As my children have been getting older, I have been adding more middle grade reads to my book selections and not just picture books.
I received TEAM CHU by Julie C. Dao and published by Square Fish, an imprint of Macmillan, in exchange for an honest review. Normally, when I receive a middle grade book, I read it and if my kiddos are interested, they can read it on their own time.
This book, I tried something different and we all loved it. My daughter is to fantasy books and my son enjoys comics and mythology so they both were very skeptical about this read but I received this book a little bit after my daughter’s 10th birthday party at a laser tag arena and I had a sneaky suspicion that my kids would enjoy this as a family read aloud and I was right. By the time I finished the first chapter, I they both were begging for me to read the next.
Like most siblings, my 10 year old daughter and 7 year old son bicker and argue a lot of the time. The one thing that they can agree about is laser tag which is exactly like Sadie and Clip, the main characters in the story.
BOOK SUMMARY
Sadie and Clip Chu have very few things in common. Clip is a super athletic soccer captain and Sadie is a brainiac. Clip has less chores than Sadie and it drives her nuts. Clip and Sadie have different friend groups and rarely hang out together unless it’s playing a game of laser tag. However, even though they are playing laser tag, the competitive spirit of Sadie and Clip makes a game like laser tag an epic battle to win.
So when a new laser tag arena, Blackwood Gaming Arena opens up it allows for the perfect setting for a sibling rivalry to thrive. Blackwood Gaming Arena is a new state of the art laser tag arena that combines virtual ritual for the ultimate user experience. When this gaming arena announces a competition that the winning contestant could end up on a tv show, this takes the laser tag rivalry to new heights for Team Chu. While trying to gain as many points and collect Brass keys as a part of the competition, Sadie and her best friend Jeremy encounter what they believe to be is a non player character or NPC. Clip eventually encounters this same NPC. However, this NPC is not as he seems and this virtual reality arena turns into a real reality for Team Chu and friends must battle through to save themselves. But can this sibling rivalry put their feelings aside and work together to solve the mystery of this NPC, Tom and beat the game for the benefit of everyone? You will just have to read to find out.
BOOK REVIEW
We really enjoyed reading this book together. I was rather intrigued that the book gave the perspective of BOTH Clip and Sadie. One chapter Sadie would be the narrator and the next chapter it would be Clip. It was a well crafted story that gave the viewpoints of both which I found pretty dope. This really allowed for a lot of conversations between me and my older two children. My daughter could really identify with Sadie’s character and my oldest son could really identify with Clip’s character. Through some of the scenarios between the siblings, my children had a safe space to voice their opinions and perspective on how they feel during difficult times with the other. It helped for the two of them to be able to have a tangible example from the story to relate to and talk through past issues and work to improve them in the future.
I also really enjoyed the weaving of Vietnamese customs and culture into the storyline. We learned some new Vietnamese words and were inspired to try pho as mentioned in the story. I love fun ways for my children to experience new cultures.
I really loved the imagery of the game arena and wanted a place like that in real life. It was very futuristic and forward thinking that I could see someone trying to create this in the future. I am fan of science fiction and I loved sharing a science fiction story with my kids. My daughter was on the robotics team and the coding references were fun to read. Overall, this story has exciting characters, a wonderful adventure and family. All great elements for an amazing experience and great read!
WE cannot wait to read the next one, TEAM CHU AND THE EPIC HERO QUEST. Make sure to pick both of these at your local books stores. We will be sharing a review of the second book soon. Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading!
Enjoy!
Maya
