It's (not) just a game
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
Books about kids who become players in real-life games.
For kids in grades 5 and up.
All books may be found in the fiction section under the author’s last name.
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The Game of Sunken Places / M.T. Anderson
When two boys stay with an eccentric relative at his mansion in rural Vermont, they discover an old-fashioned board game that draws them into a mysterious adventure.
The revenge of the Shadow King / Derek Benz & J.S. Lewis
When Max Sumner and three friends play a magical card game called Round Table, they realize that it is up to them to prevent the wicked creatures of the cards from destroying their town and the world.
Z. Rex / Steve Cole
From Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Edinburgh, Scotland, thirteen-year-old Adam Adlar must elude police while being hunted by a dinosaur come-to-life from a virtual reality game invented by his father, who has gone missing.
New world / Gillian Cross
Fourteen-year-old Miriam agrees to test a new computer game in utmost secrecy but finds that it is more than she bargained for.
Cat's eye corner / Terry Griggs
When Oliver visits his grandfather in his mansion of changing rooms and secret doors, he begins a scavenger hunt that introduces him to wild characters, poetic cats, and word altering fairies.
The game / Diana Wynne Jones
Sent to a boisterous family gathering in Ireland by her strict grandmother, orphaned Hayley feels out of place until her unruly cousins include her in a special game involving travel through the mythosphere, the place where all the world's stories can be found, and where some secrets of her past are revealed.
The gadget factor / Sandy Landsman
Two college freshmen create the ultimate computer game, a universe built to their own specifications, but complications arise when their formulas for time travel also work in the real world.
Wizards of the game / David Lubar
Eighth grader Mercer, whose passion is the fantasy role-playing game Wizards of the Warrior World, hopes to use a fund raiser to bring a gaming convention to his middle school, but instead he attracts four genuine wizards who are trapped on Earth and want his help in returning to their own world.
The time hackers / Gary Paulsen
When someone uses futuristic technology to play pranks on twelve-year-old Dorso, he and his best friend set off on a supposedly impossible journey through space and time trying to stop the gamesters who are endangering the universe.
Only you can save mankind / Terry Pratchett
Twelve-year-old Johnny watches television coverage of the Gulf War, and plays a computer game called Only You Can Save Mankind, in which he is increasingly drawn into the reality of the alien ScreeWee.
The Westing Game / Ellen Raskin
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.
Space demons / Gillian Rubinstein
Twelve-year-old Andrew, bored with life, becomes obsessed with a mysterious new computer game, which has the power to zap him and his friends into a dangerous world of menacing space warriors.
Discordia : the eleventh dimension / Dena K. Salmon
Lance wishes he could spend all of his time playing the online fantasy game Discordia, where his zombie-sorcerer character has lots of friends and constantly improving skills. But when his wish comes true, he finds that he is not allowed to leave the perilous world of Discordia before he completes a high-level quest that may determine Discordia's survival--and his own.
Brainboy and the Deathmaster / Tor Seidler
When Darryl, a twelve-year-old orphan, is adopted by a technology genius, he finds himself the star of his very own life-threatening video game. (grades 4 – 7)
Interstellar pig / William Sleator
Barney's boring seaside vacation suddenly becomes more interesting when the cottage next door is occupied by three exotic neighbors who are addicted to a game they call "Interstellar Pig."
Parasite Pig / William Sleator
Sixteen-year-old Barney, infected by an alien parasite, and his friend Katie are taken to the planet J'koot by extraterrestrials intent on playing the dangerous game known as Interstellar Pig.
The Egypt game / Zilpha Keatley Snyder
A group of children, entranced with the study of Egypt, play their own Egypt game, are visited by a secret oracle, and become involved in a murder.
(Also: The Gypsy Game)
The mysterious Benedict Society and the perilous journey / Trenton Lee Stewart
Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance, all graduates of the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and members of the Benedict Society, embark on a scavenger hunt that turns into a desperate search for the missing Mr. Benedict.
Heir apparent / Vivian Vande Velde
While playing a total immersion virtual reality game of kings and intrigue, fourteen-year-old Giannine learns that demonstrators have damaged the equipment to which she is connected, and she must win the game quickly or be damaged herself.
Look for these and other great books in
The Children’s Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
Pittsburgh, PA 15228-2252
Telephone: 412/531-1912
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org - 7/10
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