Wonderscape

When Arthur started on his walk to school the last thing he expected was to encounter a garden of exploding gnomes, but that is what happened to him and two girls from his school, Ren and Cecily. Everything would have been fine if they had not gone into the abandoned house in search of a dog that seemed to be trapped in there. Before they know what is happening they find themselves trapped and then they appear to have been transported onto a sailing ship manned by a crew of robots. Things become even stranger when they encounter the captain of the ship, and he turns out to be Isaac Newton. The explanation for all of this is that they have somehow been transported four hundred years into the future and are now in an ‘in-reality’ adventure game. Not only do the trio have to work their way through various levels to find a way back home, but they also have to try and solve the mysterious disappearance of one of the game’s founders. During their travels they find themselves being helped by a variety of heroes from both the past and the future; they also discover how to work together and gradually form a strong friendship. All of this helps them face the various challenges in the game and solve the mysteries they find, not least how to get home.

This is a really great story for the older middle grade reader. It is fast paced, full of action and has a group of young people who find themselves on a quest. There is a feel that this is a mix of films such as West World mixed with a variety of gaming worlds, many of which will be familiar to the young readers. The characters themselves are from differing backgrounds and despite attending the same school they do not really know each other. So this experience is also about learning to accept people who are different, being able to work as a team and also being able to share. One of the really important lessons that the young people learn is that they can achieve thing if they want to; it gives them a sense of ambition, so that they want to learn and do something worthwhile with their lives. This can be as an eco-warrior, scientist, artist or anything they put their minds to and it is a lesson that we should all take on board. Whilst we are not all natural athletes, or musicians we can all find something that we can succeed at. This is a rollercoaster of a ride for the reader and is fantastic for both boys and girls.