Head Games - Mariah Fredricks

I picked up Head Games because it mentioned online role-playing games and how the characters deal with those perceptions of reality (or something like that) in the review I read about it. I was very excited that an author was breaking ground and using online RPG's as a theme for a book (I don’t know of any others that specifically use these games as a theme). Unfortunately it became very clear very quickly that the author knew nothing about online RPG's. Fortunately, these types of games ended up playing such a small role in the book that it was OK. What the book ended up being about was perceptions of reality or how people see you/how you see yourself, and can you change them. We have a character who is dealing with fear, for various reasons. She uses a role-play personality to see if she can change how she acts and therefore get over her fears. We have other characters who are so used to portraying other people’s impressions of them that it is unclear who they really are and if they can or should change. The story was a weird mix of role-play both in fantasy and in real life.

I’m probably reading more into story than is healthy, but it had some intriguing parts. It was good, if not spectacular and it was original as far as I can tell.

I think it would be a good recommend for teens wanting to figure out who they are and how to change, or those who feel like they have been pigeon-holed. I would not recommend it to computer geeks. The inaccuracies and lack of real detail to the computer game described are a little too glaring.