior, never letting any faults seep through the cracks. She is quick to attack, but always on hand to defend her teammates. The way that she grows and learns to find peace with herself outside of the virtual world makes a great read. I would recommend this story to people that enjoy reading about pro athletics, celebrities, corruption, and flawed main characters. While this book features a diverse cast of characters, the focus is not on the fact that Kali happens to be female or Chinese. It’s about an elite athlete and the troubles that are hidden from the public eye. The athlete just happens to be a woman and half Chinese, but that’s just a part of who she is, not a defining part of the story. PS I’d give this book a pg13 rating :)
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