Review: The Leveller by Julia Durango

Title: The Leveller

Author: Julia Durango

Genre: YA, sci-fi

Publication date: June 2015

Published by: HarperTeen

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: Nixy Bauer is a self-made Leveller. Her job? Dragging kids out of virtual reality and back to their parents in the real world. It’s normally easy cash, but Nixy’s latest mission is fraught with real danger, intrigue, and romance.

Nixy Bauer is used to her classmates being very, very unhappy to see her. After all, she’s a bounty hunter in a virtual reality gaming world. Kids in the MEEP, as they call it, play entirely with their minds, while their bodies languish in a sleeplike state on the couch. Irritated parents, looking to wrench their kids back to reality, hire Nixy to jump into the game and retrieve them.

But when the game’s billionaire developer loses track of his own son in the MEEP, Nixy is in for the biggest challenge of her bounty-hunting career. Wyn Salvador isn’t some lazy kid looking to escape his homework: Wyn does not want to be found. And he’s left behind a suicide note. Nixy takes the job but quickly discovers that Wyn’s not hiding—he’s being held inside the game against his will. But who is holding him captive, and why?

Nixy and Wyn attempt to fight their way out of a mind game unlike any they’ve encountered, and the battle brings them closer than either could have imagined. But when the whole world is virtual, how can Nixy possibly know if her feelings are real?

My rating: ★★★★☆

This was a really cool world! So Nixy is basically a bounty hunter, dragging kids back to the real world when they've spent too much time inside the virtual reality game MEEP. I was really excited to read this, and overall, I really enjoyed it. It was just a really creative world where the game apparently goes straight to your brain. The world Nixy enters to get her latest bounty is basically a maze filled with death at the turn of every corner. Lol. And honestly, that sounds FUN 😆 I had a blast exploring this virtual world.

I liked the characters for the most part. Nixy was pretty badass and Wyn was sweet. There was this section in the middle of the book where she misplaced her badassery and things were just not happening. Didn’t love that. And although they had their cute moments, I was kinda meh about the romance. I mean, it was fine, but it could've been better. One relationship I did love that we only saw a little bit of at the beginning of the book was the one between Nixy and her dad. It was silly and fun and very heartwarming.

But overall, I enjoyed the book! It was a fascinating world, I loved the concept of the game, and there was more to the story than just some kid not wanting to come out of the game. Which I liked and appreciated.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊