Josh Baxter Levels Up by Gavin Brown (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- Josh Baxter Levels Up by Gavin Brown
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-545-77294-5 $12.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-545-77295-2 $12.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 3-5
Now at his third new school in two years, Josh knows that his mother is doing the best she can, but he’s tired of moving and starting over. He takes comfort in video gaming, even if he can see that it is impeding both his school and social progress, but it isn’t until his mother actually locks up his consoles that Josh is pushed out of his comfort zone. No matter; Josh will just turn his life into a video game, and he does so with aplomb, mapping out experience points, allies, storylines, and goals that he must accomplish. Gamers will appreciate that each chapter ends with a full-page recap of Josh’s current experience level, health, lives remaining, and new skills unlocked (clever summaries of major events he successfully navigated). Even non-gamer kids will likely appreciate Josh, however, as he is earnestly interested in but not always adept at navigating the often baffling social flow of middle school. He is a sympathetic character, even if he messes up a lot, and the characters around him are well developed. Josh’s ultimate success isn’t too surprising, but it is heartening that his life isn’t perfect, just improved because he actually put time and effort into things like homework, developing friends, and being honest with his family. The frequent video game references (from Pokemon to NES games) add humor and the gaming-graphic spot art and big type makes the book visually accessible, helping all the life lessons go down smoothly.
