Last Gamer Standing

July 5, 2021
A virtual reality game that draws inspiration from various Asian cultures, Dayhold is a global phenomenon, with its own academy dedicated to training the next generation of players. Currently attending its 2067 summer camp session on a full scholarship, Chinese American 12-year-old Reyna Cheng is a rising superstar, poised to excel in the Junior Dayhold Tournament, whose prize is $10,000. But no one knows of her success—to fit into the male-dominated scene and avoid racist and sexist bullying, Reyna keeps her identity as TheRuiNar a strict secret. Having promised her parents, who are coping with her mother’s breast cancer, to give up her dream of becoming a pro gamer if she doesn’t win, Reyna is determined to show everyone that she has what it takes to be a Dayhold champion—until an opponent who knows her identity threatens to dox her unless she withdraws. Combining ruthless online rivalry and real-life dilemmas, Zhao (How We Fall Apart) pushes her inspirational heroine to the limit in the pursuit of success, validation, and financial security. An insular-feeling first-person narration underlines how Reyna’s intense focus in the high-pressure environment can leave her feeling isolated. Ages 8–12. Agent: Penny Moore, Aevitas Creative Management.

Starred review from August 15, 2021
A hardworking prodigy takes the gaming world by storm, one epic battle at a time. Mysterious new gamer TheRuiNar is turning heads in the 2067 Junior Dayhold Tournament. Looking at TheRuiNar's teenage male avatar, no one would ever guess that the person behind this virtual reality star is Reyna Cheng, a 12-year-old who got a scholarship to attend the prestigious Dayhold Academy's summer camp. Winning the tournament can rocket young players to e-sports stardom, but for Reyna the stakes are even higher. If she's eliminated, she's promised her struggling immigrant parents that she'll give up her dreams of gaming forever. Winning the prize money would not only prove she has what it takes to be a pro gamer, it would also pay for her mother's cancer treatments. Does Reyna have the physical, mental, and emotional endurance to keep her identity a secret and become the next champion? Gripping game play as well as cliffhanger chapter endings make for an adrenaline-filled reading experience. Reyna is an ambitious, emotionally vulnerable narrator who games to escape the hardships of the real world while also acknowledging and fighting back against race and gender discrimination in the White, male-dominated tech world. Reyna's Chinese American cultural heritage is rich and nuanced, from her complicated, realistic relationship with her parents to her K-Pop-blasting pre-gaming ritual. Reyna's friends are racially diverse. Emotional depth and nuanced representation level up this action-packed, futuristic page-turner. (Science fiction. 9-13)

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