Bumpy Oak Books

**I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Actual rating: 3.5

Wab Kinew brings a young adult light scifi with Walking in Two Worlds. Readers follow Bugz, a power player in a digital world who has a lot of self-doubt in the real world. Kinew draws upon Anishinaabe culture and traditions heavily in this novel and was kind enough to provide readers with a pronunciation guide for some of the frequently used Anishinaabe terms.

There are some content warnings for this book including but not limited to cancer, self-harm, pandemic mentions, fat-shaming, racism, general bigotry, misogyny, and suicidal ideation. In addition, Bugz is a character that has a lot of self-doubt and is not always kind to herself in her thoughts, which readers experience in italicized commentary.

Kinew mentions in an author’s note and in the dedication that he was inspired by students at Pelican Falls First Nations High School and wanted to write a book that represented the shared cultural background that he has with those students. Certainly, Kinew incorporates a lot of Anishinaabe culture and traditions into the narrative which, not being a part of that culture, I really enjoyed reading about.

Kinew also includes love interest Feng, a Uyghur boy who was raised in a Chinese majority school after being taken from his parents. I was not previously aware of the Uyghur people, who are among many ethnic minority groups in China. I am glad for the opportunity to further educate myself in this area as well.

I have spoken predominantly about the representation in the book because the plot itself is not necessarily unique. The book revolves around a virtual reality type game/world and the real world and how Bugz and Feng interact with both. It is the cultural influences and incorporation which gives this plot new life and makes the story feel fresh.

I did feel like the pacing of the story was rather rushed, and did not necessarily feel that the plot was resolved at the end. I understand the author’s choice to leave the ending as he did, but it was not a choice I particularly enjoyed.

Overall, I feel this story could appeal to readers who enjoyed Ready Player One, Slay, or Warcross due to the similar themes, or to readers who would like a very light scifi with Anishinaabe cultural representation.