Level 13 (A Slacker Novel)

by Gordon Korman

Overview

A hilarious story about an underachiever who learns to go above and beyond.

Cameron Boxer, king of the slackers, has found something worth his time. By playing video games online in front of an audience he can find both fame AND fortune — especially with Elvis (a beaver who seems to love video games as much as Cam) at his side.

The only problem? Things keep getting in Cam's way. Like school. And the club he accidentally started. And the misguided people in his life who don't think beavers should be playing video games.

It's going to take some trickery, some close calls, and a fierce devotion to slacking in order for Cam to get to his goal — conquering the game's infamous Level 13. But if any slacker can do it, Cam can.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338286212
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	69,576
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gordon Korman is the beloved author of over one hundred novels for young readers, including hilarious middle-grade classics such as the Macdonald Hall series, I Want to Go Home, and Slacker. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Gordon grew up in Thornhill, Ontario, and now lives in New York with his family. Visit him online at www.gordonkorman.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Swindle:"Scary, funny, and hysterical adventures!" — Chicago Tribune"Pure fun from top to bottom." — School Library JournalPraise for The Hypnotists:"Fast-paced... an entertaining mix of intense action and goofy fun." — Publishers WeeklyPraise for Ungifted:"A gem for readers looking for a book where the underdog comes out on top." — Voice of Youth Advocates"Funny and insightful." — Publishers WeeklyPraise for Schooled:* "This rewarding novel features an engaging main character and some memorable moments of comedy, tenderness, and reflection." — Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

06/01/2019

Gr 4–7—In this follow-up to Slacker, Cameron Boxer still just wants to play video games, and he thinks he's found the way to do it. If he can establish himself as a popular livestreamer with 50,000 subscribers, he can maintain his lifestyle. There are just a few problems: he has to keep his grades up or his parents will stop him from gaming; he's still president of his school's wildly popular Positive Action Group (P.A.G.), and those responsibilities really cut into gaming time; and right now, his stream has only eight followers. Cam inadvertently kills two birds with one stone. When he tells the P.A.G. members that he's stepping aside because of failing grades, enthusiastic Daphne takes on presidential duties and many supportive P.A.G. members start slipping Cam completed homework assignments on the sly. The problem of livestream followers is solved when Elvis the beaver proves to be an avid fan of gaming, and when he appears in Cam's stream, the feed blows up. Of course, if the P.A.G. learns that he's gaming rather than studying, and if Daphne discovers that he's removing Elvis from his habitat, it's not just the livestream that will blow up in Cam's face. This fast-paced, funny novel features short chapters from a variety of perspectives. Korman's humor and gaming references are on point, and reluctant readers will race through the book. Some may find the ending somewhat anticlimactic, but others will enjoy the irony. All will find that the story makes more sense if they have already read Slacker. VERDICT Purchase where the previous title is popular.—Misti Tidman, Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

2019-03-03

Can Cam hit 50,000 subscribers on his game stream? Not with distractions like schoolwork.

In Slacker (2016), Cam Boxer tried to perpetuate his video game "lifestyle" by starting a fake do-gooder club at school; then everyone joined the Positive Action Group. Now it's so successful (and the eighth-grader is such a hero) that he has no time to game. He and his best friends, Chuck and Pavel, devise a scheme to convince the student body that Cam is failing and needs to study instead of running the P.A.G. This works, and Cam's stream takes off, especially after Cam starts playing a rare, early-release copy of "Guardians of Geldorf." But then his classmates, worried about their hero, start offering homework help; a mysterious stalker comes to town; and Chuck's budding relationship with P.A.G. second-in-command Daphne threatens both the game streaming and the three boys' friendship. This sequel, narrated, as before, by the threesome and a few others by turns, is more of the same. Cam is no more likable, as he lies and cheats his way to unearned success. Nothing here is actually believable—a Zorro mask would not hide Cam's identity—and a twist about questionable content in the game's early release is profoundly unexciting. As before, the cast defaults to white, with diversity largely cued via naming convention.

Fans of Korman's school stories and caper novels may find this fluff just fun enough. (Fiction. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews