User:Colapeninsula/Gamer Girl

Gamer Girl is a novel for young adults by Mari Mancusi.

Plot
The central character is Maddy Starr, a gothy girl interested in video games and manga. When her parents divorce, she has to move from Boston to live with her grandmother in a suburban New Hampshire town. Instead of her usual Hot Topic goth fashions, she is forced to wear a unicorn sweatshirt to school, and immediately finds herself bullied and feels out of place. She starts playing an online game, Fields of Fantasy, which becomes a second home to her and boosts her confidence. In the game, she befriends a male character called Sir Leo, who turns out to be Chad, the biggest bully at her school.

Critical reception
Kirkus Reviews was negative, finding it "lightweight" and "formulaic" and its treatment of manga and online gaming subcultures to be "superficial". The reviewer for Dear Author found it unoriginal and "like cotton candy", more suitable for younger children.

Christie Jo Bott listed it as a book that might help children deal with bullying.