Book of the Week: 28 January 2018

Cover design not credited.

Simon’s family are wealthy enough for him to be able to afford the latest headset needed to play a brand-new virtual reality game, although Simon stole his mother’s Amex card to buy it, but they generally pay him very little attention. He is much closer to his friend Kat who has a house in the woods behind his family mansion. They have hung out together for the last ten years but now Simon is eighteen he has fallen in love with his childhood friend. The problem is, she is no longer speaking to him. When Kat falls into a coma after an accident, the the tech company who produced Otherworld, the game Simon has been playing, plug her into their virtual world. Simon feels something isn’t right, so manages to trick his way in to Otherworld to search for her. His suspicions prove accurate when he encounters hordes of dangerous creatures and the sinister aims behind the game.

Ready Player One still reigns supreme in the world of game-based fiction, but if you like to get immersed in virtual worlds, then it is worth a read. A sequel is due out later this year and yes, Jason Segel is the actor from How I Met Your Mother.

More suited to older readers due to some violent scenes and strong language.

Click Here to Start by Denis Markell

Book of the Week: 15 October 2017

Cover art by Katrina Damkoehler

The third book of the week in a row that deals with a mystery must mean that the genre has taken over from dystopian adventure in the popularity stakes (perhaps). Coincidentally this story, like last week’s, is set in the USA (although in California rather than New York) and has a central character called Ted. The similarities end there, however.

When Ted’s uncle dies, he leaves him some cryptic clues to finding some sort of treasure that lies in his cluttered apartment. Ted loves a puzzle and spends a lot of his free time solving escape-the-room games on his computer. One evening, after attempting to sort out his uncle’s apartment, he goes to his favourite game site and discovers, not only a game named after him, but one that mirrors his uncle’s rooms. Can this mysterious Game of Ted, help him solve the puzzles and find the treasure? Together with his friend Caleb, and an irritating girl called Isabel who is new to the neighbourhood, he sets out to figure out how the little information given to him by his uncle, can lead to a huge reward.

If you liked The Mysterious Benedict Society series or The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (both in the School Library) then this will be a great read. Read an excerpt here.

Holiday reading

Here are some books that have been added to library stock over the last few weeks that you might want to read over half-term. Some of them may be on loan, but you can reserve anything you want to read that isn’t on the shelves, or look for them in your local public library.