Guy In Real Life by Steve Brezenoff

Guy In Real Life (G.I.R.L) by Steve Brezenoff

Title: Guy in Real Life

Author: Steve Brezenoff
Pages: 400
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062266853

My Rating: B+

I love this book. I really love this book. I also love the music (oh, the music...)

Okay, so the Basic Facts about G.I.R.L:

-There's a metalhead boy with called Lesh Tungsten (his metalhead friends call him Tung. I seriously love the name Lesh though) and the artsy gamer girl called Svetlana.

-Lesh is G.I.R.L which means Gamer In Real Life and he pretends to be Svetlana in an MMORPG game that he becomes addicted to.

-The pretending obviously gets out of hand in an embarrassing situation that Lesh totally does not deserve.

-There's some metalhead chick in this book that is very annoying. Read it and find out who.

Again, I love this book. I really love this book. I, however do not appreciate the ending. It was incredibly abrupt and when I turned the page...I mean COME ON Steve B.! I get that it was a literal choice and it was all in all supposed to be a "make your own ending" kind of ending but still...

Aside from that though, I have no real qualms with the book. It was fun, and the evolution from crush to girlfriend/boyfriend status was too sweet. I also love that the age gap did not affect their relationship in anyway. No one in this book seemed to have a problem with the fact that she was older than him and I just love that (even though I highly doubt I will ever date a younger man).

It is disturbingly relatable. It is so possible that it gives me an ache inside. It's basically about loving someone but not really knowing how to go about telling them. 

It's fast-paced in places and slow in others but my favorite scene has to be the one in Svetlana's bedroom. Definitely that one. I think it's a pretty decent read and it focuses on an average, everyday, extremely livable life. There's nothing pretentious about it which is probably the best part about it.

I can recommend it to a boy, which I like because I have this friend who likes books but refuses to read the really mushy stuff. I warn about the ending though. It can be a little annoying for some people, I know. The book is also not very action-y, but we all need a little regular in our lives don't we?

The song(s) that would be perfect for this book was already mentioned (and in fact elaborated on) in the book and it is:

Marche Au Supplice by Hector Berlioz from the Symphonie Fantastique and you will FALL IN LOVE. It embodies the whole rise and fall feeling that you get reading about Svetlana and Lesh. It's beautiful.

And then, we've got the 8-bit version of Paramore's  Ain't It Fun from YouTube. Super cute and the lyrics resonate. Also, it's fun to dance to- you know, take a break from a 400 page book like I didn't (I'm going to blow out my back one of these days).

Okay?,

Tammy.

You can buy G.I.R.L here.

Credit for image and info: Google and Goodreads