Gamer Girls

March 15, 2022
A collective biography of women pioneers and stars of the gaming industry. Repeated questions from girls about whether it was worth it to enter this field in the light of things like Gamergate, the racist and misogynistic mid-2010s harassment campaign that still affects online gaming communities, prompted Kenney, a game developer with an impressive resume, to highlight the triumphs of women in the industry and demonstrate that women have been influential players in the industry for many decades. The brief biographies are tightly focused on the women's careers and what brought them to gaming, with interests in storytelling, puzzles, and, naturally, computers frequently recurring. They open with a framing of the individuals' best-known accomplishments and number of years in the industry. Kenney infuses humor where she can as a counterbalance to industry jargon and the unavoidable repetition in the women's stories. While most of the women appear to be White in the stylized illustrated portraits and lack racial descriptors in their chapters (Kenney cites 2019 data that, of the fewer than 25% of game designers who identify as female, 81% are White), Asian and Black women are also represented as well as trans women. Sidebar paragraphs spotlight even more women in the industry. Perera's arresting full-page portraits rendered in shades of purple and orange with black and white accents open each entry; spot art adds further visual interest. A solid reference work that shows aspiring female game developers the legacy they'd be joining. (glossary, bibliography, notes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

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June 1, 2022

Gr 7 Up-Video games wouldn't be what they are today without the contribution of women from all around the world. Women have been integral in shaping the field, from some of the first text-based games in the 1970s to the high-tech games players know and love today. This engaging book features 25 women, including women of color, trans women, teenagers, and women who changed careers later in life. Throughout each chapter, readers get tidbits on other influential women in the field, aptly labeled "Side Quests." Kenney, a video game writer, shares her insider knowledge and research to help readers understand all the terms and technical talk that comes with discussing game development. The layout is easy to follow, and the illustrations are bright and appealing. This book celebrates inclusion and proves that diversity in cultures and opinions is needed to create great games. Readers do not need to be well-versed in gaming lingo to understand and appreciate this book. VERDICT Witty, engaging, and informative, this book will inspire all types of readers to do what they love, whether in the gaming industry or not.-Carleigh Obrochta

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 30, 2022
Grades 8-12 Women still comprise less than a quarter of video game developers, but Kenney, an "AAA" developer who works on games with blockbuster budgets, seeks to remedy this by spotlighting 25 prominent females (historic and modern) in the gaming industry. From Muriel Tramis, the first Black woman to design video games, to Brenda Laurel, who started the Games for Girls movement, to Yoko Shimomura, a Japanese composer of video game music, each profile covers the developer's formative interest in such areas as coding, gaming, and writing, as well as her entry and influence in the field. Organized conceptually rather than chronologically, the book arranges the profiles so that their content builds on one another, with Kenney referring readers back to previous concepts and developers as needed. She also uses the biographies to discuss early innovations and trends and broach relevant topics, like the industry's lack of diversity, oversexualization, and initial emphasis on binary genders in gaming. The conversational tone and accompanying digital images clinch this as a hit for gaming fans.

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