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?

Gamers and action fans of all types will dive straight into the MEEP, thanks to Julia Durango’s cinematic storytelling. A touch of romance adds some heart to Nixy’s vivid, multidimensional journey through Wyn’s tricked-out virtual city, and constant twists keep readers flying through to the breathtaking end.

Review

The Leveller is the story of Nixy Bauer, it takes place in a world where kids can go in virtual reality and create their world. The timer for gaming in four hours per day, some kids play more and their parents pay Nixy to bring them back in reality. Nixy’s parents work for the company which creates the MEEP, so she has beta access. One day, the game’s developer’s son is missing in the MEEP, so his father offer a job to Nixy.

One thing you must know about Nixy is that she’s the best in levelling. She’s doing it in one hour all the time, but this time is different because Wyn is held inside the game against his will.

Nixy is really a character I love, she’s independent, strong, gamer, smart, she think mostly about her education but I think it’s a good thing. She has faith in her abilities and she will be disappointed at some times in the book.

Wyn is lost, he knows the game better than anyone but he’s trapped. Nixy appears in his world and all the things changes. I like Wyn, he’s very smart and thoughtful I won’t tell you more because I want you to fall in love with this boy.

The story is really breathtaking, if you like video game, it makes me think at the movie eXistenZ with Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It’s probably not the first book to talk about this subject but I really love this one. Throughout the book Nixy and Wyn see the good in the game and not of the domination. The subject is really well approached and the style of the author is fantastic. The Leveller was read very fast read and I had difficulty closing it.

I have read this book in ebook from Harper Collins and I have finished it today and just bought the Hardcover because it’s THE book I want in my bookcase. And the cover is absolutely gorgeous so it doesn’t hurt.

About the author

Julia writes books for kids of all ages in a small town by the Illinois River. Cha-Cha Chimps, her picture book for youngest  readers, is a 2014 ILLINOIS READS title. Upcoming books include The Second Guard fantasy series (Disney Hyperion 2015)  and her debut YA novel, The Leveller (HarperTeen 2015).