Insert Coin to Continue by John David Anderson (English) Hardcover Book

Description: Insert Coin to Continue by John David Anderson Middle-schooler Bryan wakes up to find that his life has become a video game, with bullies to beat, races to run, puzzles to solve, and much more at stake. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Bryan Biggins wakes up to find that his life has become a video game in this funny, honest coming-of-age novel from the author of Ms. Bixbys Last Day, Sidekicked, and Minion. Meet Bryan Biggins. Most of the time hes a freckle-faced boy, small for his age, who attends a school known for its unwritten uniform of North Face jackets and Hollister jeans. The rest of the time he is Kieran Nightstalker, the level-fifty dark-elf hero of his favorite video game, Sovereign of Darkness. Until one day Bryan wakes up to find out his life has become a video game. Sort of. Except instead of fighting dragons or blasting bad guys, hes still doing geometry and getting picked last for dodgeball. Its still middle school. Only now theres much more at stake. Stealing the Twinkie from underneath the noses of those dieting teachers isnt enough to earn him another life. And battling the creature that escaped from the science lab doesnt seem to cut it either. And who knew Romeo and Juliet would turn into a zombie bloodbath?! All the while hes losing hit points and gaining levels, and facing the truth that GAME OVER might flash before his eyes at any minute. It all seems to be building to something...something that has been haunting Bryan since way before his life turned into an X-Box nightmare, a challenge that only he can face. Will Bryan find a way to beat the game before its too late? Author Biography John David Anderson writes novels for young people and then, occasionally, gets them published. He is the author of Ms. Bixbys Last Day, Sidekicked, Standard Hero Behavior, Minion, and The Dungeoneers. He lives with his patient wife and brilliant twins in Indianapolis, Indiana, right next to a State park and a Walmart. He enjoys hiking, reading, chocolate, spending time with his family, playing the piano, chocolate, not putting away his laundry, watching movies, and chocolate. He likes video games where mustachioed plumbers fall into pools of lava and thinks twenty minutes of Dance Dance Revolution counts as a full cardio workout. He has leveled up forty one times, but he hasnt grown up yet. Review "Ready Player One for the middle grade crowd. . . .With fast-paced action and a fun, engaging voice, there is plenty here to hold interest. . . .Anderson combines action and realistic middle grade issues with video game references to produce a winning pick thats ideal for gamers or reluctant readers."--School Library Journal "July 2016""In this clever deconstruction of video game tropes . . . Anderson (Ms. Bixbys Last Day) presents an entertaining romp in which a mundane school day takes on epic qualities." --Publishers Weekly "July 4, 2016""This enjoyable adventure with plenty of laugh-out- loud moments wins because it never takes itself too seriously. Reveling instead in its own oddly relatable premise, the novel offers readers an awkward nerd-turned-hero who learns lessons in real-world courage and self-confidence, while the story itself avoids the pitfalls of anti-gaming didacticism. The video game challenges are well crafted, and they reference a diverse list of unnamed games from Tetris to Frogger to Rock Band to Mortal Kombat, giving knowledgeable readers a chance to play guess-that-allusion. The overall quirky tone and set-up make for a likely success among readers who want a gamer hero and with retro-loving gamer-readers who arent quite ready for Clines Ready Player One."--The Bulletin for the Center of Childrens Books Review Quote "This enjoyable adventure with plenty of laugh-out- loud moments wins because it never takes itself too seriously. Reveling instead in its own oddly relatable premise, the novel offers readers an awkward nerd-turned-hero who learns lessons in real-world courage and self-confidence, while the story itself avoids the pitfalls of anti-gaming didacticism. The video game challenges are well crafted, and they reference a diverse list of unnamed games from Tetris to Frogger to Rock Band to Mortal Kombat, giving knowledgeable readers a chance to play guess-that-allusion. The overall quirky tone and set-up make for a likely success among readers who want a gamer hero and with retro-loving gamer-readers who arent quite ready for Clines Ready Player One ." Excerpt from Book Insert Coin to Continue THURSDAY THE DAY BEFORE FRIDAY Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. Bryan swept out blindly and missed the alarm clock, floundering for the snooze button before finally shutting it up. He pulled himself up in bed and stared through the open slats of his blinds. It was still dark outside. That was the worst part about school days. Having to get up before the sun. That and the school part. Outside, he knew, the leaves had turned, spray-painting branches in bursts of orange and red, contrasted with the emerald carpet of manicured lawns, but this early all he could see were shadows. Bryan stretched and stumbled toward the bathroom, dodging towers of laundry, trying to muster some enthusiasm. It was a Thursday, which at least made it close to Friday. That was something. He could hear his mother banging around in the fridge downstairs. She would already be in her tracksuit, drinking a vitamin shake and watching The TODAY Show. She had a crush on Matt Lauer. Bryans dad didnt seem to mind. Face washed, teeth brushed, he slipped back into his room and into cleaner-at-least clothes, glancing at his computer, where the title screen for Sovereign of Darkness stared back at him. He had played another couple of hours last night, foregoing his desire for a good nights sleep in the hopes of uncovering the secret bonus level that he was sure existed. He hadnt found it. Maybe Oz was right. Maybe it wasnt there. But Bryan had a problem letting things go. It wasnt determination, exactly. He had given up on lots of things over the course of his life--soccer, piano lessons (he still played the saxophone at least), karate, a perfect complexion, an A in math--but occasionally he would fixate on something, let it nag him, like an itch on the roof of his mouth. Finding the secret bonus level to Sovereign of Darkness was one of those things. On-screen, Kerran Nightstalker--the character Bryan had nursed from level one to level fifty through a steady diet of Mountain Dew-driven demon-bashing--spun his sword and stared heroically, as if he had spotted a pack of imps on the horizon and was begging Bryan to sit down and give him orders. Come on, Bryan, the dark elf whispered. Play ten more minutes. But Bryan couldnt be late for school. Not again. He grabbed his backpack and hurried downstairs. Bryan Biggins was a level-fifty, dual-wielding dark elf ranger only some of the time. The rest of the time he was a freckle-cheeked boy, short for his age, living at the end of a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood known for its high rate of community garage sales, and attending a school known for its unwritten uniform of North Face jackets and Hollister jeans. A place where everything looked the same from a distance. It was disconcerting sometimes, the sameness. The identical mailboxes. The columns of minivans ranging in hue from slate gray to charcoal gray. The flat-topped hedges marking the boundaries between copycat houses. Sometimes it was hard to tell anything apart. Bryan checked his reflection in the mirror above his dresser; he looked nothing like Kerran Nightstalker. He was scrawnier, for one, and his eyes were blue, not green. His nose rounded into a knob at the end, as if it were always slightly pressed against a window. Bryan didnt own a flaming mace, though the crop of orange curls on his head sometimes gave the appearance that his skull was on fire. He had never held a sword in his life and had never slain anything, unless you counted the caterpillar he had accidentally rolled over with his Big Wheel when he was five. His mother said he cried for almost an hour. And unlike Kerran Nightstalker, Bryan had never been in a fight. He had been pushed. Shouldered. Tripped. But hed never taken a punch. He was no adventurer. Some days he didnt even feel like the main character in his own life. "Bryan, you better hurry. Youre going to be late!" Bryan came down the stairs and snatched a waffle from the freezer. His mother handed him a glass of milk. "Youre not even going to toast that?" "Nope," Bryan said, cramming half of the ice-crystal-crusted waffle in his mouth. "You were up late again playing that stupid game, werent you?" "Mrff wrff frrm frrfrrwr." He swallowed his milk in three gulps and went in for the hug. "Dont want to be late," he reminded her. She tried to sneak in a kiss, but he dodged it. Mom kisses were totally uncalled for. "Have a good day," she called out after him. He said he would, but he really doubted it. Bryan pedaled hard, still chewing his frozen waffle. It was a two-mile ride to school, which some mornings felt like the Tour de France, but it was still better than taking the bus. On buses nearly anything was fair game, as long as it could be done in secret behind the sticky vinyl seats and out of sight of the driver. On the bus in elementary school, Bryan had once been forced to mash a banana in his armpit--actually peeling it and sticking it underneath his shirt and squeezing--and then eat the sweaty remains. So when he finally graduated to middle school, he begged his parents to let him bike. To his surprise, they agreed. They didnt know about the banana-armpit incident, but they had heard other horror stories. Plus, like all parents, they insisted that exercise was good for you. Bryan arrived at Mount Comfort Middle School with sweaty but bananaless pits and five minutes to spare. He chained his bike and sped through the halls to his locker, where Oz was dutifully waiting and shaking his head. "Almost late again." "I know," Bryan said. Bryan had lots of friends--at least fifty or so online, half of whom he recognized and at least ten that he could remember having spoken to in real life. Mostly, though, Bryan had Oz: the self-proclaimed Wizard of Elmhurst Park and unconfirmed holder of the world record for Pixy Stix slamming (twenty-three in one minute) and the only kid at Mount Comfort who looked up to Bryan. Oz was second generation. His parents had come to the country from Puerto Rico, packing little Oswaldo in Mrs. Guzmans belly, only two months from delivery, ensuring he would be 100 percent American when he arrived. Oz was born to be a magician. You dont name a kid Flash and then not expect him to try out for football. Or name your daughter Moonbeam and then act surprised when she pierces her nose. And since there were no such things as wizards--not in real life--magician seemed the next-best thing. Oz had a whole trunk full of magic paraphernalia in his closet: top hats and disappearing coin boxes, weighted dice, little red balls, and an array of colorful scarves. Strangely, having a trunk full of silk scarves didnt up his cool factor any at school. Bryan couldnt endure life at Mount Comfort Middle School without him, though. They had been best friends since they were six years old and both of them peed on Mrs. Bucherwalds maple tree together. It didnt matter to Bryan that Oz was always too loud and a little overweight. It didnt matter to Oz that Bryan had pasty vampire skin and seldom wore matching clothes. They had marked their territory, and that was enough. "Okay, so I was watching episode fourteen of The Firelight Chronicles again last night, and I think I know whos behind the Enigma Virus," Oz began breathlessly. "No you dont," Bryan said, opening his locker and finding his books. The Firelight Chronicles was a show he and Oz watched that featured space pirates, aliens, androids, and female actresses dressed in black leather. Bryan was pretty sure he and Oz were the target audience. "Theyre not going to tell you whos behind it. They want you to speculate." "Its Dr. Raznor," Oz continued. "Too obvious," Bryan said. "Which is why it is Dr. Raznor." Oz nodded, winking. "Because they know that you know that its obvious, so they know that you know that its not him, which means it has to be him." Bryan rolled his eyes and fished out his math book. He had math first period. Who in their right mind decided that dividing fractions was best done at eight in the morning? "Let me guess. You were too busy playing SOD to watch. Did you get any closer to finding the secret level?" "Not for lack of trying," Bryan said, digging through the discarded candy wrappers for his social studies notebook--the one he should probably have been studying last night. "Ill try again tonight, provided Old Man Jenkins doesnt overload us with reading." Jenkins was Bryans social studies teacher. He was only in his early forties, but he already had gray hair and his breath smelled of butterscotch. He was better than Fossil Frieda, the senile art teacher who refused to retire and croaked like a frog from too many years of smoking. She insisted that Lady Gaga was the name of a French Impressionist painter and worried that Elvis Presley was still a corrupting influence on Americas youth. She had probably never even played a video game in her life. "I think youre wasting your time," Oz said matter-of-factly. Bryan looked at his friend, eyebrow cocked. "Excuse me? Playing the same game over and over again in order to unlock a secret level that may or may not exist is not a waste of t Details ISBN1481447041 Author John David Anderson Short Title INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE Pages 336 Audience Age 8-12 Language English ISBN-10 1481447041 ISBN-13 9781481447041 Media Book Format Hardcover Year 2016 Publication Date 2016-09-20 DEWEY FIC Audience Children / Juvenile Publisher Simon & Schuster Imprint Simon & Schuster Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States US Release Date 2016-09-20 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:137587843;

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