"Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline is GREAT--We Both Liked It!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is an amazing YA book set in 2044.  The world has so many problems that people spend most of their time online in a virtual world called OASIS.  The main character is a high school boy named Wade who participates in a contest in OASIS that its originator made up before he died.  The winner gets his wealth because he has no family to leave it to.  Wade lives with his aunt who doesn’t really care about him  in her trailer but has a secret hiding place in an abandoned van buried under a heap of cars not too far away.  He lives like a hermit, attending school online and his only friend is in the virtual world.  The story is told by him.  The book would have been good with just the online contest, but when a huge corporation plays too in the hopes of gaining control of the OASIS to use for their own profit, the stakes go up and so does the suspense.  Wade and his online friends become targets!

I am late to the party on this one, but so glad I finally read it!  I was totally immersed in this amazing book!  It flips back and forth between the virtual world and the adventure of trying to win the contest by being the first to find the hidden egg and the real world where Wade goes on a real life adventure in order to win the game.  There is the mystery surrounding the clues on the hunt as well as the mystery of who the people are behind the avatars.  It was great to see how Wade changed throughout the book and became a caring person with real friends!  This is a fun read and I can only imagine how much fun the author had writing it!  The themes in this book are honor, friendship, working together, and making the world a better place.  Anyone who appreciates video games and 1980 pop culture would enjoy this book too as it is masterfully woven into the plot.  This is a page turner for me—LOVED IT!      
(Karen's review, 5 stars) I even did a video review of this one!  https://youtu.be/YX1TCnurYgU

Gerard's review posted 8/30/2011, 5 stars:
WOW! Ready Player One is about a young man named Wade who spends all of his time in OASIS, a site on a computer that lets you escape from your real life. He wants to win the ultimate prize, a massive fortune and power to the person who can find the egg by solving the puzzles along the way. To do this, he will have to leave OASIS for a time and enter the real world. Can he do it? Can he win the ultimate prize? I liked this book a lot—not one of my favorites though. Don't know why it was classed as a “sizzler” at the library, but it was. I think it would appeal more to guys than women.

Joining Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop this week for the book review topic.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!