Joe Rover

Rieden Reece and the Virtual Girl by Matt Guzman

[And that’s when I said to the cook, “I thought you said flies.”]

…

[Hey, what’s up?]

Just thinking about my next blog post. I just finished reading Rieden Reece and the Virtual Girl, and I’m not sure what to say or even how to start the post.

[What stood out for you?]

Not sure. Guess I’m feeling kind of down. Like, what’s the point? Does anyone care about my opinions?

[Kind of like Rieden. He saves the world like five times–]

Four. This is book five.

[Four times and everyone still hates him.]

Yeah. They all blame him and Brian for the Time Stop. And they blame him for when they are pulled into the game. It was nice to see the cast of characters grow. It was nice to see that maybe, just maybe Rieden could gain more friends.

[And everyone now sees the same things Rieden does. It’s not all in his head.]

Exactly. And Rieden sees that others have their own problems. He sees that maybe those people he saw as problems weren’t so bad after all. Over time, the others start seeing Rieden as a friend, and he even starts calling them friends.

The story is still crazy with killer eggs and cultures using carbon as money. It still feels like nothing is as expected and everything can change in an instant.

The book was hard to put down, or should I say the audiobook was hard to press pause on. I kept thinking, “One more chapter.” That is one of the better things about the book’s format. The chapters aren’t that long. There doesn’t seem to be any moments that drag. Some books I find myself falling asleep while reading, even if I do like the book–they have a lot of slow moments that stall the story.

[What about the characters?]

Well, like I said, Rieden learns more about them. Guzman does an excellent job of showing this development instead of telling us. You see Rieden interacting with the characters, and you see him change his perceptions about them. Rieden’s analysis also gives the reader time to adapt their opinions of the characters. Brian sure knows how to hold a grudge, and Ian could become a friend if he sees how damaging his ways are.

Some of the settings definitely made my head hurt or make me feel seasick.

[A sign of great descriptions.]

[Anything else?]

No. Maybe that it was nice to relax and read it. It didn’t feel slow, but I also didn’t breeze through it. I felt like I kept making progress. I didn’t feel like I had to keep checking the time to see how much of the story was left.

Also, the ending might be a little intense for some audiences. Otherwise, it was pretty good.

I think I know what to say in my review now. Thanks, man.

[Anytime.]

4.9/5

I’ll address the .1 point in the spoiler section below.

Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading!

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🔊Attention all readers! 🔊

To celebrate the release of the paperback versions of Not So Secret Origins, Alone, and Alliance and the audiobook versions (digital narration) of Not So Secret Origins and Carl Rogers is Missing their ebook versions will be on sale for $0.99 from July 23-30. 

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SPOILER!

My problem with the story was the ending. Everyone forgets what happened except for Rieden. Once again, he is left wondering if he’s crazy, and this time…it’s bad. Thankfully, Brian is there to help him. The part with Rieden holding the piece of broken glass and Brian grabbing Rieden’s wrist was maybe a little too much for a middle school read.

I was really hoping that the others would remember and they would continue to be friends…maybe in the next book. But I am glad that Brian is no longer mad at Rieden and they are still friends.