Lance is your everyday New York City teen, juggling school and parents as best he can, but really living for the mystical online world of Discordia, where he comes alive as his alter ego, a level 17 zombie sorcerer. But the line between reality and online gaming blurs and then fades altogether when he and his friend MrsKeller are recruited to join the Awaken Myths Guild by TheGreatOne, a level 60 player. Suddenly, a snow day in the Big Apple becomes a journey though an unknown but oddly familiar landscape, where little—if anything—makes sense anymore. Using what they know from having played the game, they do their best to adapt to their circumstances and start a journey looking for answers. Separating friend from foe is only part of the challenge, especially after Lance finds himself slowly but surely turning into his zombie avatar. This is Alice in Wonderland turned upside down and made into a whiz-bang, nonstop read for the modern gamer. The only thing wrong with this book is its cliffhanger ending; readers will hope Salmon writes fast. (Science fiction. 10 & up)
