A great mix of black magic, hot boyfriends and bloodthirsty beasts makes this interactive app an addicting read.
An electronic choose-your-own adventure story with multiple dark twists and turns that will hook readers as they attempt to avoid being eaten.
Readers are warned from Page 1 that this is “not a normal book,” an admonition that is underscored by opening prompts to input a name and select both a gender and a college major. These prompts personalize the experience and set off the adventures at Mountain State College. No matter the path selected, they seem to include potential boyfriends and black magic that conjure deadly creatures, which readers must outsmart based on their selections and the spells they collect along the journey. Although there’s plenty of fun, there are a few quirks. For example, regardless of the sex selected, the text does not change, so the narrative “you” will always be engaging with men. Black-and-white images in a gritty, graphic-novel style are sprinkled throughout, and blood soaked pentagrams are prevalent. Extras include a campus map, opportunities to Tweet progress and bookmarking capabilities that enable returning to marked points. Although the text, which is generally presented in two- or three-page chunks, can feel hokey, it fades into the background as the challenge to choose wisely and stay alive dominates.
A great mix of black magic, hot boyfriends and bloodthirsty beasts makes this interactive app an addicting read. (iPad game app. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Tin Man Games
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
Big brother Duane is off in boot camp, and Justin is left trying to hold the parental units together. Fat, acne-ridden, and missing his best friend Ben, who’s in the throes of his first boy-girl relationship with Cass, Justin’s world is dreary. It gets worse when he realizes that all of his mother’s suspicions about his father are probably true, and that Dad may not return from his latest business trip. Surprisingly ultra-cool Jemmie, who is also missing her best friend, Cass, actually recognizes his existence and her grandmother invites Justin to use their piano in the afternoons when Jemmie’s at cross-country practice. The “big nothing” place, where Justin retreats in time of trouble, is a rhythmic world and soon begins to include melody and provide Justin with a place to express himself. Practice and discipline accompany this gradual exploration of his talent. The impending war in Iraq gives this story a definite place in time, and its distinct characters make it satisfying and surprisingly realistic. Misfit finds fit. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-56145-326-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2004
A well-loved author brings together, on a Maine vacation, characters from two of her books. Peter's parents have assured him that though Sheila ("The Great") Tubman and her family will be nearby, they'll have their own house; but instead, they find a shared arrangement in which the two families become thoroughly intertwined—which suits everyone but the curmudgeonly Peter. Irrepressible little brother Fudge, now five, is planning to marry Sheila, who agrees to babysit with Peter's toddler sister; there's a romance between the grandparents in the two families; and the wholesome good fun, including a neighborhood baseball game featuring an aging celebrity player, seems more important than Sheila and Peter's halfhearted vendetta. The story's a bit tame (no controversies here), but often amusingly true to life and with enough comic episodes to satisfy fans.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1990
ISBN: 0-525-44672-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
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