Game On: Critters

Game On: Critters

Emily Snape

EK Books, 2024

192pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9781922539984

School holidays are here and Max’s are not going to plan.  Apart from having to deal with his younger brother Liam, now his mum’s new boyfriend and his evil son Josh are also hanging around.  Could things get worse? Well, yes they can… Miss McBoob’s phone strikes again and the brothers find themselves transformed into fleas and they find themselves trying to make impossible decisions as they try to beat the app.  Would they rather climb trees like a squirrel of breather underwater like a goldfish?  And which choice will allow them to survive till the next round? Never has knowing the speed a cheetah can run and the acidity of pigeon poo  been more important.

This is the third and final in this series for those who like computer games, and for those who missed the first two, the collection is also available as a pack. Beginning with the opening line, “Would you rather wear underpants THREE sizes too big or shoes THREE times too small?”  – a game readers of this age like to play, particularly with their parents – the author has certainly achieved her aim “to write books that pull you in and hook you from the start” and by building on the obsession that some have with playing computer games and being totally absorbed in that world, literally and figuratively, there are many young readers who will have replaced their screens with the printed word and will be wanting to know what happens next to these brothers, who, in many ways are living their dream. 

But as well as telling a story that has an appealing plot, there also has to be substance to it, the characters have to be credible and relatable and there have to be situations where the reader is drawn to think about how they would respond, so there are extensive teachers’ notes focusing on a variety of aspects of the curriculum that make the whole come alive.  There is a chapter-by-chapter summary with quotes that not only make you think about the words themselves, but also start to think about why an author chooses the words they do, why they are phrased in that particular way and what more they tell you so the read becomes a deeper experience and there is a greater understanding of the unspoken/unwritten elements driving the story.  For example, in Chapter 3 Max says, “I groaned. Mum was going to have to PAY me hard cash if she wanted me to spend time with my extremely irritating younger brother. Lately, he’s been beating his own record for MABITW (Most Annoying Brother In The World).” (p.21-22)” and the questions posed are…

• What does this paragraph tell you about Max’s relationship with Liam? How does Max view Liam as someone he can get along with? Do you consider Max’s label of ‘Most Annoying Brother In The World to be a real or made up thing? How do you know? Do you think his opinion of Liam might change throughout the book? Why or why not?
• Do you think Max reaction and action towards Liam’s interruption and hence, losing the game was justified?
• What do you think is happening to Max?

It’s about moving from reading along the lines to reading between and beyond them. 

Inspired by her own boys’ relationships and interests, illustrated, and written to entice reluctant readers to give print another go, this is a series that has hit its mark and which could even inspire the reader to have a go at their own writing by thinking about what could happen to them if they were drawn into their own favourite game.