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    Game World
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    Game World
    Unavailable
    Game World
    Ebook278 pages4 hours

    Game World

    By C. J. Farley

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    "The Narnia for the Social Media Generation."
    --The Wall Street Journal

    "By the time of Farley's Game World, gaming had gone digital, and while his book is more fantasy-adventure than puzzle-mystery, there are parallels worthy of discussion, from the nature of the games to the depictions of disabled."
    --Booklist, included in "Conversation Starters: Recontextualizing the Classics"

    "Drawn from both video gaming culture and the rich tapestry of Jamaican myth and folklore, blending pointed social satire and mystical philosophy, this exuberant, original hero's journey is a real trip...Exhilarating, thought-provoking and one of a kind."
    --Kirkus Reviews

    "Adult author/Wall Street Journal editor Farley's middle-grade debut draws from Jamaican mythology and beliefs, as well as from other cultures, to weave a fast-paced, whimsical mixture of magic and action...the setting lends itself well to memorable imagery and a fun experience."
    --Publishers Weekly

    "Farley blends video gaming and Jamaican folklore in this intense, fast-paced middle-grade fantasy that is sure to quickly grab readers."
    --Booklist

    "Here (finally!) is a middle-grade action novel that showcases West Indian mythology and features protagonists of color."
    --School Library Journal

    "Game World is unique in that its fantasy world, as its name suggests, is built upon characters and stories from actual Jamaican folklore."
    --Philadelphia Review of Books

    One of This Spring's Hottest Teen Books, Huffington Post

    "I found it very hard to set down this excellent novel and do something else without thinking about it....I highly recommend his book to fans of fantasy. Because you will love it!!"
    --Middle Shelf (reviewed by Teak, age 13)

    "Farley writes in a straightforward way that is both accessible to younger readers but still interesting to adults."
    --Persephone Magazine

    "In his metaphorical world, Farley spares neither the dubious machinations of high finance nor the heartbreak of an orphan."
    --Center for Fiction

    "I highly recommend Game World for kids in 4th-12th grade. Parents can read it too and love the characters and story just as much as the kids."
    --The Family Coach

    Dylan Rudee's life is an epic fail. He's bullied at school and the aunt who has raised him since he was orphaned as a child just lost her job and their apartment. Dylan's one chance to help his family is the only thing he's good at: video games. The multibillion-dollar company Mee Corp. has announced a televised tournament to find the Game-Changers: the forty-four kids who are the best in the world at playing Xamaica, a role-playing fantasy game that's sweeping the planet. If Dylan can win the top prize, he just might be able to change his life.

    It turns out that Dylan is the greatest gamer anyone has ever seen, and his skills unlock a real-life fantasy world inside the game. Now actual monsters are trying to kill him, and he is swept up into an adventure along with his too-tall genius sister Emma, his hacker best friend Eli, and Ines Mee, the privileged daughter of Mee Corp.'s mysterious CEO and chief inventor. Along the way they encounter Nestuh, a giant spider who can spin a story but not a web; Baron Zonip, a hummingbird king who rules a wildly wealthy treetop kingdom; and an enchantress named Nanni who, with her shadow army, may be bent on conquering Xamaica and stealing its magic.

    In order to save his sister and his friends, Dylan must solve a dangerous mystery in three days and uncover secrets about Xamaica, his family, and himself. But will he discover his hidden powers before two worlds--Xamaica and Earth--are completely destroyed?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBlack Sheep
    Release dateJan 13, 2014
    ISBN9781617752063
    Unavailable
    Game World
    Author

    C. J. Farley

    C.J. Farley has worked as a senior editor for the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine, and is the author of such novels as Game World, Kingston by Starlight, and My Favorite War. Farley served as consulting producer on the Peabody-winning HBO documentary Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown and wrote the best-selling biographies Aaliyah: More Than a Woman and Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley. Farley, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica, is a graduate of Harvard and a former editor of the Harvard Lampoon. He is currently an executive editor at Audible.

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    Reviews for Game World

    3.5/5

    3 ratings5 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I liked the premise of this book, with the main characters going in to a real-life video game. I also was quite intrigued with the Jamaican mythology and fantasy that was woven in to the book. I found myself referring to the glossary of terms in order to better understand the mythological creatures that were included in the real-life video game. Overall, this was an adequate book. I liked that the friendship between the characters what developed and grew throughout the book. By the end of the book, I think they understood each other a little better. Other than that, though, I did not feel much of an emotional connection with any of the characters. Towards the end, when the main character finds out the true history / nature of his mother and father, it didn't feel very real to me. It just seemed to fall flat. There was no real hint anywhere in the book leading up to this, and so it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Maybe that is what the author intended; maybe he wanted it to feel like a shocker to the reader. I did not feel it, though. Overall, this is a fun read, though, and I would recommend it to any middle grade reader!
    • 3/5
      Dylan, a poor kid with a passion for gaming, manages to enter a tournament for his favorite video game and wins, leading him to become a part of the game. With the help of the game creator's daughter, his best friend, and his sister, they struggle to save the parallel world and find lost family members.I really enjoyed this book. A lot doesn't make sense if you're not familiar with Jamaican folklore, but after a bit of research it was easy to see how much work went into it. It definitely seems like a thrilling read for kids starting to enjoy fantasy.
    • 4/5
      In this virtual-reality based tale, three children are swept into a game based on Jamaican folklore and wind up battling real monsters that have stepped out of myth. On a quest to rescue main character Dylan's sister, Emma, they must determine who amongst these mythical creatures is friend and who is working against them. Readers should sympathize and identify with Dylan, and his best friend, Eli; their concerns regarding bullies, self-confidence, and quarreling family members seemed realistic. However, the third of the trio, Ines, will likely leave them cold in comparison. She, and her story, seemed flat and predictable and the resolution to her issues at the end was fairly spurious. Middle grade readers will likely enjoy the virtual-reality-turned-reality aspect of the book, and the fast pace of the adventure. The folklore aspect is a bit of a double edged sword for this novel. Although the characters drawn from Jamaican folklore add interest, richness and depth to the world, the reader is also thrown into it without adequate explanation. Dylan "explains" a little bit about the various types of creatures and their characteristics to the reader at the beginning of the story during the game tournament, but the explanation is not enough to give someone unfamiliar with Jamaican folklore any kind of grounding. Nevertheless, readers who stick through the confusion will find an interesting story with plenty of action and twists and turns to keep their minds engaged.
    • 3/5
      A video game world becomes real, and Dylan and his friends have to rescue his sister who is trapped in it.
    • 3/5
      Dylan, although bullied at school, finds his strength in being the best video gamer when playing Xamaica. Dylan enters a contest and he is chosen as one of the best players of the game...little does he know that that talent will earn him a trip INTO the game. A mixture of Jamaican folklore, fantasy, and dangerous adventures awaits Dylan and friend Eli as they embark into the reality of the game and face dangers they never dreamed of. The aloof teenage daughter of the game's maker, Ines, accompanies them into this strange world with her own hidden agenda. GameWorld is a action-filled adventure which pits teenagers against almost-mythical like creatures into order to 'win' the game and achieve their desires. Who will be the hero? Who will succeed at the game? What will be the outcome? Lots of questions await Dylan, Eli, and Ines as they explore a another world far from home. Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers, Akashic Books, Black Sheep Publishing, Susannah Lawrence, and C.J. Farley for this ARC copy.