No Child's Game: Reality TV 2083

by Andrea White

In the year 2083, five fourteen-year-olds who were deprived of the opportunity to continue school, reenact Scott's 1910-1913 expedition to the South Pole as contestants on a reality television show.

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction

327 pages, Hardcover

First published December 30, 2005

Reviews

[Krista B · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a surprisingly good read. I got this book from a co-worker who was clearing out her stash of classroom books. I liked the concept on the back cover write-up, and the inside didn't disappoint!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale -- it is excellent. Set in futuristic 2083, society has been decimated by poverty and lack of food. The federal government has taken over education and history is taught by a kind of historical survivor game. Only in these historical event games, people really do die. This time, the education secretary has chosen five 14-year old kids to re-create William Perry's journey to the South Pole. In real life, Perry and his team perished; so the cards are stacked against these kids from the beginning. Still, they bond and bravely save each other as they inch toward their goal. Meanwhile, back in the United States, the common folk are rioting over this grossly unfair game and one brave TV technician tries to save the kids from certain death. It's definitely YA lit, but the story was gripping.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Child's Game is the story of a futuristic society where the television game, Survivor, has taken on a whole new meaning. Contestants are now part of a life and death game recreating famous events in history, such as, Civil War Historical Survivor, Bubonic Plague Historical Survivor, and Alamo Historical Survivor. The script of these events is controlled by the Secretary of Entertainment whose job is to educate the masses through television since only a very few are allowed to go to school if they win a toss of the dice. For the first time in Antarctic Survivor, young people will be the participants. Unknown to the young contestants, cameras have been implanted into their eyes to record the journey of Robert Scott on his ill-fated expedition to discover the South Pole in 1912. This is a great story with lots of action and adventure as well as asking some thought-provoking questions about society. Excellent Book!

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read. No Child's Game is an entertaining and relatively quick read. The characters are interesting and it feels like they are 14 years old. Although the book feels stuck in the mentality of the mid 2000s. The world is a distopia where the government is broke and the citizens are poor, and public education is replaced by "Realistic" reenactments of the events. While I would consider No Child's Game a good read, I don't feel that it does anything spectacular, other than the fantastic use of multiple first person perspective characters. It isn't rare for a single chapter to jump from Robert, to Billy, and then to Andrew. In fact I don't think there are more than maybe two or three chapters that use the perspective of only one character. I would recommend No Child's game as an interesting and easy read.

[Emma Krone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for legitimately 10 years and I’ve finally gotten around to reading it, and I’m glad I did. I loved the character building, all of the characters felt like real kids with realistic fluctuating emotions and how their personalities and relationships developed was great. I loved the political commentary in the book and I felt it the government was believably evil, even if it did have a good ending lol. The ending did feel a little rushed, I would’ve loved to see the kids get to at least the first depot but I’m glad Andrew and Grace were able to get to the pole. As much as I loved all of these characters (except Billy) Grace was my MVP, she was kickass and strong and I’m glad she was able to finish the trek.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Students have been recommending this book for years but I was unable to get near it until this year when I snuck in and grabbed it while the librarian was giving a lecture to the students.

It's really good. The one thing I didn't like about it was the ending. I'd have liked to have stayed with the team that went through to the end. I also have a hard time believing that Americans could agree 99.7% with anything.

Still, this is good escapist reading. I will definitely be recommending it during the social issues unit.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book blew me away. It felt like a believable dystopia, with a touch of Hunger Games thrown in. I was genuinely afraid for the lives of the main characters throughout the book, and thus could not put it down. I loved the touch of tying in primary sources, making it a SciFi/historical fiction crossover.

Strong recommend!!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

my ranking of characters is as follows-

1. Andrew: I love you, you’re perfect, keep shining like a star baby
2. Polly: I have a soft spot for female nerds
3. Steven: ANARCHY yes I agree
4. Grace: you weren’t giving much, but you gave enough
5. Robert: h town represent
6. Billy: eat shit and burn in hell

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

lOVE this book as a read loud in my classroom. Things are not so good in 2083, and 5 children are being sent to Antarctica alone to try to recreate an expedition from the early 1900s. My students LOVE this book.

[DamaeJha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK, but half of the book was spent leading up to the point of them leaving for Antarctica. So I was not very interested until that point. Was very slow

[Evan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book from the future. A lot of teamwork and fighting to survive in this journey all the way to the Pole. Will they make it or die trying.

[Caleb Robideau]

i think the book was pretty good and I liked that it was about government because I like to read about that

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a Hunger Games flavor without the graphic violence. Still entertaining and with a good storyline.

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Death Race

Have you ever watched one of those reality shows where people have to go against each other and to race to somewhere to win a contest? So the book I am reading, "No Child's Game", is pretty much about the same thing but with a twist. The reality show is about five fourteen year olds racing to the finish line which is on the other side of Antarctica. On the way, there are problems that they have to face in order to win, one problem is that they encounter people and things that will sabotage their path. The time in this story is in the future, in the year 2083. This is when everyone was poor and people were living in shacks because of the Great Depression. Every single dollar they receive means a lot for them. "No Child's Game" is by Andrea White, a fantastic author and writer who inspired many young teenagers to read and write. This is a 428-page hardcover book that was well-written and very interesting to read.

The main character, Billy, was called out to participate in a reality show on TV called Historical Survivor: Antarctica At first, Billy was not sure if he should join, but when he found out that the prize is a lot of money, getting $10,000 for reenacting the expedition or Robert F. Scott and an extra $90,000 to the MVP of the show. He changed his mind and raced to give a reply if he should join. The makers of the TV show, "Hot Sauce", got four other contestants, Robert, Polly, Grace, And Andrew. "Hot Sauce" has placed mini camcorders around the places the contestants will have to visit instead of a camera crew. All five come from different backgrounds and walks of life, but will have to cooperate in order to survive Antarctica. Through a series of tragedies and misfortunes, they end up in the middle of nowhere, frostbitten and hungry. They get help from one person nobody would expect... who's name I won't mention so I don't spoil the book.

In my opinion, I think this book has a plot which is similar to many adventure books but it is still fun to read because they storyline is taken in a different but interesting location and time. However, I think that the author wastes too much "time" saying useless dialogues that is irrelevant to the story, but is said to make the story sound longer. The only thing I did not like about the book is that some parts of the book is very predictable and easy to think of.

The author of this book wrote this book in the point of view as a contestant from the reality show in the book. She states the problems she encounters with vivid dialogue and thoughts. I would recommend this book to people twelve years old and above who loves reading adventure books because some parts of the book may be a little horrific and gruesome. This book will really grab your attention when you read it because of all the action, mystery, and suspense.

[Dominic L · Rating 4 out of 5]

9/19: In this book the are 5 kids who are selected to travel to Antarctica for a game show. In this the kids face a lot of problems in Antarctica, which in this book no one lives, I think that this book has a lot of themes, I think that the theme of the book could be that you can do anything that you put your mind to because these kids face a lot of challenges but persevere and manage to survive, for example on page 258 one of the kids, Andrew gets his toes badly frost bitten when he gets caught in a blizzard, but he keeps on persevering and he manages to walk another 15 miles so that he and the other kids can survive, another example is when one of the kids Grace is in charge of training the dogs, who have had no experience in dog sledding and are aggressive because of lack of food, and two people got bit during the trip, but Grace kept on persevering and she managed to get the dogs trained, and the dogs ended up being the kids main source of transportation. Another theme I think that there could be is that you can accomplish more when you work together than when you are on your own. Some examples of this in this book is when in the beginning Billy wanted to be the MVP in the game to get even more prize money, but he realized that this wasn't helping the team and that he wouldn't survive if he was trying to outdo the others, an example inside of this example was when he kept on during the meeting saying good things about the program that was running this show and how amazing the viewers where, instead of partaking in the conversations. Another example was on page 212 when Billy had earlier stolen food before the game had started and brought it with him, during the trip he realized that everyone would have more energy if they shared the stolen food and that this was a team effort, so he ended up sharing his food and the kids where able to move faster and they where able to survive, I predicted earlier in the book that the kids would not survive if Billy would not decide to share his food, although the book never said anything about it, I think no matter what Billy would have because the kids where running very low on food and Billy still had at least a month worth of food left, so I think that no matter what the author wanted to do, I think that everyone would have died if he hadn't shared his food. So I accept my prediction.

[Madison Rosel · Rating 3 out of 5]

No Childs Game was a very interesting book because it had a totally different atmosphere than what we experience today. It reminded me of the Hunger Games because their government controlled everything they did. They watch the education on T.V. instead of going to a school, they have a coin toss to decide if you will be rich or poor, and they use a T.V. show, typically ending in death, to entertain everyone. There isn’t one narrator for the entire book, it switches between each character and that got confusing a couple times. However, I really liked how you got to know each character better that way. All of the kids in the book have different personalities which allow you to connect and relate to them. I rated this book three out of five stars, mainly because it was a very simple read. It didn’t challenge me in any way and there are some ways that it could have been written better. I felt like the end of the book was really rushed and not well planned out in comparison to the rest of the book. All in all though, the book was very entertaining and I wanted to continue to read it. I would say this book is appropriate for eighth grade students and up because it doesn’t get too graphic but it does take a different level of thinking to understand what is going on.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad little book... although like so many "kidbooks," the idea is much better than the execution.

The premise is very good: A futuristic Survivor TV show that is based on impossible historical situations ... and contestants can, like, die? Historical Survivor: Little Big Horn, Historical Survivor: Donner Party, etc.

And now Historical Survivor: Robert F. Scott's Antarctic Expedition ... but with kids. Who might die! I like the way author Andrea White incorporates actual diary entries from the Scott party, and has the kids face many of the same challenges. But I have no idea why the author chose to place the book in the year 2083 -- it seems as though 2008 much of the time, with very little additional (and very inconsistently applied) technology, and only a slight change in societal attitudes.

Still, it will keep the the reader's interest -- especially for for grades 4-8.

[Julie S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good one. The characters were likable, and I felt very invested in their success. I especially enjoyed Steve, the video editor who wanted to help them and ended up saving them by being the voice of Birdie Bowers.

This was an exciting book, and it had some interesting themes. It explored just how far reality TV can go. In this case, people all over the nation watched on TV as five kids would likely die. However, in the end, due to Steve's heroism and the kids' determination, it turned out all right. I was glad to see that the Secretary who had arranged all of this was punished for starting this.

[Ari]

An epic story of survival as five kids are thrown into the middle of Antarctica to re-enact Robert F. Scott's Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole. In real life, Scott's expedition perished and all died. Set in the year 2083, the reality show Historical Survivor takes adults and has them re-enact events from history like Historical Survivor: Donner Party or Historical Survivor: Little Big Horn. In this show, people die. This season, however, it's Historical Survivor: Antarctica. And with kids instead of adults. Who will survive? Who will die?

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes place in the future when Reality TV has taken the place of education. Five 14 year olds are sent alone to recreate the race to be first to get to the south pole. They have only the equipment, food, animals and clothing worn by Scott and his men in the early 1900's. The race is filmed with tiny cameras implanted in the kids's eyes. It is not a great book but I enjoyed reading it and I think upper elem.students would like it a lot.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you liked the Hunger Games, you would love this one. The book is based on Scott's expedition to the Antarctic. Kids are chosen to relive the expedition and it is televised on TV. Kids quickly learn that calamities are set up to mimick those events of Scott's journey. However, some one intervenes to help the kids. Will the kids survive? What will happen to those that intervene on the show?

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally got through this one during exam week when I had nothing to read. I didn't like it very well, but it was worth reading. Some of the things at the end didn't make sense, like they either should've happened a long time ago or not happened at all. I would at least try it, but don't spend all your time on it.

[Emmalyne Tarsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book four out of five stars because it was suspenseful and exciting although I did not particularly like the way some of the characters were made to act. I would recommend this book to teens because they would easily relate to the characters in the story who are teens around the age of fourteen years old.

[Finley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is the best book I've ever read I love it. But I think there should be a second one because I think Steve meeting Billy,Polly and Andrew at the end wasn't enough, there should be a second one about Robert and Graces journey to the pole. And what Billy,Polly,Andrew and Steve do when they meet.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this, but I do. I think anyone who loved Hunger Games would probably enjoy this book. It got me from the first page, but then I like dystopian fiction a lot. The only disappointment is that it ended very abruptly.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it was the kids' teamwork or maybe it was the plot, but this book was way better than I thought it would be. I loved the different points of view and their actual journey through the snow and ice. I'm surprised it's not that well-known, because i really enjoyed it.

[Breezy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started reading in elementary school or middle school but never got around to finishing it, I lost interest and time to read it about half way through. I remember it being an interesting story so I want to go back and actually finish it.

See Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 for full review.

[Aiyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I am amazed at the courage that the kids had. And I am also impressed with their survival skills. I hope that the author has written a sequel. She did a fantastic job with the book.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is almost like a frontrunner for the hunger games. However, in this story participation was voluntary, it is not nearly as violent or graphic and resolves itself in one book.

[Torense · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait for Andrea to publish her next book!