The Game Master: Summer Schooled

The Game Master: Summer Schooled
Matt & Rebecca Zamolo
HarperCollins, 2021
167 pages
Grades 3-7
Mystery/Adventure
The Game Masters series #1

Becca and Matt alternate chapters and points of view in a summer school off the rails. When students in Mrs. Gupta's sixth grade summer school class misbehave, she assigns them an extra day of class. When the day arrives only six students find themselves in attendance--and no Mrs. Gupta. As the students give up and begin to leave, a strange voice comes over the loudspeaker inviting them to play a game and the door is suddenly locked. To make matters worse, two student projects go missing, including Becca's grandmother's precious zoetrope. She must get the zoetrope back and the only way is to play the game--and win. The six formally independent students must work together to find clues and solve puzzles, leading them to the missing items. As the morning wears on they learn more about themselves and each other and begin to work as a team. At last the zoetrope is retrieved, thanks to teamwork and all of the kid's individual skills, and they head back home--only to find a brand new mystery requiring their attention.

Made worse during the pandemic, kids would much rather play video games than read. They often come to the library looking for a book featuring kids playing video games. I have been looking for books to recommend that feel like videogames--and this book is a great choice. It is adventurous, but about actual physical gaming and away from screens. Kids would love to participate in an escape room adventure in their own school and The Game Masters series will be an easy sell. There are a few pictures to lure readers in, yet the story is mostly text, challenging kids to go beyond graphic-laden stories. The length is perfect for reluctant readers and the fast plot will keep them going. The cliff hanger will lead naturally to the next adventure. Although he overall arch of the story is solved and the missing items found, the identity of the game master is not revealed, keeping the reader guessing and grabbing the next book (already released) for the final answer. The characters aren't particularly developed, but that is okay for this kind of story. This is a new series by YouTube gamers that will be an easy sell to the present gaming generation.