2008-06-23 Reality with a twist.

While the blurb is a bit disconcerting (Such as trying to use pseudo-teenage words like "rules!" and "sucks!") I really enjoyed this book.

Judith is an intelligent, tomboyish 'nerd' that finds solace in an online game called Hell's Mouth, who allows you to be whoever you want to be. Judith chooses to be Terryn- A male theif. Judith finds it uncomfortable to behave 'girly' and enjoys the feeling of power and control that playing male characters give her. However, the Game is quickly finished when a mysterious player called Irgan shows up. Irgan turns out to be Jonathan, a boy who lives in the same block of apartments as Judith with a troubling reputation.

Judith herself is likeable and her personality, like a lot of people's, varies depending on the situation. While she initially is rather introverted, her 'inner voice' is both sarcastic and comical. She often lacks the motivation to say what she really thinks, and finds that when she does it often has large consequences (such as her argument with self-centered ex-friend, Leia.)

Like most people, Judith has an awkward relationship with her parents- Her dad makes frequent calls from far away, which Judith herself struggles to handle, and Judith's over-bearing mother.

While Judith and Jonathan begin a real life 'game' of their own after leaving the online game, their ambigious relationship takes several interesting twists. While I could care less about the 'Role-playing' part of it, watching the two characters react was fascinating.

Another interesting aspect of the book is Judith's budding friendship with rich-girl Katie, who also doesn't fit in to their over-achieving school due to her air-headed attitude. While at first Judith believes Katie is a steriotypical "girl" in that she doesn't like to act intelligently, Katie turns out to be a fun, witty person.

The ending is refreshingly not-predictable, with Judith and Leia deciding mutually that they have changed too much in the time they were apart and agree to simply acknowledge each other, and Judith remains friends with Katie instead. While the ending note is somewhat ambivalent, I much preferred it to an 'all out' one, with Judith going across America to visit her Dad and unsure of how things stand with Jonathan. A real find.