Game World

I initially bought "Game World" for my 11-year old son who loves to play video games, but who's not so keen on reading. I was hoping a book about a gamer would pique his interest and it did the trick. He absolutely loved this book and actually thanked me for getting it for him!My son identified with the book's middle schooler hero, Dylan, and really got into the adventure thriller storyline. As a parent, I appreciated how the book intelligently weaves in cultural reference, history, and fantasy into the plot. I also liked that it had morally conscientious protagonists in the characters of Dylan, Ines, and Eli.The cover and each chapter of the book have awe-inspiring illustrations that tie in beautifully with the plot.This book is a "must read" for anyone 10 or older. I hope there will be a sequel and there will be a "Game World" series/franchise like "Harry Potter".

Game World as a whole is a new take on the now-classic "kid enters a fantasy world and finds that he's the Chosen One destined to save it." I enjoyed the Jamaican spin on this book and the racially/ethnically diverse main characters. However, the author's writing style was a bit clunky, the plot progressed without any major surprises, and the author didn't go deeply enough into the cultures and characters of the Jamaican myths to really bring them to light in the way I had hoped he would.

From my 6th grade son:The plot was great, with lots of twists. The characters seemed very real, as if this could actually happen. I liked the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and wish there were more. I also liked the creative use of names. I would recommend this book for ages 9 -12, especially boys.

Bought this for my 12 year old son who does not love to read. He read it without complaining and really liked it. My 14 year old daughter also read it and liked it too. It is a winner because passed the Gavin test.

Very disappointed in the book. The premise sounded like the perfect book for my 6th grade grandson and I to read "together" (miles apart) and talk about--but we always ended up saying we had to re-read things to remember who was who and what was what. We finally decided that summer was too short to read a book that was not very enjoyable.

Purchased for my teenage boy after hearing NPR interview with Christopher J. Farley, promoted to be Tolkien, read to him when he was a Child..

Really good book for a read-aloud with an adult. There were a few scenes that were a little too scary/graphic for third grade, so I skipped those, but overall we loved the characters and plot. Definitely take time to read the glossary/character descriptions in the back, so you don't accidentally get an inaccurate idea of real Jamaican history (some of the characters are loosely based on real historical characters). Love the combination of modern high tech gaming, world mythology and history.

A 10-year old kid's reviewThis book is great! I couldn't put it down for about two hours! It is a thrilling book, with lots of actions, which is great! It's about a kid, Dylan, who is a whiz at a game called Xamaica. He participates in a tournament with his friend Eli. They win the tournament, and the prize from the daughter (Ines) of the boss of the company who created the game was adventure. They play the video game again, but this time in real life. However, Dylan's sister, Emma disappeared into the game, so Dylan, Eli, and Ines are going on a quest to find Emma, a mysterious book that might grant the owner unlimited wealth, and the Root of Xamaica, something that probably can cure anything. They have only a few days before Xamaica gets destroyed and Dylan, Eli, and Ines will lose the things they seek for unless they save Xamacia.This book has lots of suspense and I recommend this to kids age 9 to 13.