135. Boggle Hunters Book 1: Game On by Sophie Masson

Boggle Hunters Book One: Game On by Sophie Masson
Published April 2012 Scholastic


From the publisher:

Jenny and her parents are boggle hunters. They scour the streets for the savage pests, sent to plague humans by an evil Faery race. Jenny's cousin Sam knows nothing of the family's dangerous calling, but he has his own dark secret... When Sam logs on to a mysterious online game called Grim's Castle, he's hurled into a thrilling world of beasts and battles. Will he master the game, or will his next move be his last?

Sam is 11 years old.  is parents are of to research bird life in the Arctic, and he has been shipped off to stay in England with his Aunt, Uncle and annoying cousin Jenny.  He doesn't want to go, the only thing Sam really likes is computer games, and on his plane trip over to England, he is invited to play the new (secret) game Grim's Castle.  When he gets to London he must go to a particular Internet Cafe, and his fun will begin.



Jenny and her parents are Boggle Hunters.  This is something Sam doesn't know about, and it must be kept a secret from him.  A Boggle Hunter's job, is as the name suggests, to hunt Boggles.  But what, I hear you ask, is a Boggle?   A Boggle is a creature/monster/nasty thing that is created by Greys.  In the Faery world there are two rival tribes, the Feys and the Greys.  The Feys are the good guys, and the Greys are the bad guys.  The Greys create Boggles to cause havoc in the human world and the Feys work to detect and destroy them, and the Feys hire human Boggle hunters to help them.

This story is split up into chapters for Jenny and chapters for Sam.  Sam finds himself inside a computer game that he is inventing as he plays.  Jenny is searching for her parents who have gone missing form Buckingham Palace.  The two stories come together when we find out that the 'game' Sam is creating is actually a test, the Greys are so impressed with his imagination that they want him to work for them, and Jenny (with the hep of some friends) has to get him out of the Grey;s grasp, and back into the human world.

This is the first book in a new series, and I think it should be pretty popular.  It's got that magical element of something like Harry Potter, the faery underworld like Artemis Fowl, but also has the cool gadgets like Alex Rider.  Especially cool is the iWish Card, which if you are lucky enough to receive one, is pre-programmed with all manner of wishes, such as, 1 instant delicious meal, or a purse that fills with money automatically as you empty it (only valid for 10 minutes!).

Who will like this book: Boys and Girls age 10+
Read it if you like: Artemis Fowl and Alex Rider