Level Up: Beast Battles

Tom Nicoll's Level Up: Beast Battles is a daft, fast video-game adventure for 8 year olds that starts with two friends being eaten by a fluffy yellow bunny.

What happens

Flo is gaming-mad. Max, her best friend, is not. But ever since Flo's mum built a machine that zapped them into a video game, they've been bouncing from one game to the next. This time they land inside Critter Clash, in the belly of a creature called Hungrabun.

Flo's escape plan? Jump up and down until Hungrabun throws up. It works.

Hungrabun, it turns out, is crying over her dream. She wants to fight in the Battles, a huge tag-team tournament. But nobody will partner her, because she tends to eat them. Flo and Max reckon the way home is to coach her to victory.

The only partner they can find is Kiwi. He's a bright blue bird whose one power is hiding (plus a very smelly trick when that fails). Hungrabun is NOT impressed. Then Kiwi records a promo video telling the unbeaten champions, Pheasel and four-armed Guggernaut, exactly what he thinks of them.

The crowd loves it. Pheasel and Guggernaut really don't.

It reads like a game, with chapters called levels, a free upgrade after every win and a new arena each round. The fights are pure cartoon. Nobody gets properly hurt, and one beaten fighter is simply poured into a mould to set again.

The best bit is the bickering. Flo is bossy and very sure she's the greatest gamer of all time. Max makes notes on everything and wants to know how a round ring can have corners. Hungrabun and Kiwi squabble like siblings.

And something odd keeps happening in the matches, which Max can't stop thinking about.

If you've got a reader who plays games with friends (or argues about them), they'll feel right at home here. The short chapters and constant jokes suit newer readers too.

What to read next

To see how Flo and Max got stuck inside games in the first place, try Flo's first Level Up adventure, where she ignores every one of her mum's warning signs.