The author weaved an accessible story of human rights, healthcare rights, environmentalism, and ecology. I enjoy YA dystopian and sci fi, and I appreciate the opportunity I had to access and read this novel. The characters are generally likable and believable, and the plot and worldbuilding made sense.

I really enjoyed the scifi elements and thought it worked with the young adult elements perfectly. Laura Resau has a great writing style and thought it worked well overall. It had a great scifi element perfectly and thought that it could happen. The romance has everything that I wanted and glad it was so well done.

"Virch" is a non-stop, wild ride, YA dystopian novel set in the year 2154, where virtual reality offers an escape for the privileged while the rest suffer in a contaminated reality. The protagonist, Liv, driven by her love for her sick sister, ventures into a tech empire owned by the formidable Wolf. Surprisingly, Wolf is an idealist striving to rectify his father's misdeeds. As they confront danger and a crumbling society, the story delves into themes of truth, illusion, and the enduring power of love. Lots of rich world-building, compelling character dynamics, and pressing issues of human and environmental rights. With its fast-paced narrative and thought-provoking exploration, "Virch" is a must-read for fans of YA and dystopian society stories.

Loved this book. Beautiful world building. Fell inlove with the characters. The technology in this book was intriguing. Hare to tell what is real and what is a simulation. Absolutely love it would definitely recommend if you love dystopia.

DNF
I was so excited going into this book, the premise sounded unlike anything i’ve read, and I had such high expectations.

Unfortunately, the plot, world-building, and characters all fell short for me. I also had such a hard time getting into it as it felt like everything was forced and I had a hard time believing everything happening to them- all the good things that happened seemingly came out of nowhere, and all the bad things didn’t realistically make sense (why did no adult believe them even when they had proof?)

3.25/5 ⭐


first of all thank you netgalley for the arc.

things i like about the book
- the story and the idea of this book. set in the future (2154) where the world was ruled by technology named virch.
- how the story unfolded


things i don't like about this book
- the writing is not really engaging. it took me almost a month to finish this because it's hard to reconnect with the book (tho the world building is not really bad)
- i really don't like the main character (Liv). she's full of contradiction. at first she said that she didn't want to make herself standout, and then went to the most powerful man on the island next and kinda challenged him. said that it's hard to talk about her sister, and next talking about her to a boy she just met and gave away her secret. her words really didn't match with her acts.

also i found it kinda doesn't make sense how this place was supposed to have advanced technology and high security but didn't even fix the hacked cctv and the fmc could easily sneak out everywhere.


it took me weeks to read the half of the books but finish the rest in an hour, because that's where i could finally resonate the story. that's where i felt like i could enter the world they were in.
i didn't expect how the story unfolded (hence more than 3 stars for this book because i was this close to dnf before) but the last half of the story saved the book.

if you're looking for less than 300 pages light scifi book with face paced plot and romance, take this and try reading it.

Laura Resau always writes with PURPOSE and that is certainly true for Virch. This dystopian novel explores issues of reality in the face of virtual reality in a way that is sobering and relevant to our times in a way that is engaging and thought provoking.

This book was a great read, I can definitely see different paths for a sequel. The main character were written beautifully. The illusions were all there. I wish I knew how far from their original selves they were.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This was an enjoyable and well-written read that poses some very thought provoking questions about the possibility of living in a simulation. The story is nicely paced, with a good mix of action, tension and romance. Whilst I'm probably not the target audience, I did find myself engaged throughout and flew through the pages. I would've loved more world-building and some further character development but found myself enjoying the story none-the-less. 3.5 starts rounded up to 4!

Virch" is a thrilling YA sci-fi novel set in the year 2154, where virtual reality offers an escape for the privileged, but for Liv, it's a stark contrast to her reality by a contaminated bay. Determined to save her sick sister, Liv infiltrates a tech empire owned by the powerful Wolf, who surprises her by being an idealist committed to righting his father's wrongs. As they navigate danger and a crumbling world, the story explores truth, illusion, and the enduring power of love, rooted in futuristic science and ancient wisdom. The author masterfully blends a fast-paced narrative with pressing issues of human and environmental rights, delivering a thought-provoking and compelling YA adventure.

Amazing! The pace is fast without ruining the flow of the story. I wasn't sure what to expect going in but I enjoyed the rich world-building and character dynamics. Liz, the main character is kind-hearted and really just wants to make the world a better place for her sister. The dystopian society take is great. Overall I just really loved the book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes YA and Dystopian Society stories.

When I started this book I had no idea at all what to expect. I loved the cover the second I saw it and I knew I had to read this book. All I knew about the book is what genre it was and that Laura Resau wrote this book.

This story is so fast paced that I read it in Two sittings, I could not stop reading! The world building is absolutely amazing, it is layer within layer and worlds within worlds. Everything is described so detailed that I could perfectly visualise this story in my own head. It pushed the edges of reality and you start wondering what is real and what’s not. There’s a Blue pill reference in there somewhere cause it sure made me feel like we live in a digital reality and that we should unplug asap. It made me question absolutely everything because for all we know we might be living in a simulation ourselves?!

The main character Liz has such a big heart, she wants to make the world a better place for her family and goes above and beyond to make it happen. Without giving any spoilers, I have to say I love the character building in this story.

I really had to focus while reading this book because it is quite heavy, this felt more like an adult dystopian sci-fi to me than sci-fi for young adults. I took so many notes and went on a bender on Google doing research, it definitely made me use my brain for the better!

I managed not to cry throughout this entire book, until I read the acknowledgment page. The message Laura left in there towards her husband made me tear up.

Thank you to Laura Resau, Owl Hollow Press and Netgalley for giving me this ARC in return for my honest review. All opinions here are my own.

5-star read
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance, YA, Dystopian
Release date: June 4, 2024.

Thank you to Netgalley and Owl Hollow Press for an ARC of this book. For me, this one came in around a 2.5 stars. This book was very dystopian which I love and reminded me of the Divergent series in some ways. I thought the story itself was interesting as I wanted to find out what happened next and how it would be wrapped up. I feel, though, that there was a lack of background starting out. While I get that we learned more as we went along, I feel like we could have been given basics like what the intern program was or how Liv got chosen to go. I feel like that could have greatly improved the beginning.
I also did not like finding out the whole thing was a just a sim. While maybe some people would find that to be a good twist, to me it knocked the story down in my rating unfortunately. We got a happy ending, but it wasn’t even real.
I do feel like there were good messages in some parts of the book, but at times it felt forced. Also, I feel like things were too convenient at times, like the main characters assuming something then the another character confirming it in almost the exact same words later even though they weren’t there originally. The story could use a bit of polishing in this sense as well as the connections between scenes and events.
All in all, I feel like the story was interesting and suspenseful, but wasn’t for me.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Owl Hollow Press for the ARC, which I received in exchange for a fair review.

I have mixed feeling about this book.I had a bit of trouble getting into it at first. It was a really cool concept, and I wish the author had gone into more depth with the world building. Most of the character lacked depth and did not have much growth, and the main antagonist felt like a cartoon villian. Additionally the main character, Liv, made some rather odd choices about who to trust, which seemed odd even for a teenage main character.

That being said, the plot was interesting and it was a quick read. Also I am not the target audience, so I’m willing to cut it a bit more slack, I hope it resonates better with young adult audiences.

Thank you Owl Hollow Press and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

There aren’t much Sci fi YA books I’ve read in my life and I want to expend my collection of these kind of books so I decided to ask an earc of this book and find out if this kind of book is my cup of tea. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

This book lacked of world building, character development and the story was quit boring so it couldn’t keep my attention from the start.