Trapped in a Video Game genre

1.0 out of 5 stars Cut and taped back together!
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2020

Have not read the book yet. BUT I did skim through and instantly noticed many of the pages were cut/torn and glued/taped back together, very disappointing to buy a BRAND NEW book and have it come damaged!

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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 4, 2022

I bought this for my 9 yr old nephew. He was too focused on playing video games, so I sat down to read it myself. The first third or so of the book is hilarious! I actually laughed out loud a few times! I will say that there's one main editing boo boo. The cannon blaster starts attached on one hand, then somehow, it's on the other hand. I am surprised by how well this held my attention with everything that was going on around me as I was reading it. I feel like it might be easy for advanced 9yr old readers, but English is not my nephew's first language, so it might even be a bit challenging for him.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 31, 2022

This is a quirky middle grade adventure, where 2 best friends get sucked into a first-person-shooter game. Lighthearted and silly, it's ultimately a story about the power of teamwork.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 14, 2019

Sly, Funny, and Action-Packed

This is the first book in the planned five book series. Each book slips our heroes into a different perilous video game, so they work almost as standalones. But there's also an overall mystery/thriller arc, and it looks like that will get wrapped up in book five. (Each book concludes its individual story, but leaves behind a cliff hanger that leads to the next book and relates to the overall arc.)

The general idea is that an evil supervillain has an evil supervillainous plan, and our guys keep getting in his way. This time around they escape his clutches by dropping into a blocky, retro, 80's, side scrolling, island adventure game. They have to survive and then get out, while avoiding a robot assassin who has followed them into the game and then surviving the villain's attempts to erase them when they do get out.

Here's the thing. This is one of the funnest sets of heroes I've encountered in some time, and this is one of the smartest MG action/adventure tales I've read, ever. Our heroes are the quiet and shy kid, Charlie, (whose genius programmer dad is being held hostage by the villain), the sort of goofy and obtuse comic relief kid, Eric, and our first person narrator, the regular type kid, Jesse. Jesse is the heart and soul of the book, and he is an appealing mix of resourceful, antic, funny, observant, deadpan and puckish. His narrative voice, alternately dry and then manic, sells the premise and the story and keeps the reader engaged. I mean, I could totally see him being my best friend. Eric is both a bit dim and totally psyched, and so offers a nice balance to Jesse.

But above and beyond that, the book is loaded with sly humor and with inside 80's gamer jokes. For example, at one point the villain starts monologuing about his devious plan for world domination. Eric keeps egging on the villain with inane questions. Jesse keeps trying to get Eric to be quiet because absolutely everybody knows that once the villain has disclosed his plan he has to eliminate the people he just told it to. But Jesse is also torn because the plan really is sort of especially evil and Jesse is sort of curious. Now that strikes me as a pretty knowing joke on the whole structure of action/adventure thrillers, and I would expect a middle grade reader to get that joke and be pretty pleased to get that joke. That's what I mean about the book being "smart". It's entertaining but it also brings the reader into the fun of reading this kind of stuff, (without ever mocking the genre). And the whole book has that kind of generous, knowing, upbeat, Boy's Own, vibe.

So, while the premise looked a little gimmicky at the outset, it really was handled very well, and the book delivered a ripping and amusing adventure in the company of some fine heroes. A nice find.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 25, 2022

I got Volumes 1&2 for my 9 year old grandson for Christmas hoping he would be tempted by the title to try reading at least Volume 1. He did try and ended up enjoying both volumes!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 20, 2022

My grandchildren, 8 and 5, enjoyed listening to this story. It is about something they understand, VIDEO GAMES. Two friends are trapped in a video game and are tryng to get back to life.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 27, 2022

My 8 year old son likes reading but struggles which can be discouraging. He loved reading this book and he told me all about it so I knew he comprehended it. Would highly recommend this book! I actually had to take it away so he would do his chores.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 25, 2022

My 9 year old son got this book for his advanced reading class. He found it moderately difficult to read and couldn't finish it in one day. He did enjoy the story and would like to read it again. It has nice graphics inside and it is quite unique.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 31, 2019

Our 10yo step-son has never been a fan of reading and has really struggled with reading and comprehension. Being in 5th grade on only reading at a 3rd grade level and never having ever read a chapter book himself, on his own; it has been such a struggle to get him to do his assigned 20 minutes of reading and reading log each day. So, I thought that maybe if I took the initiative and try to find a chapter book series that centers around some of the things that he enjoys himself, that maybe... hopefully... he might be able to begin to actually get even just a little bit of enjoyment from sitting down with a good book and just read. After a bit of searching and a TON of reading, scouring of reviews and with a wish and a prayer I decided on giving the Trapped in a Video Game series a try, starting with book 1.

I was met with hesitation and the look of fear when I gave him the book but after providing him with a brief, yet enthusiastic, description of this series and a promise that if he doesn't like it or finds it too advanced that we can find another book series. He gave it a shot for his daily reading and not only did he enjoy his 20 minutes of reading (and asked to read longer, so that he could at least finish the chapter he was on) but he also actually understood what he was reading. His Dad was floored when he got home and his son was able to sit down and tell him about character's names and what he read in the 1st 2 chapters, including the little details that he typically has missed in the past. Our boy has since finished with the whole 1st book and has moved on to the 2nd. He genuinely enjoys his reading time now and to see the confidence he has gained from such a simple thing such as reading and comprehension is absolutely priceless!!!

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