Heir Apparent

Author: Vivian Vande Velde
Publishing Info: Published in 2004 by Magic Carpet Books
Suggested Reading Level: Grades 6 to 9

Synopsis:
At the beginning of the book, Giannine is headed to the Rasmussen virtual reality arcade to celebrate her 14th birthday with a gift certificate her distant father gave her. On her way in, she passes protesters from Citizens to Protect Our Children who feel the arcade is corrupting children. She chooses to play a game called Heir Apparent where the goal is to stay alive long enough to be crowned King. The game is total immersion and she wakes up in the virtual reality world as Janine, the illegitimate heir to the recently vacated throne. She makes it to the castle, but while speaking with the other royal heirs (who were not chosen to succeed the throne by their deceased father), a thunderstorm wreaks havoc on the inside of the castle. When she makes it out of the throne room, a man claiming to be the CEO of Rasmussen Enterprises appears and tells her that the protester from CPOC damaged the equipment and the only way to get out is to win the game. She must do it quickly, though, or she risks a “fatal overload” on her real body. Panicked, Giannine manages to get herself killed in several different ways and goes through 4 or 5 (virtual) days before she figures out that she needs to speak to Janine’s father and get a magic ring to help her win. Her next attempt is more successful, and she makes it through 2 of the 3 necessary days before getting poisoned by someone she thought was a friend. On her final (because it is successful) attempt, she is very courageous, confident, and quick to avoid the pitfalls she has learned about on her previous attempts. She befriends one of the other heirs, keeps the royal advisor from stealing all the money in the kingdom, keeps the barbarians from the north from invading, finds a way to travel 20 leagues and steal a golden crown from a dragon, and makes it back in one piece. The dragon comes after her, but she defeats him, too, winning the respect of the royal guards. By the middle of the third day, everyone is ready to crown her King, but suddenly her head starts hurting severely and she can’t see straight. The heir that she befriended helps her get the crown and she wins the game as he holds her in his arms. When she wakes up back in the Rasmussen gaming center, she is confused because the heir is still holding her. She finds out quickly that he is really the owner of Rasmussen Enterprises and that he put his image in the game as a fun twist. The story ends happily with a hint that the two of them might hook up, and her father comes to see her to her surprise.

Analysis:
Heir Apparent was a very fun, quick read. It’s almost like a choose your own ending book, without being so annoying. The lead character is a girl who makes mistakes, but uses her intelligence and courage to do what she needs to in order to save her life and win the game. I think it would be a good model for young women. I don’t think boys would enjoy the book quite as much, but there is mystery, adventure, dragons, swords, barbarians and magic involved, so the book is not completely devoid of things boys might be interested in. Giannine has a strained relationship with her father, which a lot of kids might relate to as well. I think it would be a good book to start discussions in a classroom about courage, making decisions and the effects of wrong decisions, how relationships can effect our lives and decisions, and possibly human rights and how to protect them without hurting others. It was not difficult reading, so it could also be recommended to students who are older, but may have a lower reading level. Good book!