The Game Weavers by Rebecca Zahabi - Young Adult Fiction Book Review (sent for review)

I was sent a copy of The Game Weavers by Rebecca Zahabi this Summer for review, and it's a really good read, so I was more than happy to join in this promotional book tour for the UK release.  

On the surface The Game Weavers is a fictional story about a young professional game player, but it is far more than that. This is a book about finding your place in the world, and clinging on to what is most dear, whatever life throws at you. It's a book about loyalty, family, and having the confidence to be the person you are. 

The book starts with an introduction to Twine - a futuristic game where players 'weave' characters who battle for control of the playing field. It paints an amazing picture in my head, and one which I'm sure is very different for everyone who reads this book. 

Seo Kuroaku is a champion Twine player. He has a really close and protective relationship with his younger brother Minjun, and the reader very soon discovers that this is because they were abandoned by their mother as children. 

Neither brother is without mental scars. Seo has an unhealthy relationship  with 2 older men, who play a controlling part in his life, but seem to offer little in the way or friendship or support. Sponsor, Sir Neil, who he has to answer to, and Papa, who organises Seo's life behind the scenes.

When a story breaks in the papers about Seo's promiscuous lifestyle, the relationships are put under strain. The man who leaks the story has no idea of how huge it will become, and is very sorry. He is in a relationship with Seo, and very much into him, and it's his ex who tells the press everything. 

I love the way we are introduced to the characters and then experience 'normal life' through their eyes. Seo is South Korean, from a traditional background, with an old-fashioned adoptive Papa. He lost his mother when he was young, he is gay, his work is very unusual and high profile, and he lives with his brother, who he has responsibility for. But he still has regular worries and troubles, having to cope with everyday racism and ignorance, and very hurt by what he sees as his boyfriend's betrayal. 

The Game Weavers is a really full story, and you feel you know several of the characters incredibly well before you are even half way through. You see the world through the eyes of Seo himself, his brother Minjun and his love interest. It gives you the beginnings of an insight into what it might be to be so close to someone whose every move is documented by the press, and you can feel that pressure on them. 

The pressures they face are ordinary, but amplified, and so you can connect entirely with the characters. 

The Game Weavers is a great book, which will open your eyes, and maybe give you a little confidence in yourself. Ideal for a teenage or young adult reader, available now rrp £9.99, paperback, 370 pages. Available from all good book shops, including online at Amazon - affiliate link below: 

Find out what other reviewers thought of The Game Weavers, on the Blog Tour! 

We were sent our copy of The Game Weavers for review. Amazon links are affiliate, which earns me a few pence if you buy through my link, but never costs you a penny more. It helps keep free book reviews on the blog....