Booktrust recommends Epic

Booktrust is an independent educational charity working to promote children's literature. Booktrust administers the Nestle Children's Book Prize. Every year they publish an annual guide to the best children's books. Their Best Book Guide 3: books for teenagers recommends Epic with the following review:

On New Earth, the only arena for violence is a computer game called Epic, in which people adopt characters and interact with one another online – the twist being that what they achieve there is reflected in their real life. Eric, from a poor family, in a poor region, is struck by the unfairness of the system, and its bias towards The Committee, which runs everything. He sets out to save his family, and ultimately comes to struggle with the corruption of the system itself. This is a cross-genre book, with resonance for the teenage reader, not only through the accuracy of the gaming world, but also through issues of isolation and detachment explored in the story.