It asks, “What does it mean to grow into a man?” and answers the question with binary gender roles. Like Lesh, however, its message is well intentioned but confused. “Guy in Real Life,” struggles to be about both gaming and gender. The ruse is over, and Lesh must contend with both his best friend and his girlfriend knowing that he is a guy in real life, but a girl on the Internet. His secret is dramatically outed when an ardent fan of the online Svvetlana tracks down the real Svetlana and corners her at her after-school job.

Svetlana, in contrast, says things like “Graham cracker crust!” when she wants to curse, and actually swoons under duress.Īs their relationship progresses, Lesh continues gaming as Svvetlana, and his use of the character feels increasingly like a violation: He even allows another player’s character to kiss her. She fools around with Lesh and then dumps him when she suspects his lust might be devolving into love.

She swears, smokes and is sexual rather than sentimental. As he falls deeper in love, he tries to reconcile his feelings for her with his friendship with fellow metal-heads like Jelly, a girl who seems to be Svetlana’s opposite.

Lesh is immediately smitten with this quirky, wholesome girl. Meanwhile, Lesh and real-life Svetlana bond in the school cafeteria when he drives away an unwanted suitor. Though she has no useful game skills, her “bouncy rack and great legs” quickly earn her friends among the other players. Starting as a crude, violent orc, he is bored until he begins again as “Svvetlana,” a character he creates to resemble the real-life Svetlana - albeit taller and bustier. Grounded for coming home drunk that night, Lesh joins an online role-playing game to pass the time. Svetlana, because she is furious with Lesh for causing her sketchbook to fall into a puddle Lesh, because Svetlana looks “like an angel.

Lesh Tungsten, a metal-head with a heart of gold, steps in front of a bicycle ridden by Svetlana Allegheny, an artsy-craftsy dungeon master given to talking to herself in French, and the encounter leaves a deep impression on them both. Steve Brezenoff’s third young adult novel, “Guy in Real Life,” begins when two teenagers literally collide one night in St.

Guy in real life by steve brezenoff