In Real Life

October 6, 2014
Fifteen-year-old Seth aims to be the first American player to break into the professional online gaming circuit, and readers will be swept into his struggle to find his niche in whatever “real life” may be. It’s murky turf for the math whiz, who has made his mark in the gaming world but questions his ability to measure up to the pros. Seth is even less assured in the offline world, where he feels overshadowed by his popular and athletic brother. His self-esteem gets a boost from Hannah—an artistic, intuitive classmate and coworker—and Tabak subtly and affectingly portrays the romance that develops between them. Seth’s decision to join a prestigious Korean gaming team jeopardizes their relationship, as well as Seth’s confidence. His candid and self-effacing narrative humorously exposes his seesawing emotions and sense of self: while he becomes an instant celebrity in Korea, he’s resented and shunned by his teammates, and Hannah’s long-distance aloofness compounds his loneliness. Tabak credibly navigates self-doubt, alienation, and resilience in his debut novel, which ends on a tantalizingly open-ended note. Ages 12–15.

October 15, 2014
Seth Gordon balances school, family and a girl against his goal of becoming a professional gamer. Seth is obsessed with the PC game "Starfare," enough so to be nationally ranked and well-respected in the gaming community. His real life isn't so great: He's got divorced parents always on his case and a love life that's dead on arrival. The novel starts with his prepping for a national "Starfare" tournament, and the ball keeps rolling from there. A whole lot of stuff happens over the ensuing almost-300 pages, but what's missing is the crucial "therefore" connections; there's very little cause and effect here. Seth just goes through the motions while things continually happen to him, which is counterproductive in a book that's built around a character who is supposed to be actively good at something. A romance is introduced late in the game, but it's severely undercooked. Seth is such a dolt that the heat never really arrives, and the girl he's interested in is too aloof and underrepresented for readers to ever really get to know her. The romance becomes actively insulting to both Seth and readers with the book's half-baked conclusion. Tertiary characters are erratically developed, doing what the author wants rather than what the story needs. The novel is simply dramatically inert. Readers will wait patiently for disparate elements to clash in interesting, surprising ways, but they never do. A lengthy book that's much less than the sum of its pages. (Fiction. 12-16)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Seth Gordon, or ActionSeth, obsesses over two things: Brit Leigh's Facebook page and becoming a Starfare pro-gamer in Korea. Seth contributes his gaming success to his parents' divorce. When he earns a free spot at Nationals through a gaming tournament, convincing his parents to allow him to go requires a bargain with his dad: Seth must bring home money or quit gaming. Luckily, Seth wins $2000, but his mom jeopardizes his gaming career when she moves to an Institute in California-a yoga-heavy, technology-light community. His mom thinks it's the ideal solution to his gaming problem and would prefer that he focus on his mathematical talents and getting into college. Seth convinces his dad to allow him to stay in Kansas with him. He dad agrees, with a caveat: Seth must get a job. The teen gamer begins working at a restaurant, where he meets Hannah, and they develop a relationship. Seth's placement in Nationals and his U.S. rankings draw the attention of Team Anaconda in Korea, and he convinces his parents to allow him to go. Though a little light in plot and characterization, this book will appeal to gamers (especially those interested in learning about the Korean gaming scene) and teens looking for a light read.-Adrienne L. Strock, Teen Library Manager, Nashville Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2014
Grades 7-10 An online gamer's talents vault him to pro level in this well-crafted, if somewhat overstuffed, debut. By dint of focused dedication to his chosen fantasy game, Starfare, teen math prodigy Seth wrangles entry into a national competition with a $30,000 prize. He doesn't winbut to his amazement, his innovative play earns an invitation to join one of the world's top professional teams in South Korea, where gaming is a big-bucks sport. IM and Skype notwithstanding, that's a very long way from home and girlfriend Hannah. Readers will find Seth an unusually vivid protagonist. Instead of just announcing Seth is a whiz at gaming and math, Tabak repeatedly puts him in the zone, implementing strategic and tactical maneuvers in hot game action, and at other times eagerly digging into calculus and inventing algorithms. In contrast to his hostile South Korean teammates, Seth is a good guy: humble in his hard-won successes but not a wimp. Ultimately, loneliness, culture shock, and a scholarship draw him back home, where a final pleasant surprise involving Hannah's college plans awaits. It's always satisfying to see a smart and likable character level up. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)