Homerooms and Hall Passes

December 4, 2020
Grades 5-7 This sequel takes the contemporary heroes of Br�andal�r back to the fantasy Realm of Suburbia to confront a triple threat: high school, a team of talented grifters from their own plane, and a surprise villain with a powerful grimoire left behind in the previous episode. The greatest of these challenges (arguably) turns out to be the first, as, according to the rules of the titular game's Advanced Module, winning requires a series of unlikely feats ranging from being elected Homecoming royalty to winning a state championship and beating all comers in a battle of the bands. Facing obstacles from sneering cliques to the odd warg, the team battles with help from both Non-Playable Characters (i.e., actual high-schoolers) and a certain magical Axe of Destiny that can shred as well as slice. Mostly, though, they find their way either by overcoming inner doubts or transcending their Types. Readers feeling the pressure, social or otherwise, to conform to standardized roles or expectations may come away reassured that there's still plenty of space for skills and attributes on their Character cards.

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July 15, 2019
Five heroes face their most trying quest yet: surviving middle school. In the real world of Br�andal�r, Albiorix and his band of fellow adventurers thwart evil forces, but, once a week, on Thursday nights, they meet at the local tavern for a game of Homerooms & Hall Passes, their fantasy role-playing escape. With dice and their imaginations, they transform into students who worry about class elections, algebra tests, spirit week, and the dreaded five-paragraph essay instead of magic, traps, and treasure. However, even with all his dedication to the game, Albiorix never could have predicted he and his friends would end up transported by a curse into the world of J.A. Dewar Middle School. Now they must struggle through the final two months of the semester in the lives of their characters or risk disappearing forever. Apart from remarks about pointy ears, shiny hair, and muscles, O'Donnell doesn't give the characters much physical description, but the cover illustration and naming conventions suggest that both the Br�andal�rians and middle schoolers are fairly diverse. Every chapter opens with an excerpt from the Homerooms & Hall Passes rule book, capturing the spirit of their tabletop role-playing game and foreshadowing upcoming encounters. Each adventurer learns a different lesson and grows through their humorous attempts at embodying their game personas. The villain is satisfyingly over-the-top, and his defeat befits the book's silly sense of humor. A rollicking, affectionate parody of fantasy role-playing. (Fantasy. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 25, 2019

Gr 3-6-Five young adventurers-an apprentice wizard, a barbarian, a thief, a paladin, and an elf from Br�andal�r-spend one day a week away from their usual quests, playing a very unadventurous role-playing game in which they are suburban middle school students. When Devis, the thief, steals a cursed treasure, the five adventurers find themselves transported to the actual middle school of their game and take on their roles-a nerd, an overachiever, a loner, a weirdo, and an exchange student. The only way to break the curse and return home is to do the near impossible: survive and thrive in middle school. Each chapter starts with excerpts from the game books including teacher characteristics, student characteristics, and more information from a sociological perspective. There is a lot of middle grade humor, poking fun at the horrors of middle school and honing in on the fact that everyone feels like an outsider or imposter. Though the cover implies a diverse group, there's a lack of diverse cultural representation in the text. There is a map located at the front of the book. VERDICT A lighthearted and funny read for larger libraries.-Kristyn Dorfman, The Nightingale-Bamford School, New York City

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2019
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Pulling a terrific switcheroo on the trapped in a video game premise, O'Donnell sends five young adventurers of the magical land of Br�andal�r (a paladin, a thief, a barbarian berserker, a depressive gloom elf assassin, and apprentice wizard Albiorix) into the challenging fantasy realm of the titular RPG they had been playing as a change of pace from the usual quests: to wit, J. A. Dewar Middle School. Fortunately, they arrive on Dress Like a Pirate Day; unfortunately, by the terms of both the game and the curse that has struck them, there will be no return if anyone blows it by flunking any class. If the maddening puzzles of Algebra I or the deadly peril of getting on queen bee Nicole Davenport's wrong side weren't hazards enough, the heroes discover that they've brought along Zazirak, an evil sorcerer who has taken over the body of the vice principal and intends to set the demon Azathor the Devourer upon our defenseless world. Played out with impeccable, hilarious logic, the plot leads up an adventuresome learning curve to a brisk battle in a local mall with animated mannequins, a really high-stakes duel involving the evocatively named phone game Oink Pop, and a final realization that Br�andal�r's dangers, lore, glittering treasures, and opportunities for daring exploits seem a bit pale next to those of . . . exotic suburbia. Who's to tell them nay?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)