#46 In Real Life by Cory Doctorow, Jen Wang

This is somewhere between a middle grade and YA book. A girl joins a MMO and gets into more than she bargained for. An online friend recruits her to help hunt down gold farmers in the game and get paid. As she is doing this she actually talks to one of them and finds out that lfe isn't so fun when you game for a living. When she learns about unions and strikes on TV and asking her Dad about some of it she gives this advice to the gold farmer and of course it doesn't work out. The plot does somewhat get a happy ending but it thought it just took the easy way to end it since it comes across more as a story with a moral rather than a good story. I do have to say that I liked the art in it and it did make up for some of my feelings about the story.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher though NetGalley

#47 California Bones by Greg Van Eekhout

Set in an alternate US where there is magic all around us and the best magic comes from bones and people fight to control the fossils and even kill magic users to eat their bones to take the magic they in turn have eaten. Daniel watched the Hierarch of Southern California start to eat his father as magic hid him from being dined on as well. Years later he gets a chance to strike back and retrieve a magical sword that was was stolen that day. The sword is made out of parts of Daniel so he really wants it along with it possibly being the best item his Dad ever created. Most of the book reads like a heist which is what the most of the plot is but you get a lot of background on how society works and get to see that the magic users are not nice people.  The ending can go either way of setting up for a sequel or walking away with enough of your questions answered that you can live without more story until a next one might show up.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

ETA  I've heard now this will be a trilogy.