Richie's Picks: Great Books for Children and Young Adults

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"They say that Cain caught Abel rollin' loaded dice
Ace of Spades behind his ear and him not thinkin' twice..."
--Grateful Dead

"What was wrong with these people? Did I go to their church and tell them which songs they could sing? What gave them the right to tell me which games I could play?"

Mercer is a kid who is seriously into Wizards of the Warrior World, one of those popular role-playing games. He's got a bookshelf full of spell casting books, chats for hours about it on message boards, and plays with his friends during study hall and on weekends. He comes up with a great plan to hold a gaming convention as the school's annual fundraiser, until all hell breaks loose when another student writes a newspaper article about the demonic qualities of the game and what it is doing to corrupt the participants.

"Well, you got trouble my friends..."
--Professor Harold Hill

In the hands of a lesser writer, this might have been just another somber, confrontational kids versus adults tale (a la Footloose), but when the four REAL--and really down on their luck--wizards show up (they hang out down at the soup kitchen that was to be the beneficiary before the fundraiser got nixed by the school board), things take a turn for the absurd.

(You might even say this book is "out of this world.")

" 'I destroy wall,' Tortwaller said, thumping himself on the chest. 'Turn bricks to water.' He started to wail and roll his head from side to side.

" 'That spell take forever. One hour each brick,' Nelda said. 'Don't be such a nickel head. We grow old, you grow dizzy, hole still not big enough.' "

There are some great topics for discussion--WIZARDS OF THE GAME will make a GREAT read for book groups--yet those issues never once get in the way of the fun and the excitement.

David Lubar, the former designer and programmer of popular video games, stirs magic, imagination, school board politics, and the First Amendment together into a potion that will turn middle school readers and players into David Lubar fans--as quick as you can say, "Albondigas!"

Richie Partington
http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com