Bryan Biggins- small stature, freckled face, bully-target- attends middle school by day. His alter ego, Kieran Nightstalker- level-fifty, dark-elf hero- fights dragons and blasts bad guys in Sovereign of Darkness by night. Bryan plays night after night with one goal in mind- to beat the game so he can unlock the secret bonus level. The night Bryan succeeds, his computer crashes. Totally fried! When his alarm clock wakes him in the morning, he sees a blue hologram hanging in the air over the clock- “Insert Coin to Continue.” Bryan’s legs won’t move. They look like two blocks of wood under the covers. Then, the hologram begins to blink, and numbers below it start a countdown. Luckily, there’s a small pile of coins on his nightstand. Bryan drops a quarter in the slot. The hologram disappears along with Bryan’s paralysis. Thus begins life as video game. He has to solve complex math problems before they fall down the blackboard and disappear. In English, the teacher chooses Bryan to read Romeo’s lines. Unfortunately, the game inserts multiple choice situations in blue. Bryan must answer them correctly to see Romeo’s real lines typed on the pages. Then, the math teacher sends him on a quest into the heavily guarded teacher’s lounge. The prize? A Twinkie from the vending machine. Bryan has to elude the dreaded hall monitor and brave the school’s boiler room to rescue the science teacher’s mouse. Along the way, he gains experience points, loses hit points, and moves up levels. Several times, he must insert a coin to continue. Before he can win the game, Bryan has to fight the school’s bully and win the favor of the school’s princess.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com ( )

Bryan Biggins is a gamer who spends too much time playing his favorite video game, Sovereign of Darkness. His goal is to play so much that he finds the "secret level" that he just knows is a part of the game. One night, he plays so hard that he fries the game and his computer. When he wakes up in the morning, the game is still broken, but it seems his life has actually turned into a video game complete with hit points, experience points, and intelligence points that appear above people's heads as he interacts with them. Every situation throughout the day becomes fraught with danger and challenge, and if that isn't confusing enough, Bryan must insert a coin into a slot every time he is about to get kicked out of the game.
Insert Coin to Continue is a fun book with coming of age themes set in the backdrop of this weird day where everything seems to be part of a video game. With lots of pop culture references, especially The Lord of the Rings, this is a captivating, entertaining young adult story. ( )

Couldn't put it down, it was that good! ( )