Metawars: Fight for the Future is a story about a boy named Jonah Delacroix who lives in a dystopian future where, due to immense technological advances, he can not only spend his time in the real world, but in a virtual one too! Although Jonah finds the virtual world better than real life, it is not perfect, with two opposing sides, the Guardians and the Millennials, fighting over control of it. Jonah has never doubted his allegiance in this war, having suffered extreme loss because of it. But one day, in the basement of the family shop, he makes a surprising discovery, which forces him to reconsider his ideas and become involved in the huge conflict.
I thought the concept of having a virtual world considered far superior to reality was a very clever idea, as many people are already addicted to technology today. The elements of economic collapse and climate change make this a realistic interpretation of how the world could be in many years to come. Another concept I liked was “uploading,” in effect a form of suicide- your being and memories are uploaded onto the virtual world, where they stay forever. Norton uses dramatic irony well throughout the book, giving the reader an idea of how both sides are progressing.
Although this book did have an excellent setting, I didn’t find it as exciting as I’d hoped, since it took a lot of the book to get to the climax. I would have liked more scenes in which the two protagonists took control of their situations, because those were the scenes which I enjoyed the most. I would also have liked to find out more about the two protagonists, in order to be able to relate with them more.
I would give this book 3/5.
Review written by Caroline Carter, Year 10. Thank you to Jeff Norton for sending us a copy to read.
