Catching Ivy (Paperback or Softback)

Fans of the mind-bending TV series, Black Mirror, will fall for this similar YA series, Dreamscapes, where dreams and technology collide. Damion Scole has an obsession and it’s one that just might get him killed. Like most nineteen-year-olds, he spends his free time hooking into VRR’s: Virtual Reality Reads. These electronic devices replaced e-readers almost thirty years ago. Now, in the year 2048, you can be in the story rather than just reading. But Damion doesn’t buy your everyday VRRs, he’s only into the black-market ones. His connection sells him a new vid, fresh on the market, and so hot there’s only one copy. As Damion slips into the virtual world, safe in his father’s penthouse, he watches a grim scene unfold. The main character is running for her life. A girl with bright blonde hair, deep amber eyes, and a mission to take down the biggest biotech company in the world. When he gets a few chapters in, he notices a local news story appears in the vid. It isn’t until a fire he witnesses in the book makes the headline news the next morning that he realizes something is very wrong. Convinced what he's watching is in real time, and the mysterious girl is in real peril, he begins a desperate search through the city to find her. What he discovers will force him to leave his virtual world of safety, to save his real one.

"Amazing world building left me wishing I didn't have to leave." ~All Books All the TimeReviewed By Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite
Damion, the protagonist of Catching Ivy by Eliza Tilton, lives in the most expensive and luxurious hotel in the city (Hotel Le-Grand) with his family. His life could be seen as rather comfortable if it were not for a tragic event that led to the death of his girlfriend. To dull the pain and partially to avoid new relationships, he loses himself in the world of virtual reality reads (VRRs). He gets his virtual "books" from a character who is a little shady and has certain connections. One of those connections gave him a special VRR and he sells it to Damion for a very high price. However, this VRR is different from all the others. The first thing that makes Damion wonder about it is the real pain he feels. Usually, you don't feel pain in VRRs. Then there is the current news within the VRR that is so current that it's a bit eerie. Soon Damion realizes that the VRR with the blonde girl is not just a virtual reality. It's real reality! Then the protagonist is in real danger. Damion decides he needs to find her - which means he has to leave the safety of his VRR world.

I found Catching Ivy by Eliza Tilton very interesting. I picked it up because I found the idea of VRRs very appealing. Imagine experiencing the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings as one of the main characters in virtual reality! But of course, amazing technology also comes with a danger: some people might want to use it to increase their power over others, as it happens in this novel. I enjoyed Damion's story as he was an interesting and relatable character with a tragic background. The writing made it easy to live in Damion's world and imagine what the places and people would be like. The author found the right balance between describing so much that there's no place for your own imagination and describing too little. So many authors go into the smallest detail, so that reading turns into a bit of a chore and you can't have your own picture of the characters in your head. I'm always glad when I read a book written by someone who seems to know what they are doing!