Guy in Real Life

Reviewed by: Brooke Faulkner - McArthur Public Library, Biddeford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 15, 2014

Review

Sophomore Lesh Tungsten and junior Svetlana Allegheny, students at the same high school, have never met before she collides with him the weekend before school starts. Wobbling drunkenly out of a heavy metal show, he weaves in front of Svetlana's bike, causing her notebook of sketches and game plans (she's a Dungeon Master for a D&D Tabletop Rollplaying group) to fly into a puddle. Lesh emerges unscathed, but smitten by her height, mane of almost white hair and the glimpse he gets of her art. Somewhat prim Svetlana, however, at least at first, feels otherwise: she dubs him a miscreant. As school begins, though Lesh has previously eschewed all efforts by his best friend Greg to involve him in the MMORG with which he's obsessed, the grounding-for-life punishment imposed by his parents after they discover he'd been drinking leads the homebound Lesh to give it a try. He stumbles into creating an avatar in the game -- a tall, white blond elf priestess - who he names Svetlana, setting off a chain of events that he doesn't expect. Brezenoff has crafted a very funny love story about two misfits who are drawn to one another despite being different in many ways. Observations about class, gender conformity, social dynamics and more are effortlessly worked into the novel, told in alternate narration by them both. Readers will likely spot one of the culminating plot points before the characters do, but this won't lessen the overall effect of this novel. A smart, engaging and heartfelt romance with enough edge to pull in non-romance fans.

Overall Book Score: excellent