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Guy in Real Life
From the acclaimed author of Brooklyn, Burning comes Guy in Real Life, an achingly real and profoundly moving love story about two Minnesota teens whose lives become intertwined through school, role-playing games, and a chance two-a.m. bike accident.
It is Labor Day weekend in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and boy and girl collide on a dark street at two thirty in the morning: Lesh, who wears black, listens to metal, and plays MMOs; Svetlana, who embroiders her skirts, listens to Björk and Berlioz, and dungeon masters her own RPG. They should pick themselves up, continue on their way, and never talk to each other again.
But they don't.
This is a story of two people who do not belong in each other's lives, who find each other at a time when they desperately need someone who doesn't belong in their lives. A story of those moments when we act like people we aren't in order to figure out who we are. A story of the roles we all play-at school, at home, with our friends, and without our friends-and the one person who might show us what lies underneath it all.
It is Labor Day weekend in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and boy and girl collide on a dark street at two thirty in the morning: Lesh, who wears black, listens to metal, and plays MMOs; Svetlana, who embroiders her skirts, listens to Björk and Berlioz, and dungeon masters her own RPG. They should pick themselves up, continue on their way, and never talk to each other again.
But they don't.
This is a story of two people who do not belong in each other's lives, who find each other at a time when they desperately need someone who doesn't belong in their lives. A story of those moments when we act like people we aren't in order to figure out who we are. A story of the roles we all play-at school, at home, with our friends, and without our friends-and the one person who might show us what lies underneath it all.
405 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2014
108 people are currently reading
8581 people want to read
About the author
Steve Brezenoff
104 books125 followersSteve Brezenoff is the author of the young adult novels The Absolute Value of -1 and Brooklyn, Burning, and his third, Guy In Real Life, will be released in 2014. He has also written dozens of chapter books for younger readers. Though Steve grew up in a suburb on Long Island, he now lives with his wife and their son in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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March 3, 2014When are editors going to find a new description? As a matter of fact, not every book can be Rainbow Rowell x John Green.
June 14, 2014
Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff Review
Dear potential readers,
This book tells the story of a boy who impersonates a female elf in a make-believe role playing game (RPG). He’s grounded and frankly…has nothing to do. He’s a metal boy, or Goth if you ask me. I should know, I hung out with Goths in High School. Don’t even ask. He even meets some fellow gamers, one of which actually believes he’s a girl. This sick fuck is named Lesh. He drunkenly knocks into a girl, who amazes him at every turn. Her name is Svetlana. Oh…and he names his avatar after her. Can you smell the insta-love? He’s fascinated by Lana; by her hippy clothes, her green notebooks (one of which he ruined), and her plain looks. But let me let you in on something: Lana’s looks aren’t plain. Her clothes may be strange, but that doesn’t mean she’s not pretty. She’s a geek to others. Everyone looks at her as if she’s nothing but a girl who rambles on about poetry and her arts and crafts projects. He and Svetlana (the human), nicknamed Lana, have lunch together and start to become friends. Eventually Lesh starts to become attractive to Lana as well…you can probably guess where that’ll end up. To sum up: it’s a story about two emo kids who “fall in love”.
Emo Boy Drools over Hippy Girl
I felt throughout the majority of this book that Lesh was portrayed as a stereotypical overly emotional Goth boy. He wears a black coat, baggy black pants, has black bangs, and he even stares at the ceiling while he listens to metal music. 1. Not all “metal boys” are like this. 2. Not all guys/girls into metal bands deck out in all black. 3. Why would you want to portray a stereotype to a reader? Wouldn’t you want to portray a character that doesn’t buy into that stereotype?
My problem with Lana wasn’t just her actions, which I’ll explain; it’s the way she’s presented as the poor rich girl. She’s a fucking snowflake who complains about everything! Her car, her parent’s giant house, her parent’s being soccer fanatics, and she even censors people when swearing:
Example 1:“Where the fun have you been?”
Example 2:“What the truck?”
Example 3:“Holy Fork”
Example 4:“This is forking ridiculous.”
If she doesn’t swear, that’s great. But, please don’t push your personal judgments onto other people. My friends know that I swear like a sailor. I do not share the opinion that swearing equals having little intelligence. Look, the amount of fucks you say in a day or in a review, does not define your lack of intelligence. Nor does it define a bad person, either. Another thing: I found it hard to like a heroine who preaches to others what they’re doing wrong; even if said preaching happens in her head. Telling people what they should and should not do isn’t a quality I like to see in a heroine. I like heroines who are assertive and can actually stand up for them selves. I did not get this with Lana.
Why is Lana a snowflake?
1. I usually don’t judge characters for how they look. But when a character is so blind as to say that person isn’t gorgeous when the description says otherwise:
Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not giving you the old “helmet comes off, blond hair shakes and falls in waves on the gorgeous girl” routine. This is more like white blond, first of all, rather than golden, and it falls not in waves, but in a matted bunch of twists and clumps and messy flyaways-like actual corn silk...
A girl with white blond hair and the color of corn silk, sounds like she’s gorgeous to me:
I can’t even be sure she’s really standing there. Under the flickering white light of the lamp in the super USA parking lot, she looks like an angel, as imagined in the movies of the 1920s.
either that or:
2. She complains about her nice car:
I do not want to be seen in this car, and I do not want people about whom I care to be seen in this car either. This is not me being snobbish, by the way. I’ll get to that in a minute. I simply appreciate things of a particular beauty…
when most teens don’t even have cars. Usually if you want a car, you pay for it by getting a job. But she also lives in her rich parents giant house, which she hates:
“What? This house? What’s not to like about this house? It’s huge.”
“True,” she says, but she doesn’t explain…
3. She doesn’t go anywhere with her parents unless she wants to. When I was a teen, I had to go places with my parents without question. She makes an activity wheel so that her parents will know that she’s busy. I know that most teens don’t want to go anywhere with their parents, but the stuff they’re asking really isn’t that big of a deal. They ask her to go to soccer games and to go places that actually sounds okay to me. But being the crafty lass that she is, she doesn’t want to go places where there’s a healthy source of oxygen…and people.
Character Development aka the Romance
The only characters that I felt actually had some depth were Lesh and Lana’s parents and the protagonists themselves. I felt like Lesh and Lana’s friendship happened realistically, but their romantic relationship did not. I don’t see how they went from being friends for less than two weeks to instantly becoming romantic with each other. It’s like there was a big development jump that wasn’t included in the book. One moment they hang out only while they have lunch together, which by the way has very little conversing. So while I loved that they started as friends, the author left out something very integral in their relationship development.
What else? Oh the Plot!
It’s predictable. For a good deal of the book I could see where things were going to end up. It’s unfortunate; I wanted to find a book with a positive and unique take on the gaming community. But here’s the thing: this book went off on a lot of tropes when it comes to the gaming community. I won’t really go into it because it’s a bit of a spoiler. However since it’s obvious it won’t take you long to figure it out.
Miscellaneous Things That Bothered Me
1. The Portrayal of Women:
The portrayal of Jelly bothered me, a lot. She’s portrayed as, well a slut. When Lesh and some of his friends go to a concert “Jelly wiggles and slaps her but at a dad in a Subaru.” The author differentiates the women by mean girls=sluts and gamer girls= friendly to other girls. Lesh later on says to his friend Greg:
“I knew it,” I said over my shoulder to Greg.
“We missed the beginning ‘cause we had to stop to pick up those two skanks.”
“We definitely did,” Greg says, and he’s ogling one of them as she digs around in her bag and finds a bundle of singles.
This is not even slightly realistic or respectful. I’ve been friends with girls into metal music, and the majority that I’ve met have been really nice. Doesn’t mean all of them were nice. But the way the author portrayed these girls made me think that girls who were mean were also sluts. Just because a girl is mean, doesn’t mean they’re a slut. Some girls are just hateful and mean. I’ve experienced this personally, many times. This is a terrible way to present girl relationships to teens. It’s even worse to show adults this because it means that it might never end in Young Adult or Adult fiction. I’d like to believe this idea that a mean girl defines a slut would go away in a couple decades. But, I guess that’s too much to ask.
2. Lana's Treatment of Fry
The way that Lana treats Fry is incredibly unfair. I totally applaud her ability to tell him she doesn’t feel about him the way he feels about her, but the way she went about it was awful. Just because he annoys Lana, doesn’t mean she has the right to treat him as if he’s below her:
He was never nice to me,” I insist. “That’s not being nice.”
“Sort of it is,” Hen says. “He talks to you and smiles at you. That’s something.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s lecherousness.”
She assumes she knows him when really how much does she know him if she’s not even truly friends with him? From my perspective Fry seems like a lonely kid who just has a crush on a girl he’s known for a long time. He’s a bit of a misfit and kinda awkward. No one has the right to treat someone with reverence just because they’re annoying:
I don’t like him, but I know him like the underside of my down comforter. He’s been around longer, actually, but he’s nowhere near as pleasant to be with. The point is, I know what he’s thinking before he does.
The worst part is that there’s no resolution to this. I feel like I have to let this be known because I don’t want you get your hopes up, like I did mine. I thought the author would at least provide some sort of resolution when it concerns Fry.
But alas, all I kept thinking was:
Dear potential readers,
This book tells the story of a boy who impersonates a female elf in a make-believe role playing game (RPG). He’s grounded and frankly…has nothing to do. He’s a metal boy, or Goth if you ask me. I should know, I hung out with Goths in High School. Don’t even ask. He even meets some fellow gamers, one of which actually believes he’s a girl. This sick fuck is named Lesh. He drunkenly knocks into a girl, who amazes him at every turn. Her name is Svetlana. Oh…and he names his avatar after her. Can you smell the insta-love? He’s fascinated by Lana; by her hippy clothes, her green notebooks (one of which he ruined), and her plain looks. But let me let you in on something: Lana’s looks aren’t plain. Her clothes may be strange, but that doesn’t mean she’s not pretty. She’s a geek to others. Everyone looks at her as if she’s nothing but a girl who rambles on about poetry and her arts and crafts projects. He and Svetlana (the human), nicknamed Lana, have lunch together and start to become friends. Eventually Lesh starts to become attractive to Lana as well…you can probably guess where that’ll end up. To sum up: it’s a story about two emo kids who “fall in love”.
Emo Boy Drools over Hippy Girl
I felt throughout the majority of this book that Lesh was portrayed as a stereotypical overly emotional Goth boy. He wears a black coat, baggy black pants, has black bangs, and he even stares at the ceiling while he listens to metal music. 1. Not all “metal boys” are like this. 2. Not all guys/girls into metal bands deck out in all black. 3. Why would you want to portray a stereotype to a reader? Wouldn’t you want to portray a character that doesn’t buy into that stereotype?
My problem with Lana wasn’t just her actions, which I’ll explain; it’s the way she’s presented as the poor rich girl. She’s a fucking snowflake who complains about everything! Her car, her parent’s giant house, her parent’s being soccer fanatics, and she even censors people when swearing:
Example 1:“Where the fun have you been?”
Example 2:“What the truck?”
Example 3:“Holy Fork”
Example 4:“This is forking ridiculous.”
If she doesn’t swear, that’s great. But, please don’t push your personal judgments onto other people. My friends know that I swear like a sailor. I do not share the opinion that swearing equals having little intelligence. Look, the amount of fucks you say in a day or in a review, does not define your lack of intelligence. Nor does it define a bad person, either. Another thing: I found it hard to like a heroine who preaches to others what they’re doing wrong; even if said preaching happens in her head. Telling people what they should and should not do isn’t a quality I like to see in a heroine. I like heroines who are assertive and can actually stand up for them selves. I did not get this with Lana.
Why is Lana a snowflake?
1. I usually don’t judge characters for how they look. But when a character is so blind as to say that person isn’t gorgeous when the description says otherwise:
Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not giving you the old “helmet comes off, blond hair shakes and falls in waves on the gorgeous girl” routine. This is more like white blond, first of all, rather than golden, and it falls not in waves, but in a matted bunch of twists and clumps and messy flyaways-like actual corn silk...
A girl with white blond hair and the color of corn silk, sounds like she’s gorgeous to me:
I can’t even be sure she’s really standing there. Under the flickering white light of the lamp in the super USA parking lot, she looks like an angel, as imagined in the movies of the 1920s.
either that or:
2. She complains about her nice car:
I do not want to be seen in this car, and I do not want people about whom I care to be seen in this car either. This is not me being snobbish, by the way. I’ll get to that in a minute. I simply appreciate things of a particular beauty…
when most teens don’t even have cars. Usually if you want a car, you pay for it by getting a job. But she also lives in her rich parents giant house, which she hates:
“What? This house? What’s not to like about this house? It’s huge.”
“True,” she says, but she doesn’t explain…
3. She doesn’t go anywhere with her parents unless she wants to. When I was a teen, I had to go places with my parents without question. She makes an activity wheel so that her parents will know that she’s busy. I know that most teens don’t want to go anywhere with their parents, but the stuff they’re asking really isn’t that big of a deal. They ask her to go to soccer games and to go places that actually sounds okay to me. But being the crafty lass that she is, she doesn’t want to go places where there’s a healthy source of oxygen…and people.
Character Development aka the Romance
The only characters that I felt actually had some depth were Lesh and Lana’s parents and the protagonists themselves. I felt like Lesh and Lana’s friendship happened realistically, but their romantic relationship did not. I don’t see how they went from being friends for less than two weeks to instantly becoming romantic with each other. It’s like there was a big development jump that wasn’t included in the book. One moment they hang out only while they have lunch together, which by the way has very little conversing. So while I loved that they started as friends, the author left out something very integral in their relationship development.
What else? Oh the Plot!
It’s predictable. For a good deal of the book I could see where things were going to end up. It’s unfortunate; I wanted to find a book with a positive and unique take on the gaming community. But here’s the thing: this book went off on a lot of tropes when it comes to the gaming community. I won’t really go into it because it’s a bit of a spoiler. However since it’s obvious it won’t take you long to figure it out.
Miscellaneous Things That Bothered Me
1. The Portrayal of Women:
The portrayal of Jelly bothered me, a lot. She’s portrayed as, well a slut. When Lesh and some of his friends go to a concert “Jelly wiggles and slaps her but at a dad in a Subaru.” The author differentiates the women by mean girls=sluts and gamer girls= friendly to other girls. Lesh later on says to his friend Greg:
“I knew it,” I said over my shoulder to Greg.
“We missed the beginning ‘cause we had to stop to pick up those two skanks.”
“We definitely did,” Greg says, and he’s ogling one of them as she digs around in her bag and finds a bundle of singles.
This is not even slightly realistic or respectful. I’ve been friends with girls into metal music, and the majority that I’ve met have been really nice. Doesn’t mean all of them were nice. But the way the author portrayed these girls made me think that girls who were mean were also sluts. Just because a girl is mean, doesn’t mean they’re a slut. Some girls are just hateful and mean. I’ve experienced this personally, many times. This is a terrible way to present girl relationships to teens. It’s even worse to show adults this because it means that it might never end in Young Adult or Adult fiction. I’d like to believe this idea that a mean girl defines a slut would go away in a couple decades. But, I guess that’s too much to ask.
2. Lana's Treatment of Fry
The way that Lana treats Fry is incredibly unfair. I totally applaud her ability to tell him she doesn’t feel about him the way he feels about her, but the way she went about it was awful. Just because he annoys Lana, doesn’t mean she has the right to treat him as if he’s below her:
He was never nice to me,” I insist. “That’s not being nice.”
“Sort of it is,” Hen says. “He talks to you and smiles at you. That’s something.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s lecherousness.”
She assumes she knows him when really how much does she know him if she’s not even truly friends with him? From my perspective Fry seems like a lonely kid who just has a crush on a girl he’s known for a long time. He’s a bit of a misfit and kinda awkward. No one has the right to treat someone with reverence just because they’re annoying:
I don’t like him, but I know him like the underside of my down comforter. He’s been around longer, actually, but he’s nowhere near as pleasant to be with. The point is, I know what he’s thinking before he does.
The worst part is that there’s no resolution to this. I feel like I have to let this be known because I don’t want you get your hopes up, like I did mine. I thought the author would at least provide some sort of resolution when it concerns Fry.
But alas, all I kept thinking was:
December 9, 2014
DNF @ 38% after this gem:
Seriously? This book was published in 2014, not 1994, right? This excerpt comes after the usage of the word gay in a derogatory fashion earlier in the book by the same character, who is the main character's best friend.
I'm not okay with slurs in the books I read. I can handle it if it's approached correctly, such as demonstrating how awful a person is. Or if it's a teaching moment and the main character says something about it, or hell, even thinks about how not okay it is. But in this book we get nothing. I understand that this is the way some teens talk, but it's still not okay.
Also, as a female gamer, I'm really pissed at the last comment. Almost half of gamers are females. This isn't even something I should have to mention in 2014, but there are a lot of girls on the internet!!!
Other than the gay slurs, this book was okay, but I can't continue a book that uses such words so casually.
"Don't be such a homo, Tung," Greg says. We're not actually murdering a girl repeatedly. We're messing with some faggoty noob who has no idea how to play his class. Any rogue should be able to rez, vanish, sprint the hell out of here without my killing him again."
"Her."
"Him," he says. "This is not a girl, I promise. There are no girls on the internet."
Seriously? This book was published in 2014, not 1994, right? This excerpt comes after the usage of the word gay in a derogatory fashion earlier in the book by the same character, who is the main character's best friend.
I'm not okay with slurs in the books I read. I can handle it if it's approached correctly, such as demonstrating how awful a person is. Or if it's a teaching moment and the main character says something about it, or hell, even thinks about how not okay it is. But in this book we get nothing. I understand that this is the way some teens talk, but it's still not okay.
Also, as a female gamer, I'm really pissed at the last comment. Almost half of gamers are females. This isn't even something I should have to mention in 2014, but there are a lot of girls on the internet!!!
Other than the gay slurs, this book was okay, but I can't continue a book that uses such words so casually.
April 16, 2014
I am not a gamer. I don’t play MMO. I don’t do RPG. I don’t listen to metal music. I don’t sew. But this book grabbed my attention. Even when I had a gazillion things to do during the day, I managed to squeeze in a few minutes here and there, just to open the book and escape into the worlds of Lesh and Svetlana. Their lives were very different from mine and yet I felt a deep connection with these characters.
It’s kind of hard to describe why I liked the story. I guess part of it was because I didn’t exactly know where the story was taking me. Two strangers collided. Until the first day of school, they didn’t even know if they would ever meet again. Lesh, a sixteen-year-old, was a sophomore. He hadn’t tried many things in his life and was reluctant to be an obedient teen. Svetlana, a senior, was a talented artist. She knew what she didn’t want but felt somewhat trapped by the mundane transition to become a responsible adult. They might seem to be from two different worlds but as the story progressed, I found that they weren’t that different. It was interesting to see their perspectives, their views towards their family members, their wants to be in their comfort zones, and their needs to get out of their disorderly ruts.
It might seem as though nothing much had happened in the story. The ending didn’t offer a usual tone of finitude but as I closed the book and reflected on what I read, I actually liked the ending. It gave off a nice contrast to all the elements that were given in the very beginning. The characters had changed and I appreciated both the subtle and not-so-subtle thought-provoking moments.
What intrigued me the most was that I felt I had somehow changed just by reading the story. I think Guy In Real Life is a wonderful coming-of-age novel. It’s not preachy. The character dynamics are very well-developed, and I like that something unpredicted happened and ‘shocked me to my senses’. I think I’ll remember this story for a very long time.
--
Originally posted on LeisureReads.com
A copy of the book was provided by publisher for review purposes.
It’s kind of hard to describe why I liked the story. I guess part of it was because I didn’t exactly know where the story was taking me. Two strangers collided. Until the first day of school, they didn’t even know if they would ever meet again. Lesh, a sixteen-year-old, was a sophomore. He hadn’t tried many things in his life and was reluctant to be an obedient teen. Svetlana, a senior, was a talented artist. She knew what she didn’t want but felt somewhat trapped by the mundane transition to become a responsible adult. They might seem to be from two different worlds but as the story progressed, I found that they weren’t that different. It was interesting to see their perspectives, their views towards their family members, their wants to be in their comfort zones, and their needs to get out of their disorderly ruts.
It might seem as though nothing much had happened in the story. The ending didn’t offer a usual tone of finitude but as I closed the book and reflected on what I read, I actually liked the ending. It gave off a nice contrast to all the elements that were given in the very beginning. The characters had changed and I appreciated both the subtle and not-so-subtle thought-provoking moments.
What intrigued me the most was that I felt I had somehow changed just by reading the story. I think Guy In Real Life is a wonderful coming-of-age novel. It’s not preachy. The character dynamics are very well-developed, and I like that something unpredicted happened and ‘shocked me to my senses’. I think I’ll remember this story for a very long time.
--
Originally posted on LeisureReads.com
A copy of the book was provided by publisher for review purposes.
March 2, 2014
I haven't loved a book this much since I read Eleanor & Park. Such authentic characters, and a really sweet falling-in-love story. I'm not into gaming stuff, but actually really enjoyed that (smallish) aspect of the story - but I adore real-life Lesh and Lana so much.
December 9, 2013
I was so excited for this book. I mean, it doesn't come out until next year--and I didn't need to read it yet, but romance is my thing and I have a bad habit of limiting myself when my curiosity is high. So I jumped into this over the weekend, and let me tell you this: I don't think my nerdiness was high enough on the scale of nerddom to enjoy it as much as I should have enjoyed it.
Now don't get all up in arms with me about the nerd thing. I'm not hating on anyone. I'm a total nerd when it comes to computers, and I'm a complete fangirl for things I won't admit here because, well, I just won't. But one thing I'm not is a gamer. Never have been, really. I mean yeah, I played the SIMS and I dabbled in Animal Crossing, but I've never played any other RPG's or WOW or D&D or Magic or any of that stuff. And I definitely didn't want to read about someone playing it. Nor would I have chosen to read their characters' stories...
So that's my first little bit of beef with this book. It's a little like Fangirl in that some chapters are all inside this RPG game (just like with the Simon & Baz fic in Fangirl), and I'm not going to lie, I skimmed the fic in that book...and I started skimming the game stuff here, too. I just honestly didn't get the point. I didn't think it added one bit of anything for me to the story as a whole. I was bored, and while for the first half I was excited...the second half was full of dread because I felt like those chapters drew from what I actually cared about, which was Lesh and Svetlana making with the kissing.
Okay that's not all I cared about, but it was a pretty big chunk. When a book's labeled a romance, I expect romance. So I'm being completely honest when I say that I was just disappointed overall.
So what's it about? Let me give you the gist:
Lesh is a sophomore in high school. He's a metalhead, dresses all in black...and would never be caught dead playing an online game like his best friend, Greg. That is, until a late night out results in not just a chance encounter with a beautiful, mysterious girl on a bike, but a two week grounding as well. With nothing better to do, Lesh decides to explore this online game of Greg's for a little bit. And instead of choosing to be the great warrior toon, he decides he wants to be a buxom elf named...Svvetlana. Yep, he's a chick in the game. Which, as you'll discover during your read of the book...doesn't turn out so well.
In the midst of playing the game at home, at school, he's getting to know the real-life Svetlana. The girl on the bike. And dude, Lesh had some serious swoon potential. I mean, he was all poetic and cute. But because of all the gamer stuff, I feel like his character wasn't ever given the chance to soar in that area. It ended too abruptly, I think. Before these two even had a chance to figure things out beyond what little (and I mean tiny) conflict there actually was. I also felt the chapters were too short in some areas, and way too long in others.
So yeah, like I said before...I was just disappointed because the book didn't turn out as I hoped. It will be perfect for anyone who is a gamer, and who can relate to the characters in that way. But if you're like me, I'm sorry to say this one's probably not for you, either.
May 17, 2014
1.5 stars. John Green + Rainbow Rowell? NO NO NO.
January 27, 2014
Huge thank you to Steve Brezenoff for this advance reader's copy of his very awesome book.
When I read the premise of Guy in Real Life, I was convinced it was a book written just for me. I'm marrying a gamer, I am a gamer myself, so clearly a nerdy gamer romance sounded perfect. What I wasn't expecting was the amount of laying within this novel -- gaming was only one half of what this story entailed, as Brezenoff gives us a story about two misfits, one completely unsure of himself and another who knows herself wholeheartedly.
First off, this novel is written in four multiple perspectives, though two belong to Lesh's gaming characters, and one is more for entertainment purposes than anything else. The perspectives are very easy to identify, cleverly developed, and it creates a wonderfully woven narrative that connects throughout with ease. While some people might not be interested in reading someone's D&D campaign or someone's MMO character, these aspects are so important to the narrative as they give you a stronger sense of who Lesh and Svetlana truly are.
And that's essentially what I loved about this story. It's a novel about finding your identity and looking at the roles in which we play in our daily lives. Sometimes these roles make us hate parts of ourselves, while sometimes these roles strengthen out beliefs in being the best person we can be. What I love is that both characters have some doubts about themselves, but each attempts to harness qualities that they want the other to see on the outside.
That's what I loved about Lesh and Svetlana's romance: it became more about the qualities on the inside, and they got to know each other in more ways than one. Gaming was an easy connection, but gaming gave them more to explore about each other. The "Guy in Real Life" aspect is also explored so well because it is a topic that often comes up in roleplaying communities, but I love that Lesh has a lot of unsure aspects about himself. He wants to grow, learn who he is, and he's a surprisingly sweet character as the story unfolds. I mean, as a gamer I love playing male characters because it's not the gender I am, and much like Lesh, there is this desire to explore the other gender in such a way where you feel like you could get a sense of who someone is.
I also loved the secondary cast, particularly Reggie and Roan. They are the exact types of people you'd have in a gaming group, but they are such amazing friends and I think Svetlana as a character is a lot more fortunate in the friendships she's forged compared to Lesh. Her circle of friends (for the most part) is very strong, they take care of each other, whereas a lot of Lesh's story is also trying to find people who he can connect with on a level that makes him feel comfortable.
This novel is beautifully written with such an amazing message behind it. It shows gaming in a positive light (which I appreciate) and the characters are so memorable and strong, though not entirely likable (which I think it's part of the point). This is a book that i find myself hugging against my chest because it does so much right but asks very little of its reader's other than an open-minded. While the gaming elements will definitely being hit-or-miss for some readers, I feel like this novel is more than playing games and forging friendships -- it's about the roles we play in our lives, be them real or virtual.
I urge those out there who don't have this on their TBR to give it a shot, because the amount of surprises within the narrative are plentiful, and there's so many questions worth asking upon its completion. I cannot wait to reread this novel, because I feel like one read isn't enough to absorb everything that the novel is attempting to accomplish. Guy in Real Life is a sweetly awkward tale of first loves and new beginnings.
When I read the premise of Guy in Real Life, I was convinced it was a book written just for me. I'm marrying a gamer, I am a gamer myself, so clearly a nerdy gamer romance sounded perfect. What I wasn't expecting was the amount of laying within this novel -- gaming was only one half of what this story entailed, as Brezenoff gives us a story about two misfits, one completely unsure of himself and another who knows herself wholeheartedly.
First off, this novel is written in four multiple perspectives, though two belong to Lesh's gaming characters, and one is more for entertainment purposes than anything else. The perspectives are very easy to identify, cleverly developed, and it creates a wonderfully woven narrative that connects throughout with ease. While some people might not be interested in reading someone's D&D campaign or someone's MMO character, these aspects are so important to the narrative as they give you a stronger sense of who Lesh and Svetlana truly are.
And that's essentially what I loved about this story. It's a novel about finding your identity and looking at the roles in which we play in our daily lives. Sometimes these roles make us hate parts of ourselves, while sometimes these roles strengthen out beliefs in being the best person we can be. What I love is that both characters have some doubts about themselves, but each attempts to harness qualities that they want the other to see on the outside.
That's what I loved about Lesh and Svetlana's romance: it became more about the qualities on the inside, and they got to know each other in more ways than one. Gaming was an easy connection, but gaming gave them more to explore about each other. The "Guy in Real Life" aspect is also explored so well because it is a topic that often comes up in roleplaying communities, but I love that Lesh has a lot of unsure aspects about himself. He wants to grow, learn who he is, and he's a surprisingly sweet character as the story unfolds. I mean, as a gamer I love playing male characters because it's not the gender I am, and much like Lesh, there is this desire to explore the other gender in such a way where you feel like you could get a sense of who someone is.
I also loved the secondary cast, particularly Reggie and Roan. They are the exact types of people you'd have in a gaming group, but they are such amazing friends and I think Svetlana as a character is a lot more fortunate in the friendships she's forged compared to Lesh. Her circle of friends (for the most part) is very strong, they take care of each other, whereas a lot of Lesh's story is also trying to find people who he can connect with on a level that makes him feel comfortable.
This novel is beautifully written with such an amazing message behind it. It shows gaming in a positive light (which I appreciate) and the characters are so memorable and strong, though not entirely likable (which I think it's part of the point). This is a book that i find myself hugging against my chest because it does so much right but asks very little of its reader's other than an open-minded. While the gaming elements will definitely being hit-or-miss for some readers, I feel like this novel is more than playing games and forging friendships -- it's about the roles we play in our lives, be them real or virtual.
I urge those out there who don't have this on their TBR to give it a shot, because the amount of surprises within the narrative are plentiful, and there's so many questions worth asking upon its completion. I cannot wait to reread this novel, because I feel like one read isn't enough to absorb everything that the novel is attempting to accomplish. Guy in Real Life is a sweetly awkward tale of first loves and new beginnings.
June 25, 2014
I... this book is all over the place, and because of that, I have a very hard time pinning down my thoughts on it. I can tell you that as a tabletop gamer, an occasional resident of WoW, and a person who has lived in every neighborhood described, I am pretty much as close to a target audience as one can be without being a teenager herself. I was *very* invested in liking this book. That being said... I'm not sure if I did. There's a lot of homophobic speech which, while true to character (dumbass sophomore boys) and setting (the frequently revolting underbelly of WoW chats), is never really addressed or grown out of. The concept of gender fluidity (of sorts) floats through the whole narrative, but it never quite coalesces into an actual theme. The romance itself falls into purple prose more than once, and we've got the usual collection of dickweeds who want the girl and bitchskanks who want the guy (and I have some fairly profound issues with the twist at the end, which features a serious cliche that really needs to be retired). All that being said, I kind of loved the way the story was sometimes told from the PCs points of view, and I can tell you that I *knew* these folks in high school (metal and embroidery and all), so it felt almost uncomfortably familiar at times. I just... I need time to think on it, maybe. Recommended so that I can have more people with whom to figure it out.
June 16, 2015
DNF at 42%.
Steve Brezenoff weaves a tale of two different kinds of gamers – Svetlana, a role-playing game master who likes to draw and create her own characters, and Lesh, a new online role-playing gamer, and their romance together.
This was a DNF for me - I just couldn't get into the voices of the characters or their interests. While I’m not a gamer myself, I do feel like I understand gaming and the obsession with fantasy worlds from my own love of books and watching The Guild (not the same, I know). For me, this book didn’t work because I just could not like or empathize with the characters – I found Lesh incredibly jerkish and Svetlana very entitled. However, I might have continued with the book if nothing else but for interest in the gender roles and complications (Lesh plays a girl character – in fact, a girl character modeled on Svetlana, named Svvetlana), but I found the parts where narration of Lesh’s game and Svetlana’s group game incredibly boring (especially in audio form). A disappointing read for me, though I hope that others enjoy Brezenoff’s quirky concept and writing.
Steve Brezenoff weaves a tale of two different kinds of gamers – Svetlana, a role-playing game master who likes to draw and create her own characters, and Lesh, a new online role-playing gamer, and their romance together.
This was a DNF for me - I just couldn't get into the voices of the characters or their interests. While I’m not a gamer myself, I do feel like I understand gaming and the obsession with fantasy worlds from my own love of books and watching The Guild (not the same, I know). For me, this book didn’t work because I just could not like or empathize with the characters – I found Lesh incredibly jerkish and Svetlana very entitled. However, I might have continued with the book if nothing else but for interest in the gender roles and complications (Lesh plays a girl character – in fact, a girl character modeled on Svetlana, named Svvetlana), but I found the parts where narration of Lesh’s game and Svetlana’s group game incredibly boring (especially in audio form). A disappointing read for me, though I hope that others enjoy Brezenoff’s quirky concept and writing.
November 14, 2014
1) This is about 75 times more nerdy than you think its going to be.
2) I found the prose and pacing to be occasionally lacking.
3) This is the first YA romance I've read in ages that actually *felt* like my own teen romances - all, "argh, why did I say that in the cafeteria and now he/she's being weird" and the awkward meeting of parents and anxiety over whether your boyfriend likes you or if he just likes the way you look/sex/the idea of you.
4) Ultimately, this book went a lot of interesting places - especially about masculinity and gender in general - but I wish it had gotten there faster.
2) I found the prose and pacing to be occasionally lacking.
3) This is the first YA romance I've read in ages that actually *felt* like my own teen romances - all, "argh, why did I say that in the cafeteria and now he/she's being weird" and the awkward meeting of parents and anxiety over whether your boyfriend likes you or if he just likes the way you look/sex/the idea of you.
4) Ultimately, this book went a lot of interesting places - especially about masculinity and gender in general - but I wish it had gotten there faster.
December 7, 2014
I'd rate this 3.5 stars.
Lesh (his parents named him after Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead) is a high school sophomore who listens to a lot of heavy metal music, wears black all the time, and pretty much wishes he could disappear. Svetlana, a senior, is an artist who makes a lot of her own clothes, listens to Bjork and classical music, and is the dungeon master of a role-playing game involving a group of her friends.
One late night the two meet cute when Lana literally knocks Lesh off his feet—she hits the drunken boy with her bike while he and a friend are walking home from a metal concert. Lesh is instantly smitten; Lana is irritated that the mishap ruined a notebook with her drawings in it.
The two strike up an uneasy friendship, partially because Lana wants to avoid the son of family friends who has a serious crush on her. Lesh feels Lana is far too good for him, and his friends discourage him from getting to know her, but that doesn't dissuade him. He even allows her to convince him to join her role-playing game group, which causes some unease among her friends.
The thing is, Lesh has a bit of a secret. When he first met Lana he was so obsessed with her that he created a character in her image for an online role-playing game. And maybe he's been playing with the character, and attracting the attention of some other guys online. But how do you bring that up in conversation?
Guy in Real Life is a sweet, tremendously enjoyable read. I really liked both Lesh and Lana's characters, and thought that Steve Brezenoff did a great job getting you engaged in the plot very quickly. Even if you're not into gaming (which I'm not), the book didn't go too heavily into detail so it doesn't have limited appeal. While I found some plot points a little ambiguous, what I liked the best about the book is the refreshing way it looked at gender roles. No characters really fit into a particular stereotype, which is much more indicative of the world we're living in now versus the one I grew up in.
I'm really glad I heard about this book because it hit all of the right buttons for me. Once again, books like Guy in Real Life prove that the world of YA fiction is really thriving right now, and features authors just as worthy of acclaim as those writing "adult" fiction.
Check out my reviews and other stuff at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
Lesh (his parents named him after Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead) is a high school sophomore who listens to a lot of heavy metal music, wears black all the time, and pretty much wishes he could disappear. Svetlana, a senior, is an artist who makes a lot of her own clothes, listens to Bjork and classical music, and is the dungeon master of a role-playing game involving a group of her friends.
One late night the two meet cute when Lana literally knocks Lesh off his feet—she hits the drunken boy with her bike while he and a friend are walking home from a metal concert. Lesh is instantly smitten; Lana is irritated that the mishap ruined a notebook with her drawings in it.
The two strike up an uneasy friendship, partially because Lana wants to avoid the son of family friends who has a serious crush on her. Lesh feels Lana is far too good for him, and his friends discourage him from getting to know her, but that doesn't dissuade him. He even allows her to convince him to join her role-playing game group, which causes some unease among her friends.
The thing is, Lesh has a bit of a secret. When he first met Lana he was so obsessed with her that he created a character in her image for an online role-playing game. And maybe he's been playing with the character, and attracting the attention of some other guys online. But how do you bring that up in conversation?
Guy in Real Life is a sweet, tremendously enjoyable read. I really liked both Lesh and Lana's characters, and thought that Steve Brezenoff did a great job getting you engaged in the plot very quickly. Even if you're not into gaming (which I'm not), the book didn't go too heavily into detail so it doesn't have limited appeal. While I found some plot points a little ambiguous, what I liked the best about the book is the refreshing way it looked at gender roles. No characters really fit into a particular stereotype, which is much more indicative of the world we're living in now versus the one I grew up in.
I'm really glad I heard about this book because it hit all of the right buttons for me. Once again, books like Guy in Real Life prove that the world of YA fiction is really thriving right now, and features authors just as worthy of acclaim as those writing "adult" fiction.
Check out my reviews and other stuff at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
April 23, 2015
Guy In Real Life is a contemporary standalone novel by Steve Brezenoff. It chronicles a few weeks in the lives of two Minnesotan teens, Lesh and Svetlana, a sophomore and a senior respectively. The book straddles several complicated thematic issues very well. I was most impressed by this.
However, I have a caveat before I get any further into this review - I had a few stutter stops reading this book. Frankly, I thought that I would have to put it aside. There is a large amount of homophobic, pejorative comments in the book from several of the side characters, all of them Lesh's closest friends. It made me initially suspect of him. I don't normally finish a book with this amount of hate speech. I find it to be crude, insensitive, and personally very offensive. My usual approach to this level of language is to put down the book out of sheer protest. But I decided to give the book a chance to explain itself. I realized (and hoped) that Brezenoff must be going somewhere with the sheer volume of hate speech he was writing. Eventually, the bigotry forms a message that is solid, poignant, and underscores many of the themes superbly. What Brezenoff says he says very well. I am glad that I finished the book.
To that end, the review.
One night just before school begins, Lesh and Greg go to a metal show at a bar. Lesh has a few drinks too many and ventures home wasted when a girl crashes into him on her bike. The girl is Svetlana; a gorgeous, ethereal, and sweetly swearing girl who rides off immediately. Lesh manages to get to safety and sleeps it off only to have his parents promptly ground him the next day.
Now, stuck in his room for weeks, Greg, Lesh's closest friend, convinces him to download a MMORPG and create a character to fill the time. Lesh turns his nose up at this until the first few days of school when a scheduling nightmare separates him from his friends. Now alone, Svetlana sits with him in the cafeteria to avoid an old acquaintance. This action breaks some unspoken social barrier between the Metal-heads and Svetlana's geekier group of friends. Svetlana is intellectual and dedicated, her parents obviously well off. Lesh's parents struggle to make ends meet and he feels inferior around her until she shares her secrets with him - She spends time in a school gaming club. She enjoys drawing fantasy creatures and creating scenarios as a dungeon master.
The two grow closer with each day and Lesh becomes fascinated with her. Instead of telling her of his developing feelings he creates an avatar of her in the game. As Lesh's affection for Svetlana grows so does his love of the game and of Svvetlana; the Elven priestess character that he spends most nights with. He keeps the secret from her as well as his own group of friends, hiding many things that he knows his friends will not understand, nor can he articulate properly. He knows that he shouldn't be gaming as a girl, but he cannot bring himself to stop anymore than he can bring himself to tell Svetlana (with one V) of his growing feelings.
Guy In Real Life has so many things going for it. In some parts it reads like satire, poking fun at Minnesotan life and teenager ennui in general. It also highlights much of the gaming culture; of the inherent sexism and homophobia both present in small towns and faceless online communities. Amidst all that is a sweet and tender story of identity, first love, and questionable self-worth. It's a great coming of age story over a short, tumultuous amount of time.
Lesh is a great everyman character. He's not special and he's not brilliant. He is blessedly ordinary and wonderfully normal. His self-esteem issues manifest in many ways; things I didn't see coming. I appreciate that Brezenoff hints at more things with Lesh that are never said. It always keeps a reader guessing. Svetlana is the wonder-girl of the novel. She embroiders clothing, draws with impeccable skill, listens to classical music, and looks like a goddess. She is a dream to him; a perfection he feels he can never achieve, nor attain. It's no wonder that he feels he cannot possible measure up to her. Lesh is 16 and defined by his parents and his peers. He hasn't carved out a real identity yet. Svetlana is older and doesn't let anyone define her... Not even Lesh.
Truth be told, there's a bit of a rushed ending to the novel. I wanted a bit more, but there it is. As much as I loved this novel the ending was unsatisfying. There are also long passages of gaming story told from the POV of both Svetlana and Lesh's avatars. These became a bit much by the end of the book. However, reading them foreshadows a few terrific plot twists, so do not skip them. The story within the story does amount to something powerful. It's just a bit overdone.
Guy In Real Life is not at all what I expected. If you are looking for a quirky, out of the ordinary YA novel, this is perfect for you. It's completely unique and singularly original. I enjoyed it. Very much.
4 out of 5 stars.
- review courtesy of www.bibliopunkkreads.com
April 7, 2016
An Advanced Reader Copy was provided by the author for review. Quotes pulled from the ARC may be incorrect and may be subject to change.
I've always bad trouble with contemporary coming-of-age stories. Ever since Catcher in the Rye reading in grade 9 English class, I knew those books weren't for me. I don't get the journey that they go through unless it's staring at me right in the face. This one is no exception. I was lost, confused and felt like there was no growth at all. Just a myriad of every day life between Svvenlana and Lesh.
It starts off innocently enough. An encounter with a beautiful maniac-pixie -dream-girl and a horny teenage boy. He seems to be incredibly enraptured by her so one day while being grounded by his parents, Lesh decides to make an Elvish princess in an RPG game and plays it as his PC (Playable Character). He stumbles upon another male elf named Stebbins and plays online. In his real life, he's a sophomore boy who loves listening to metal music, wears a trench coat and hangs around with his best friend and other metal music lovers. Lana on the other hand is a wealth angry teenage girl who lives with her little sister and parents who loves nothing to do but create crafts and make her clothes one-of-a-kind.
There is a moment where she is describing how much she hates her car. A car that was given to her by her parents and her reasons were incredibly snobbish. The fact that you own a car is an incredible thing. The one thing I liked about that part was the fact that she did own up to it, “I realize this is exactly the kind of problem that people like me—which is to say young white people of generally privileged upbringing—are typically accosted for complaining about. But I hate it. I hate my car.” (168)
I just didn't get there was a story to begin with except you had to know if Lana was going to find out about him using herself as a PC. And that was the only thing I wanted to know. Everything else I didn't care too much.
RATING 2/5
QUOTES
I just always figured they were for a triple-overhead porn experience. Or maybe that's just what I decided I'd use them for. (142)
This is not a girl. I promise. There are no girls on the Internet. (146)
I've even fantasizing about a seven-foot-tall imaginary silver-haired priestess getting buckwild with a senior boy whose name means “submerge in boiling oil.” (188)
Any feelings I've developed for this girl are entirely ridiculous. She is the most amazing person earth. (240)
Just because you're a girl no doesn't mean you get to get bitchy with me. (293)
But just being weird for its own sake is breaking ground. It's just, like, getting attention. (303)
I've always bad trouble with contemporary coming-of-age stories. Ever since Catcher in the Rye reading in grade 9 English class, I knew those books weren't for me. I don't get the journey that they go through unless it's staring at me right in the face. This one is no exception. I was lost, confused and felt like there was no growth at all. Just a myriad of every day life between Svvenlana and Lesh.
It starts off innocently enough. An encounter with a beautiful maniac-pixie -dream-girl and a horny teenage boy. He seems to be incredibly enraptured by her so one day while being grounded by his parents, Lesh decides to make an Elvish princess in an RPG game and plays it as his PC (Playable Character). He stumbles upon another male elf named Stebbins and plays online. In his real life, he's a sophomore boy who loves listening to metal music, wears a trench coat and hangs around with his best friend and other metal music lovers. Lana on the other hand is a wealth angry teenage girl who lives with her little sister and parents who loves nothing to do but create crafts and make her clothes one-of-a-kind.
There is a moment where she is describing how much she hates her car. A car that was given to her by her parents and her reasons were incredibly snobbish. The fact that you own a car is an incredible thing. The one thing I liked about that part was the fact that she did own up to it, “I realize this is exactly the kind of problem that people like me—which is to say young white people of generally privileged upbringing—are typically accosted for complaining about. But I hate it. I hate my car.” (168)
I just didn't get there was a story to begin with except you had to know if Lana was going to find out about him using herself as a PC. And that was the only thing I wanted to know. Everything else I didn't care too much.
RATING 2/5
QUOTES
I just always figured they were for a triple-overhead porn experience. Or maybe that's just what I decided I'd use them for. (142)
This is not a girl. I promise. There are no girls on the Internet. (146)
I've even fantasizing about a seven-foot-tall imaginary silver-haired priestess getting buckwild with a senior boy whose name means “submerge in boiling oil.” (188)
Any feelings I've developed for this girl are entirely ridiculous. She is the most amazing person earth. (240)
Just because you're a girl no doesn't mean you get to get bitchy with me. (293)
But just being weird for its own sake is breaking ground. It's just, like, getting attention. (303)
March 28, 2015
I really loved all the MMO references in this book as I'm a huge WoW player and while I didn't not like the story, it just didn't really stand out to me.
Unfortunately this book just didn't make me feel anything. I didn't connect with any of the characters and I feel like if I wasn't a gamer and didn't understand all of the references this book wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
Unfortunately this book just didn't make me feel anything. I didn't connect with any of the characters and I feel like if I wasn't a gamer and didn't understand all of the references this book wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
September 11, 2015
Idk. I found this to be perpetuating negative stereotypes about girls, male gamers, female gamers, and it's homophobic, and that kind of just made it overall gross.
July 22, 2014
This may come off as harsh, but this is my review, and my opinion. I think this book may be the worst that I have ever read. I tried my best to get through it, but 160 some-odd pages in, I have to put it down. I just can't read it any more. I usually roll my eyes when books are compared to the works of other pop-culture literary icons. I was not a fan of "Fangirl", for the same reasons that I am not a fan of this book. Just like Fangirl, the author of Guy in Real Life chose to include unnecessary inserts--in this case, they were tedious, irrelevant game scenes from the MMORPG that one the main character plays. I found them pointless and grating, and I skipped over the majority of them.
The novel itself was poorly written. Too much exposition, too many explanations of acronyms and computer terms. In a way it looks down on the reader. I picked up this novel because I was interested by the involvement of an RPG in a relationship, but instead I get lectured in the first few chapters on the process of creating a character. The book treats its readers like computer illiterate newbs who can't figure out what "tabbing out" means without having it explained to them in the next sentence. It reads like a first draft of an amateur novel, chocked full of word-padding. I can't even click with the characters, they neither interest nor amuse me. I found Svetlana boring and Lesh creepy.
I would not recommend this book.
The novel itself was poorly written. Too much exposition, too many explanations of acronyms and computer terms. In a way it looks down on the reader. I picked up this novel because I was interested by the involvement of an RPG in a relationship, but instead I get lectured in the first few chapters on the process of creating a character. The book treats its readers like computer illiterate newbs who can't figure out what "tabbing out" means without having it explained to them in the next sentence. It reads like a first draft of an amateur novel, chocked full of word-padding. I can't even click with the characters, they neither interest nor amuse me. I found Svetlana boring and Lesh creepy.
I would not recommend this book.
June 3, 2015
Actual rating 3.5 stars.
Svetlana should live in another era. She loves embroidery, D&D, drawing, reading, and opera. She is the Dungeon Master of her High School's table top game club (barely holding onto its official status with five members) and sleeps in a tower (ok, really the attic of her house).
Lesh is a metal-head who gets sucked into playing a MMO game online after he is grounded for coming home drunk. This is the incident where he actually runs into Svetlana, knocking her off her bicycle and ruining her notebook of D&D maps and characters.
After apologizing and becoming her lunch buddy, they start to fall for each other despite each of their hesitations and their respective groups negative attitudes. But, will Svetlana find out Lesh is impersonating her online in his MMO and get grossed out? Can people from two different castes really date?
Super cute and fun, but definitely not the emotional "gut-punch" that the description of this book promised. That was fine with me, but let's not over-sell here people. I really thought Brezenoff had a wonderful handle on the different high school groups he explores, and I love that Lesh wasn't already a hard-core gamer and actually kind of fell into being one due to circumstances. I also loved finding out the "Guy in Real Life" is actually a really horrible internet etiquette failure (G.I.R.L.). Ha. Never knew.
Svetlana should live in another era. She loves embroidery, D&D, drawing, reading, and opera. She is the Dungeon Master of her High School's table top game club (barely holding onto its official status with five members) and sleeps in a tower (ok, really the attic of her house).
Lesh is a metal-head who gets sucked into playing a MMO game online after he is grounded for coming home drunk. This is the incident where he actually runs into Svetlana, knocking her off her bicycle and ruining her notebook of D&D maps and characters.
After apologizing and becoming her lunch buddy, they start to fall for each other despite each of their hesitations and their respective groups negative attitudes. But, will Svetlana find out Lesh is impersonating her online in his MMO and get grossed out? Can people from two different castes really date?
Super cute and fun, but definitely not the emotional "gut-punch" that the description of this book promised. That was fine with me, but let's not over-sell here people. I really thought Brezenoff had a wonderful handle on the different high school groups he explores, and I love that Lesh wasn't already a hard-core gamer and actually kind of fell into being one due to circumstances. I also loved finding out the "Guy in Real Life" is actually a really horrible internet etiquette failure (G.I.R.L.). Ha. Never knew.
June 19, 2018
So my 13-year old randomly picked this up at the library, read it in a few days, and recommended to me. I was quite nervous when in vetting the book, I read the numerous bad reviews here on Goodreads, however, this book is one of the best examples of sticking a book out to the end. Of the numerous bad reviews, many couldn't make it past the misogynistic, homophobic, sexist, tacky comments of some of the characters. But guess what? As my 13-year old daughter astutely pointed out - this is the way some people talk! And it doesn't make it right and it's shocking and appalling but it IS reality, even here in our blue bubble of California. And quite frankly, that makes this YA book a lot more realistic. I found the characters to be flawed and interesting and the growth exhibited again, more realistic than a few John Green books where the male character is this perfectly handsome young man that is astoundingly able to express his emotions. All along, my daughter said the message at the end is what makes it worth it. And she was 100% right. What an interesting concept for a young man to come to terms with who he wants to be and gender norms. And I've said it before and I'll say it again, I appreciate when a book doesn't tie up all the loose ends when the story doesn't call for it. Lesh's journey has just begun at the end of the book. An interesting read.
February 11, 2015
I wanted to like this book. The idea was interesting, the two worlds coming together seemed pretty cool.
I finished it because I forced myself to. Half way through the book, I still didn't feel a connection with the characters. On the contrary, Lana annoyed me. She was whiny and an ungrateful brat. Her dislike and attitude to her family made her sound like a stereotypes of highschool girls-which isn't true.
Lesh was kind of just there. He wasn't interesting to me. I guess it felt like he didn't have much of personality.
I feel like there was a lot of repetition. The narration would say "I think I should say ___" and then right after that they would say it...over and over again. I felt like I was being told what to think instead of being shown.
I'll admit, I'm not much of gamer. Actually, maybe that's the one thing I understood about Lesh. We both know about games, and can play, sort of, but we're not gamers. But even then, that's not enough to make me feel something for the story...
I finished it because I forced myself to. Half way through the book, I still didn't feel a connection with the characters. On the contrary, Lana annoyed me. She was whiny and an ungrateful brat. Her dislike and attitude to her family made her sound like a stereotypes of highschool girls-which isn't true.
Lesh was kind of just there. He wasn't interesting to me. I guess it felt like he didn't have much of personality.
I feel like there was a lot of repetition. The narration would say "I think I should say ___" and then right after that they would say it...over and over again. I felt like I was being told what to think instead of being shown.
I'll admit, I'm not much of gamer. Actually, maybe that's the one thing I understood about Lesh. We both know about games, and can play, sort of, but we're not gamers. But even then, that's not enough to make me feel something for the story...
June 21, 2014
This is a quirky take on the usual high school, boy-meets-girl, opposites attract, attraction ensues, they keep this info to themselves, one of them screws up, will this break them up book.
The "guy" is a heavy-metal loving, on-line gaming, black wearing teen. The girl is a craft loving, dungeons and dragons playing, unique dressing, one-year-older teen. The 'screw-up' is something completely different than anything you've read before. The questions that arise from said screw-up are far reaching, with no easy answers.
The characters are absolutely wonderful! I am so tired of reading about perfect looking teens finding each other. Hooray for the unconventional and far more realistic teens here.
I'd recommend this to those of you looking for something a little different. Something to make you smile.
I loved it!
The "guy" is a heavy-metal loving, on-line gaming, black wearing teen. The girl is a craft loving, dungeons and dragons playing, unique dressing, one-year-older teen. The 'screw-up' is something completely different than anything you've read before. The questions that arise from said screw-up are far reaching, with no easy answers.
The characters are absolutely wonderful! I am so tired of reading about perfect looking teens finding each other. Hooray for the unconventional and far more realistic teens here.
I'd recommend this to those of you looking for something a little different. Something to make you smile.
I loved it!
September 12, 2016
This novel ended up completely surprising me. Before I started reading it, I assumed it would be your typical cheesy YA novel. However, Guy in Real Life definitely is not typical. I laughed more than I thought I would, and I genuinely hurt for the characters at times. I've never read a book in which some of the actual characters are characters in a video game, but I found myself wishing a couple times that more authors would follow in Brezenoff's footsteps and incorporate fictional characters into the novel. While Guy in Real Life is not one of my favorites, it is definitely a book I would recommend to a friend.
May 22, 2014
Wow. So I went into this book thinking I was going to read this charming little story about two gamer kids overcoming their differences and falling in love. And this is that book. Sort of. But it’s mostly so much more. It’s a complex, yet sweet and often humorous, examination of identities and gender roles. This is one of the most unique and affecting coming of age stories I’ve ever read.
Read my full review over at The Midnight Garden.
Read my full review over at The Midnight Garden.
December 22, 2014
I'm glad I stuck with this book. I learned a lot about gaming, on line and table role play -D and D. The characters are very real and I found myself connecting to both Lesh and Svetlana. It is well written with beautiful descriptions in just the right amounts. It seems to be written with high schoolers in mind but would be fine for many grade 8s.
Read
August 8, 2020dnf. The trope of "perfect, quirky girl, who doesn't curse and is never openly angry" is alive and well in this book...along with nearly every other tired, "I'm different" high school boilerplate character. Unless you want to read about fetishized girls, who *gasp* like gaming, I recommend you save yourself a trip to the library.
July 11, 2014
DNF at 40% but not because its bad, its pretty decent actually, but i never got in to role playing games and whatnot staff and therefore got lost in the lingo and the references more then a few times. not for me.
Read
April 28, 2016Blog | Pinterest | Twitter | Booktube | Booklikes | Instagram | Google+ | Tumblr
My review of Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff, a young adult contemporary romance told from the dual perspective of a dungeons and dragons leading artsy girl and a computer game playing metalhead as they learn who they are by navigating their online and school spaces as well as each other, published by Balzer + Bray on May 27, 2014.
----------
Your experience with Guy in Real Life, in my opinion, will depend on how you react to Lesh, one of the narrator but essentially the main character. Before you even read my review, I'd suggest reading an excerpt to see whether you like his PoV.
Ten Likes/Dislikes:
1. (+) Lesh, the protagonist - The thing I liked about Lesh is that he's shy and quiet and rather socially awkward. In a book that's playing around with gender roles and stereotypes, I found it interesting to see the male main character and potential romantic interest to be depicted this way and have the female start up most of their interactions. Lesh doesn't quite fit in with school and even some of his friends, so he spends a lot of time with his headphones in, blasting metal music to avoid the crowd. He's not a very good student because he's not motivated... but when he's playing the MMO, he's quite motivated to level up his characters. He's in short a very realistic version of a guy his age, I'd imagine, especially given some of his actions towards Lana. Lana helps Lesh question his position at home and elsewhere, and it's a treat to see him open up and realize what's most important.
2. (+) Svetlana, the other narrator - I hesitate to call Svetlana the other protagonist/main character if only because it seemed like Lesh had more character growth and the book revolved around him (e.g. the title). Lana gets plenty of page time, but even the other PoV from the MMO character has more to do with Lesh. Anyway, Lana is an interesting character. She's got an activity wheel to signal to her family what she's doing so that they don't bother her. She embroiders her skirts and has sketchbooks full of lifelike monsters for her next dungeons and dragons quest. She lives in the attic of her large house, loves Bjork and hates soccer. She's a wonderfully realized version of an artsy gamer girl with plenty of quirks to make her her own character.
3. (+) Setting - When you read the acknowledgments section, Steve Brezenoff thanks the school for being shown around... And it's clear that he's got a clear picture of how things are arranged there and also in Saint Paul. The culture there - the enthusiasm for soccer from Lana's parents; the park that Lana shows Lesh; the way class distinctions are easily marked along the houses and neighborhoods.
4. (+) Romance - In my small description of the book, I wrote that this was a YA contemporary romance, but it prioritizes self-discovery over the romance. Lana starts off to Lesh as this sort of manicpixiedreamgirl, her hair an ethereal color and everything about her stunning him. She transitions into idol, friend, and more as the book goes on and Lesh begins to learn more of Lana and not the girl he's projected into his gaming world. What I particularly liked about the romance was how it took time to develop. He's a sophomore, she's a senior. They didn't meet under the best circumstances but through a bunch of awkward, yet strangely intimate lunches together, they begin to get to know each other... and from there things grow.
5. (+) Discussion - Probably one of my favorite parts of this book was how much of it lends itself for discussion. Not just on how so many art forms like video and computer games can take on a similar form to that of a novel, but also on gender politics, roles, stereotypes and sexism.... and the different ways the games themselves were compared and contrasted. The most interesting to me was the discussion on gender and role-playing and how that interacted with the computer games and their school space.
6. (+) Gaming culture - The nostalgia I had while reading this book! Something most of you probably don't know about me: I played a lot of computer games, including MMOs, when I was younger because of my brothers. I grew up with Dark Ages of Camelot and Everquest. While reading this novel, particularly Lesh's sections, I was strongly, strongly reminded of those days. Brezenoff does an excellent job with the lingo (camping bodies, grouping, the guild raids, etc.) and establishing the cultures of the individual races in the game and the setting of the game itself, especially since he uses the PoVs of the MMO characters. The little comments he added were authentic to the gaming culture that I knew (though incidentally, I created male characters all the time and it was never a controversy)... and I've never played Dungeons and Dragons, but now I'd really like to at least try D&D one day.
7. (+) Characters - One of the most awesome aspects of this book is how well done the characters are. And probably the most consistent aspect of the comparison to "Rowell meets Green" is the quirky characters. Brezenoff allows all of his characters enough page time to let them shine in a both good and bad way - I don't particularly like Lesh's friends, but I can't deny that they read true to the character Brezenoff had established. He didn't skimp on the character flaws either.
8. (+) Writing - Brezenoff had to manage multiple PoVs: Svetlana's, Lesh's, and those of the two online characters Lesh chooses. Each one sounds unique to that character's personality and this book was simply a delight to read because the writing was smooth and humorous and well done.
9. (+/-) Pacing - Probably the only thing I disliked about this book was getting bored while reading because it was kind of slow, especially at the start.
10. (+) The Cover - A perfect way to describe the romance + gaming culture aspects + the Sara Zarr quote to emphasize self-discovery? Definitely one of the better contemporary covers I've seen.
It's cliche to say, but the Goodreads description & marketing was probably correct: this book is a lot like Rainbow Rowell meets John Green. Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl in particular - substitute the way Rowell inserted fanfiction into her narrative with sections on an MMO character - and blend that with the dual perspective from Eleanor and Park. John Green and Rowell for the quirky characters and self-realization. If you have ever enjoyed gaming culture or are curious about it, you will want to check out this novel. If you're looking for your next unique contemporary read, look no further than one that blends gaming culture narratives with teenage school and romance story lines. Quirky and interesting.
My review of Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff, a young adult contemporary romance told from the dual perspective of a dungeons and dragons leading artsy girl and a computer game playing metalhead as they learn who they are by navigating their online and school spaces as well as each other, published by Balzer + Bray on May 27, 2014.
----------
Your experience with Guy in Real Life, in my opinion, will depend on how you react to Lesh, one of the narrator but essentially the main character. Before you even read my review, I'd suggest reading an excerpt to see whether you like his PoV.
Ten Likes/Dislikes:
1. (+) Lesh, the protagonist - The thing I liked about Lesh is that he's shy and quiet and rather socially awkward. In a book that's playing around with gender roles and stereotypes, I found it interesting to see the male main character and potential romantic interest to be depicted this way and have the female start up most of their interactions. Lesh doesn't quite fit in with school and even some of his friends, so he spends a lot of time with his headphones in, blasting metal music to avoid the crowd. He's not a very good student because he's not motivated... but when he's playing the MMO, he's quite motivated to level up his characters. He's in short a very realistic version of a guy his age, I'd imagine, especially given some of his actions towards Lana. Lana helps Lesh question his position at home and elsewhere, and it's a treat to see him open up and realize what's most important.
2. (+) Svetlana, the other narrator - I hesitate to call Svetlana the other protagonist/main character if only because it seemed like Lesh had more character growth and the book revolved around him (e.g. the title). Lana gets plenty of page time, but even the other PoV from the MMO character has more to do with Lesh. Anyway, Lana is an interesting character. She's got an activity wheel to signal to her family what she's doing so that they don't bother her. She embroiders her skirts and has sketchbooks full of lifelike monsters for her next dungeons and dragons quest. She lives in the attic of her large house, loves Bjork and hates soccer. She's a wonderfully realized version of an artsy gamer girl with plenty of quirks to make her her own character.
3. (+) Setting - When you read the acknowledgments section, Steve Brezenoff thanks the school for being shown around... And it's clear that he's got a clear picture of how things are arranged there and also in Saint Paul. The culture there - the enthusiasm for soccer from Lana's parents; the park that Lana shows Lesh; the way class distinctions are easily marked along the houses and neighborhoods.
4. (+) Romance - In my small description of the book, I wrote that this was a YA contemporary romance, but it prioritizes self-discovery over the romance. Lana starts off to Lesh as this sort of manicpixiedreamgirl, her hair an ethereal color and everything about her stunning him. She transitions into idol, friend, and more as the book goes on and Lesh begins to learn more of Lana and not the girl he's projected into his gaming world. What I particularly liked about the romance was how it took time to develop. He's a sophomore, she's a senior. They didn't meet under the best circumstances but through a bunch of awkward, yet strangely intimate lunches together, they begin to get to know each other... and from there things grow.
5. (+) Discussion - Probably one of my favorite parts of this book was how much of it lends itself for discussion. Not just on how so many art forms like video and computer games can take on a similar form to that of a novel, but also on gender politics, roles, stereotypes and sexism.... and the different ways the games themselves were compared and contrasted. The most interesting to me was the discussion on gender and role-playing and how that interacted with the computer games and their school space.
6. (+) Gaming culture - The nostalgia I had while reading this book! Something most of you probably don't know about me: I played a lot of computer games, including MMOs, when I was younger because of my brothers. I grew up with Dark Ages of Camelot and Everquest. While reading this novel, particularly Lesh's sections, I was strongly, strongly reminded of those days. Brezenoff does an excellent job with the lingo (camping bodies, grouping, the guild raids, etc.) and establishing the cultures of the individual races in the game and the setting of the game itself, especially since he uses the PoVs of the MMO characters. The little comments he added were authentic to the gaming culture that I knew (though incidentally, I created male characters all the time and it was never a controversy)... and I've never played Dungeons and Dragons, but now I'd really like to at least try D&D one day.
7. (+) Characters - One of the most awesome aspects of this book is how well done the characters are. And probably the most consistent aspect of the comparison to "Rowell meets Green" is the quirky characters. Brezenoff allows all of his characters enough page time to let them shine in a both good and bad way - I don't particularly like Lesh's friends, but I can't deny that they read true to the character Brezenoff had established. He didn't skimp on the character flaws either.
8. (+) Writing - Brezenoff had to manage multiple PoVs: Svetlana's, Lesh's, and those of the two online characters Lesh chooses. Each one sounds unique to that character's personality and this book was simply a delight to read because the writing was smooth and humorous and well done.
9. (+/-) Pacing - Probably the only thing I disliked about this book was getting bored while reading because it was kind of slow, especially at the start.
10. (+) The Cover - A perfect way to describe the romance + gaming culture aspects + the Sara Zarr quote to emphasize self-discovery? Definitely one of the better contemporary covers I've seen.
It's cliche to say, but the Goodreads description & marketing was probably correct: this book is a lot like Rainbow Rowell meets John Green. Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl in particular - substitute the way Rowell inserted fanfiction into her narrative with sections on an MMO character - and blend that with the dual perspective from Eleanor and Park. John Green and Rowell for the quirky characters and self-realization. If you have ever enjoyed gaming culture or are curious about it, you will want to check out this novel. If you're looking for your next unique contemporary read, look no further than one that blends gaming culture narratives with teenage school and romance story lines. Quirky and interesting.
August 24, 2015
So GIRL came out last year, and I didn't read it because...I don't even know. I mean, I don't read a lot of contemp. For some reason (probably surgery and lack of time spent in the book store), I never got around to it. Then, when I was leaving Chapters, I bought the last hardcover just before the trade came out. I took it with me to The Woods in June, and...
Well, The Woods doesn't have wifi, as you know. I got about three chapters in, and thought to myself "I need to stop reading this until I am somewhere where I can livetweet it", and then I thought "No way in hell am I stopping this book", and then I read the whole thing, and drove up to the top of the hill IN THE DARK to go on Twitter and yell at Steve for having written something THAT WAS SO GOOD.
GIRL has two protagonists: Lesh, a teen-age dirtbag, and Svetlana, who has kind of figured herself out ahead of schedule, and whose family isn't really set up for that. Lesh meets Svet, and becomes...obsessed with her? I guess? It's not quite an obsession. Fascination, maybe. He's fascinated by her.
He's also grounded for two weeks, and all he can do is play the in-universe version of World of Warcraft. His (really, really terrible) best friend sets him up as an orc, but the ugliness and violence turns Lesh off, so he makes his own avatar: an elf healer who looks rather like Svet.
As Lesh goes further into the game and further into his real life, things become messy and complicated and kind of terrifying, and ALSO WONDERFUL, and more than one time I yelled "YOU ARE ON A LOCAL SERVER, YOU DUMBASS!".
I basically read YA books for a LIVING, and I have never read anyone who writes teens as real as Steve does. Lesh's self realization is AMAZING (not to mention timely: this came out just as GamerGate really hit mainstream, and watching Lesh be ACTIVELY REPULSED by aspects of the gaming world gave me, like, HOPE FOR HUMANITY), and Svet's entire character arc rang so true with me that alternated between laughing and crying for much of her narration (their families, I can't even. Perfection. Everything about this book is just too good).
Also, when Lesh is playing the game, it's written like the game. It was awesome.
I love this book with the sort of power I rarely feel for contemporary. I don't know if I've EVER love a contemporary book this much. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Well, The Woods doesn't have wifi, as you know. I got about three chapters in, and thought to myself "I need to stop reading this until I am somewhere where I can livetweet it", and then I thought "No way in hell am I stopping this book", and then I read the whole thing, and drove up to the top of the hill IN THE DARK to go on Twitter and yell at Steve for having written something THAT WAS SO GOOD.
GIRL has two protagonists: Lesh, a teen-age dirtbag, and Svetlana, who has kind of figured herself out ahead of schedule, and whose family isn't really set up for that. Lesh meets Svet, and becomes...obsessed with her? I guess? It's not quite an obsession. Fascination, maybe. He's fascinated by her.
He's also grounded for two weeks, and all he can do is play the in-universe version of World of Warcraft. His (really, really terrible) best friend sets him up as an orc, but the ugliness and violence turns Lesh off, so he makes his own avatar: an elf healer who looks rather like Svet.
As Lesh goes further into the game and further into his real life, things become messy and complicated and kind of terrifying, and ALSO WONDERFUL, and more than one time I yelled "YOU ARE ON A LOCAL SERVER, YOU DUMBASS!".
I basically read YA books for a LIVING, and I have never read anyone who writes teens as real as Steve does. Lesh's self realization is AMAZING (not to mention timely: this came out just as GamerGate really hit mainstream, and watching Lesh be ACTIVELY REPULSED by aspects of the gaming world gave me, like, HOPE FOR HUMANITY), and Svet's entire character arc rang so true with me that alternated between laughing and crying for much of her narration (their families, I can't even. Perfection. Everything about this book is just too good).
Also, when Lesh is playing the game, it's written like the game. It was awesome.
I love this book with the sort of power I rarely feel for contemporary. I don't know if I've EVER love a contemporary book this much. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
January 2, 2015
This was such a fun, interesting, thought-provoking read, and definitely a departure from other contemp YA romances I've read! Lesh is a brand-new gamer, just discovering MMORPGs, and both the joy of online communities and the tempting ability to step into someone else's shoes for a while that come along with it. Meanwhile, Svetlana is a dungeon master, craftsman extraordinaire with crazy amounts of artistic talent and her own gaming community in the form of a school club that can't seem to get it together. Watching them surprise themselves by coming to embrace the other in well-handled alternating POVs is fun and sweet and magical in its own right, particularly after their rocky start and the unginorable fact that neither is quite what what the other thought (s)he'd want in a partner.
But the real magic of G.I.R.L. is in the gaming world, from Brezenoff's clever deconstruction of what it's like to be a gamer as a girl (and the total creep factors that come into play) to the inherent self-ID confusion that often comes along with immersing yourself so deeply in another being.
As someone whose games of choice have always been RPGs (though single-player ones, because I'm a completely incompetent gamer), there was so much added joy in reading this and feeling my fingers get all itchy to jump on a computer. I couldn't say how this translates to either more serious gamers or those with no gaming experience at all, but I know I thoroughly enjoyed it.
But the real magic of G.I.R.L. is in the gaming world, from Brezenoff's clever deconstruction of what it's like to be a gamer as a girl (and the total creep factors that come into play) to the inherent self-ID confusion that often comes along with immersing yourself so deeply in another being.
As someone whose games of choice have always been RPGs (though single-player ones, because I'm a completely incompetent gamer), there was so much added joy in reading this and feeling my fingers get all itchy to jump on a computer. I couldn't say how this translates to either more serious gamers or those with no gaming experience at all, but I know I thoroughly enjoyed it.
April 26, 2014
Provided by the Publisher via Edelweiss
Just so you know, it doesn't take a gamer to enjoy to this book, even the whole book itself revolves around role playing in various forms. I for one is not a gamer, but now the idea of playing Dungeons and Dragons seems very appealing.
Frankly speaking, at first I really, really, loved this book. It was so much different from most books I have read. I've always loved reading about characters with flaws and both Lesh and Lana were imperfect, yet perfect all the same. I loved their senses of humor. However, Lesh's obsession with Lana was a tad bit too disturbing for me. So character-wise, this book was not too shabby.
What really bugged was the storyline. About the first 60% or so, it was kind of wonderful getting to know the characters and all. However, it dawned on me that nothing much actually happened. It was so dragging, so slow and there was so much detail that I still don't think important. And that took the love that I initially had for this book away.
Overall, it was a cute story.
Thanks Balzer + Bray for the eGalley.
Blog: YA Obession
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