Reading Level: Mid-Elementary

Rating: My bookshelf

Ok this one isn’t going to win a Newbery medal, but my third grader loves it and I actually have only a few small bones to pick.

Possible Concerns:

  • Body humor. Mainly buggers, barfing.
  • Violence toward an enemy. Blasting guns at aliens, grenades, etc.
  • Violence toward a friend. Punching him in the stomach, or shooting a blasting device at your friend when you’re mad at them.(To be fair, he knows they come back to life at the start of the level.)
  • Distaste for math. One comment like, “It’s better than finishing math homework.” Later he actually says he wants out and wants to go finish his homework!
  • Missing Person. (Spoiler Alert!) A few months ago, a kid went missing and was assumed dead. Turns out he was sucked into the video game, too, and has been trapped inside.

In general, I liked themes of what friendship looks like and how we live with people who are different than us. I was impressed by how generally clean this book was, and I’d let it live on my bookshelf, even though it’s not a rich classic.