The Leveller by Julia Durango

The Leveller by Julia Durango

Nixy Bauer, Home in an Hour

Nixy Bauer is used to her classmates being very, very unhappy to see her. After all, she's working with the enemy--she's on their parents' payrolls.

Nixy is a bounty hunter in a virtual-reality gaming world. Kids in the MEP, as they call it, play entirely with their minds, while their bodies languish in a sleeplike state on the couch. Irritated parents, looking to wrench their kids back to reality, hire Nixy to jump into the game and retrieve them. Luckily for Nixy and her wallet, she's the best leveller out there.

But when the game's billionaire developer--and Nixy's parents' boss--loses track of his own son in the MEP, Nixy is in for the biggest challenge of her bounty-hunting career. Wyn Salvador isn't some lazy kid looking to escape his homework, and this is no ordinary levelling job: Wyn does not want to be found. And he's left behind a suicide note.

Nixy takes the job but quickly discovers that Wyn's not hiding--he's being held inside the game against his will. But who is holding him captive, and why?

Nixy and Wyn attempt to fight their way out of a mind game unlike any they've encountered. And the battle brings them closer than either could have imagined. But when the whole world is virtual, how can Nixy possibly know what's real?