School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-Vivian Vande Velde's novel (Harcourt, 2002) combines fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction into one seamless tale. Giannine has turned 14 and her dead-beat dad sends her a gift certificate to a virtual reality gaming center. She decides to play "Heir Apparent," a game in which she is the illegitimate daughter of a dead king, and must win the throne in order to win the game. Giannine's brain is hooked up to electrodes so that she may experience all the feelings, sights, and smells of medieval life. When a radical group determined to close down the gaming center damages the main frame computer, Giannine must win the game or die trying. What follows is a delightful romp as the heroine attempts to subdue her murderous step-family, win over the citizens she encounters, and complete a quest in order to seize the throne. Narrator Carine Montbertrand strikes just the right acerbic tone for Giannine and nicely interprets all the weird, wonderful characters encountered along the way. This fantasy will even appeal to young adults who don't like fantasy and will charm young and older teens alike.-Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
When Giannine arrives at a virtual arcade, she is greeted by protestors but decides to play in Heir Apparent anyway. But then the arcade's CEO appears in her game and tells her the only way out is to successfully complete it-and quickly, or risk "fatal overload." PW called this a "consistently entertaining fantasy... ingeniously developed." Ages 10-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Middle School) In this novel set in the (not too distant) future, a group of protesters-Citizens to Protect Our Children-breaks into a popular virtual reality arcade in Rochester, New York, and damages equipment in an attempt to prevent minors from being exposed to the fantasy and science-fiction games. In so doing, however, they inadvertently endanger fourteen-year-old Giannine Bellisario, who is too deeply immersed in a game to be disconnected safely. Now, instead of half an hour of a computer-generated adventure, Giannine is stuck playing the part of Jannine de St. Jehan, disputed heir to a threatened kingdom, as if her life depends on it-which it does. Supported by an intriguing premise, a vividly portrayed virtual-medieval setting, imaginatively evoked characters, and healthy doses of humor and the supernatural, the novel's strength lies in its tenacious main character. Giannine's witty and sarcastic first-person narration keeps the lengthy story moving forward, despite the fact that each time Giannine is virtually ""killed"" (by a renegade palace guard, by treacherous princes, by an enchanted statue), she has to start the game over again. It's a testament to Vande Velde's storytelling magic that she's able to put Giannine through this eight times, comically conveying the character's mounting frustration and the gaming-center executives' anxiety without frustrating readers along the way. Just in case anyone feels her book is ""dangerous,"" and apt to corrupt the minds of children, the author jokingly provides a ""down with fantasy"" placard (""glue this page to cardboard and fasten onto a stick. Start your own protest demonstration!""), a not-so-subtle gibe sure to be appreciated by the book's intended audience. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A near-future teenager trapped in a full-immersion virtual reality game finds herself racing the clock to beat non-virtual death in this plausible, suspenseful outing. Safety precautions come to naught when a group of anti-fantasy do-gooders breaks into a games arcade and damages the equipment. Stranded in "Heir Apparent," a game in which she, as the illegitimate but designated successor to a medieval throne, has to claim and keep her position, Giannine discovers that she can only escape real brain damage, or worse, by finishing the game within three "days." Vande Velde (Being Dead, 2001, etc.) keeps readers in touch with the outside world with substantial but not distracting subplots, surrounds her bright but amateur gamer with magic implements, allies or rivals with unknown allegiances, and other standard game devices, and creates a believable plot line for the game to follow. Though Giannine is repeatedly (to her vast annoyance) forced to start over after being "killed," she learns from her mistakes, survives increasingly tricky, sometimes hilarious, challenges, and wins both crown and life at the last possible moment by not only overcoming opponents, but by using newly developed diplomatic skills to win allies. It's riveting reading for experienced gamers and tyros alike. (Fiction. 11-13)
Booklist Review
Gr. 6^-9. The terrifying implications of virtual reality gone awry get a lighthearted spin in Velde's latest novel, which is set in a technologically advanced future. Smart, alienated Giannine decides to celebrate her fourteenth birthday at a computer gaming center, where she chooses an elaborate, virtual-reality role-playing game. Set in medieval times, the game turns Giannine into an exiled princess who must stay alive until she can return to court and assume the throne. As Giannine plays, a group of censorship advocates break into the computer system, and Giannine suddenly discovers that she must complete the game in the allotted time or die. The evocative details, plausible technology, and Giannine's sharp-witted narration will completely immerse readers in Giannine's world as she makes life-threatening decisions and evades danger. The thrilling sf drama and intricate game details will capture the Dungeons and Dragons set, and the slapstick humor, tough girl protagonist, and fairy-tale plot will widen the audience. This also raises interesting questions about censorship. --Gillian Engberg