Center for Teaching & Learning

For a poor eighteen-year-old orphan, Wade Watts, Oasis, a virtual universe, is the only escape from his miserable reality. But his Utopia suddenly melts into chaos when the owner of the Oasis, James Halliday, dies of cancer and puts the ownership of the game used by billions up to whoever can find an Easter egg hidden somewhere in the Oasis. Years later,Wade is too poor to leave his school planet and get back in time for class, but the whole world is shocked when his level three avatar is the first to find the copper key. As Wade takes on an almost impossible quest while racing all the gunters, he finds new friends and teams up with them to attempt to defeat all of his competition.

Ernest Cline uses first person to convey Wade’s perspective throughout the book, which helped me see his struggles and how Wade thinks when he is figuring out the cryptic riddles. I loved the way that Cline included a lot of movie, book, and video game references, including The Shining, and Joust (an arcade game). Using first person is also an effective way to describe the Oasis because readers see it through Wade’s eyes. 

The plot is suspenseful and fast-paced: Wade has to be ready to run away at any moment in reality and in the Oasis because if players die in the game, they lose all of their items and have to restart. Even though this is an action book it still will make readers emotional. I like how the title was an echo of the first words players see in the game after they have said the phrase that they use as a password. The game then says  “Ready Player One,” and players enterthe Oasis. 

If you’ve read Ready Player One already I recommend Warcross by Marie Lu. Fans of Ernest Cline would love this book because their virtual reality settings and conflicts are very similar. Ernest Cline’s first novel will leave you wanting this to be a series — and you’re in luck because the sequel is expected to come out sometime in late 2020. Additionally, there is a movie that came out on March 29, 2018, and if you look closely you might find some Easter eggs. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who is in sixth grade and up because it does have swearing in it, and to readers who like sci-fi and action. I rate this book a ten out of ten because it has a lot of action: you will never be bored while reading. 

Nico

Penguin Random House LLC., 385 pages