Happy Book Birthday, Escape from a Video Game: Mystery on the Starship Crusader by Dustin Brady !

Today's read surprisingly...and I really do mean that I didn't expect this would happen...hit my possible favorite reads of 2021 list. I have read the first book in the series, but this one was even better than the first and left me wanting more. I'll admit, I was a fan of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure reads as a kid (which is strange if you knew my very heavy reading favorites at the time). I think it was because these tales allow the reader to explore what happens on their own and lighten things up for a bit.

Anywho, this one caught me off guard and had me caught up completely. Add the amazing quirky humor and extra puzzles...and yeah. Kids are going to love this one.

ESCAPE FROM A VIDEO GAME:

MUSTERY ON THE STARSHIP CRUSADER

by Dustin Brady

Andrews McMeel Publishing

Middle Grade Mystery/ Choose Your Own Adventure

192 pages

ages 8 to 12

Young gamers control the action in this interactive series from the bestselling author of Trapped in a Video Game. With more than 30 endings and an unlockable bonus adventure, this second book in the series promises hours of screen-free fun.

This is one book that will super-power the interest of any "I'd rather be gaming" kid.  In this pick-your-path adventure, you join eight strangers inside a video game for a chance to win a million dollars. The challenge is simple: survive to the end, and you're rich. There's just one problem: A traitor is hiding among your group. One-by-one, crew members of the spaceship start disappearing. Can you "suss" out the traitor before it's too late? This whodunnit space adventure is perfect for fans of Among Us.

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BOOK BLINK

                                            * choose your own adventure style

                                            * video-game in a book setting

                                            * science fiction and mystery

                                            * tons of humor with adventure

                                            * adds visual puzzles and more to usual page turning

                   

MY TIDBITS

This one is going onto my favorite middle grade reads for 2021 list, which might be surprising (was for me, too). But this is the type of book I would have devoured as a kid and would have wished for this one even as a birthday present. 

This is the second book in the series but, by no means, does the other book need to be read first. Although it does hint at book one very, very briefly in the first pages, no knowledge of any kind is needed before diving into this one and joining in on the adventure.

As is typical with the choose your own adventure style, you (the reader) are the main character. You are dragged into a video game world on a starship named Crusader, meet a few other players, and need to find a treasure to escape. Along the way, you not only need to decide how you're going to react in order to continue to whatever page your adventure continues on (based on your decision), but there are puzzles to solve along the way, which go beyond the usual page-turning choices.

I was already smiling on the first page and immediately found myself grabbed in by the tale. It's not the adventure as much as it is the writing style. This one sets very firmly in the middle grade audience direction and incorporates mounds of fun, quirkiness, and ridiculous surprises. It's simply a high-tension, wonderfully humorous, and unexpected packed book. The choices aren't obvious and the outcome isn't easy to guess...and that makes it even more fun. 

But what also scores bonus points are the illustrations and puzzles worked into the tale. While the page-flipping is obviously a key attribute, it's these added riddles and searches, which really spruce things up, and add a whole new dimension. 

In other words, this is exactly the type of book even reluctant readers will enjoy picking up and exploring. It's not serious, adds the unexpected and is perfect for a summer read. Because it's simply plain fun.

Review: Escape from a Video Game by Dustin Brady

ESCAPE FROM A VIDEO GAME

The Secret of Phantom Island

by Dustin Brady

Andrews McMeel Publishing

Middle Grade Science Fiction/

Choose Your Own Adventure

179 pages

ages 7 to 12

Young gamers control the action in this interactive new series from the bestselling author of Trapped in a Video Game. With more than 30 endings and an unlockable bonus adventure, The Secret of Phantom Island promises hours of screen-free fun.

Cooper Hawke and the Secret of Phantom Island is the greatest video game nobody has ever played. The treasure-hunting adventure was supposed to set a new standard for gaming. Then, just one month before its release date, it fell off the face of the earth. 

Now, for the first time, you get a chance to play the mysterious game—from the inside. As you outsmart enemies, solve puzzles, and explore the island’s hidden areas, you’ll discover that there’s more to this game than the world realized. 

Escape from a Video Game is an innovative pick-your-plot story that promises two adventures for the price of one! The main adventure builds critical thinking skills by rewarding young readers for solving puzzles and making sound choices with non-stop action and huge plot twists. Once readers beat the video game within the book, they’ll get a chance to hunt for every possible ending. Finding all the book’s endings reveals a code that readers can use to unlock a secret story online.

Fans of the best-selling Trapped in a Video Game series, as well as new readers, will quickly come to appreciate the page-turning action to uncover more secrets about the mysterious video game company Bionosoft.

BOOK DEPOSITORY

MY TIDBITS

Choose Your Own Adventure takes on a new meaning in this exciting tale of adventure, puzzles and oh-so-many twists and turns.

This is the second book put out by Mr. Brady, which follows this CYOA style. I didn't get to read the first one, and that doesn't really matter (except for the fact that I'd now love to grab it up, too). This book goes right down the traditional CYOA alley but with a few new twists. The reader can interact a little more with the tale and is prompted to work out things with puzzles and such. It adds a new dimension and a lot more fun.

 The story telling itself is fine...nothing amazing, but then, that's not the point of something like this. The tale does draw the reader in and allow them to become part of the excitement as well as steer in unknown directions. Luckily, if the reader dies, they aren't prompted to have to return to page one (because who does that in a traditional CYOA anyway?) but simply leads them back one step to try the other route. If it wasn't this way, I could see frustration raking in quick...and that's also not the point of a 'fun' read.

The adventure suggests that the reader remember their steps, and there are little prizes along the way. In other words, this is so much more than a simple CYOA, and that's great. It isn't literature at its prime, but this does encourage kids to read while doing so much more. In other words, I'm a total fan and have no doubt middle graders will enjoy this one from beginning to end.

And here he is...

Dustin Brady writes funny, action-packed books for kids. Although he regularly gets locked out of his own accounts for forgetting passwords, Dustin still remembers the Super Mario Bros. 3 game genie code for infinite lives. It’s SLXPLOVS. Dustin lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife, kids, and a small dog named Nugget.

Please see:

https://www.ampkids.com/book/escape-from-a-video-game-the-secret-of-phantom-island/

http://dustinbradybooks.com

https://www.amazon.com/Dustin-Brady/e/B01L9OYJG6?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1597688347&sr=1-1