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Spirit Flyer #3
The Only Game in Town
Winner of a 1988 Christian Home & School C.S. Lewis Gold Medal award!
Everyone wants to be Number One--the fastest, the smartest, the best looking. That's the way it was in Centerville. And the local toy store, run by Mrs. Happy, was all too willing to help by keeping track of all your points so everyone would know who was really on top. It was, after all, the only game in town.
But Dan found himself at the bottom of this game. He was new in town and he had a limp. With two strikes like that against him, there was no way he could win. No way, that is, until Mrs. Happy offered to make him the envy of every kind in town.
Would he accept, or would he follow the Spirit Flyers bicycles of John and Susan Kramar? Would he win the game and lose the biggest prize of all?
Find out in another exciting adventure of magic and mystery from John Bibee.
Everyone wants to be Number One--the fastest, the smartest, the best looking. That's the way it was in Centerville. And the local toy store, run by Mrs. Happy, was all too willing to help by keeping track of all your points so everyone would know who was really on top. It was, after all, the only game in town.
But Dan found himself at the bottom of this game. He was new in town and he had a limp. With two strikes like that against him, there was no way he could win. No way, that is, until Mrs. Happy offered to make him the envy of every kind in town.
Would he accept, or would he follow the Spirit Flyers bicycles of John and Susan Kramar? Would he win the game and lose the biggest prize of all?
Find out in another exciting adventure of magic and mystery from John Bibee.
211 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 3, 2009
I read this as a kid - made a huge impression on me. So big, that I finally tried looking it up again. The library didn't carry it. And wow. Still an awesome series. The first book is the hardest for me - glowing red eyes, black snake funnel clouds - scary stuff. But if ever there were a series that did a good job explaining good and bad - the insidious tendrils of evil and the overwhelming unconditional love of God, this is it. Each book in the series is fabulous. My eight year old is not ready for this yet, but I will read it to her when she is ready. I've seen bad reviews - yes, if you are a person who dislikes fantasy, magic and scary stuff, this is not a series for you. But John Bibee did a fabulous job with the Spirit Flyer Series - my kids will definitely go through the whole group with me some day.
March 25, 2021
If I remember correctly, I think this was one of my favorite books in the series when I was a kid. I liked seeing the world through Daniel's perspective as a newcomer to the town and someone having to actively choose between his Spirit Flyer bicycle and the Goliath Super Wings in not just a social circle but a family that actively antagonized him about the Spirit Flyer.
Daniel moves to Centerville with his mother and sister after his parents' divorce, and his mother takes a job with Goliath industries. Meanwhile, Goliath industries has become an enormous presence in town, starting sports leagues for the kids and installing a Big Board at Mrs. Happy's Toy Store. The purpose of this board is to measure the kids' social standing among their peers. They get points for being attractive, good in school, popular, athletic, their social connections, and the brand of clothing they wear--they lose points for complaining, crying, and anything socially frowned upon, including pimples. This creates social competition and a constant state of performance. Everyone wants to be as close to Number One as possible.
Only one kid has no rank--Daniel Bayley--because he owns both a Spirit Flyer and the prized Goliath Super Wings. He needs to choose.
He meets John and Susan Kramer on their Spirit Flyers early on in the book, but they don't know what to make of him as the story progresses, and Daniel is torn between his two bicycles. Mrs. Happy has enlisted Barry Smedlowe, the leader of a gang in town, to try to convert Daniel to the Only Game in Town: the point system of the big board. Through social pressures to measure up, Daniel begins to ride his Spirit Flyer less and less . . . eventually, Mrs. Happy offers him the coveted spot of Number One in Town. All he has to do is sign a contract that he won't ride his Spirit Flyer.
I really enjoyed the social commentary in this story. I was curious as to how social media would have played a role if it were written today. I thought the imagery of the deeper world was compelling toward the end, but ultimately it became too on-the-nose and fell far too hard into allegory for Christian spirituality, taking direct quotes from scripture and drawing a really hard correlation between the Book of the Kings and the Bible. I didn't care for that as it took me out of the story. As a child, I don't remember it being so glaring.
Another element I didn't really care for was that Daniel has spent the whole story with a limp from a car accident in which he seems to have broken his growth plate in one of his legs, stopping one leg from growing and therefore giving him a pronounced limp. He is really self-conscious about this and faces a lot of bullying about it. It really affects how he sees himself in measuring up to his peers and even just in his own self-image. In the end, the words the bullies hurl at him take on the physical form of snakes that bite him--the ones relating to his disability attack the leg that is the source of this. As someone who grew up with and lives with a disability, I found this imagery really powerful as it can strongly influence self-image and self-esteem. Daniel fighting back is to contradict and counter the accusations, and lies, and verbal abuse that he himself has bought into for much of the story ultimately saves him from the snakes. I loved that. The imagery for reclaiming your power after a self-image-devastating injury was really powerful.
However . . . . he is then miraculously healed. This annoyed me. For one thing, I felt it lessened the internal victory. If Daniel had left that moment still externally disabled but internally strong, I feel it would have done a fabulous job confronting the experiences of other disabled children. Instead . . . he gets handed a free pass to not have to worry about it anymore. In one element, it was fun wish fulfillment. But I felt the power of the climax took a hit by not leaning into the internal growth. Also, at one point, Daniel says that if you ask the Kings for something, a lot of the time, they will do it. . . this is something frequently fed to disabled kids about their disabilities in Evangelical Christian circles, and I found it to create a lot of turmoil in my faith, because that's not what happened for me or quite a few others, who struggled with disability or terminal illness.
I wish the author had leaned into the self-affirmation Daniel realized about himself despite any physical limitations to highlight the reality that there was nothing wrong with him on the inside just because of the injury.
However, overall I really liked the experience of the story--probably more than the prior two--but I am taking a star away for the preachiness at the end and the way ability and disability was handled.
Daniel moves to Centerville with his mother and sister after his parents' divorce, and his mother takes a job with Goliath industries. Meanwhile, Goliath industries has become an enormous presence in town, starting sports leagues for the kids and installing a Big Board at Mrs. Happy's Toy Store. The purpose of this board is to measure the kids' social standing among their peers. They get points for being attractive, good in school, popular, athletic, their social connections, and the brand of clothing they wear--they lose points for complaining, crying, and anything socially frowned upon, including pimples. This creates social competition and a constant state of performance. Everyone wants to be as close to Number One as possible.
Only one kid has no rank--Daniel Bayley--because he owns both a Spirit Flyer and the prized Goliath Super Wings. He needs to choose.
He meets John and Susan Kramer on their Spirit Flyers early on in the book, but they don't know what to make of him as the story progresses, and Daniel is torn between his two bicycles. Mrs. Happy has enlisted Barry Smedlowe, the leader of a gang in town, to try to convert Daniel to the Only Game in Town: the point system of the big board. Through social pressures to measure up, Daniel begins to ride his Spirit Flyer less and less . . . eventually, Mrs. Happy offers him the coveted spot of Number One in Town. All he has to do is sign a contract that he won't ride his Spirit Flyer.
I really enjoyed the social commentary in this story. I was curious as to how social media would have played a role if it were written today. I thought the imagery of the deeper world was compelling toward the end, but ultimately it became too on-the-nose and fell far too hard into allegory for Christian spirituality, taking direct quotes from scripture and drawing a really hard correlation between the Book of the Kings and the Bible. I didn't care for that as it took me out of the story. As a child, I don't remember it being so glaring.
Another element I didn't really care for was that Daniel has spent the whole story with a limp from a car accident in which he seems to have broken his growth plate in one of his legs, stopping one leg from growing and therefore giving him a pronounced limp. He is really self-conscious about this and faces a lot of bullying about it. It really affects how he sees himself in measuring up to his peers and even just in his own self-image. In the end, the words the bullies hurl at him take on the physical form of snakes that bite him--the ones relating to his disability attack the leg that is the source of this. As someone who grew up with and lives with a disability, I found this imagery really powerful as it can strongly influence self-image and self-esteem. Daniel fighting back is to contradict and counter the accusations, and lies, and verbal abuse that he himself has bought into for much of the story ultimately saves him from the snakes. I loved that. The imagery for reclaiming your power after a self-image-devastating injury was really powerful.
However . . . . he is then miraculously healed. This annoyed me. For one thing, I felt it lessened the internal victory. If Daniel had left that moment still externally disabled but internally strong, I feel it would have done a fabulous job confronting the experiences of other disabled children. Instead . . . he gets handed a free pass to not have to worry about it anymore. In one element, it was fun wish fulfillment. But I felt the power of the climax took a hit by not leaning into the internal growth. Also, at one point, Daniel says that if you ask the Kings for something, a lot of the time, they will do it. . . this is something frequently fed to disabled kids about their disabilities in Evangelical Christian circles, and I found it to create a lot of turmoil in my faith, because that's not what happened for me or quite a few others, who struggled with disability or terminal illness.
I wish the author had leaned into the self-affirmation Daniel realized about himself despite any physical limitations to highlight the reality that there was nothing wrong with him on the inside just because of the injury.
However, overall I really liked the experience of the story--probably more than the prior two--but I am taking a star away for the preachiness at the end and the way ability and disability was handled.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2021
This one was okay. I think I've always struggled with how the adults speak in this series, but this one is harder. Maybe it's just me, but I find it difficult to believe that a parent cares so much that their child is with the 'cool' crowd.
May 13, 2025
Reading these books is transporting me back to my childhood several decades ago. Especially this series, since I have read them so many times the covers are falling off.
This one is good, though not my favorite. But, it introduces the Point System and Ranks, and it’s kind of amazing how those concepts are the perfect metaphors for comparison by the world’s standards. I think Bibee was inspired to write these books and I think they do a wonderful job of handling hard subject matter at a level that kids can understand.
This one is good, though not my favorite. But, it introduces the Point System and Ranks, and it’s kind of amazing how those concepts are the perfect metaphors for comparison by the world’s standards. I think Bibee was inspired to write these books and I think they do a wonderful job of handling hard subject matter at a level that kids can understand.
March 19, 2025
I picked this up because I remember seeing it in my elementary school library but never read it. I would have definitely enjoyed it better as a kid. The message is important/Wemmick-like. The game is gross but a realistic metaphor for life.
April 2, 2025
One whole star is for nostalgia because I loved this series as a kid.
July 29, 2011
Daniel has just arrived in Centerville. His mother works for Goliath Industries in the new factory they've set up. She wants nothing more for him to fit in. However Mrs Happy has a new weapon in the fight to corrupt everyone in town: the Big Board. Daniel will have to choose between fitting in and being at the top of the Board, or staying a Rank Blank and riding his spirit flyer along with his new friends John and Susan.
The conflict in this book is very strong. The point system is survival of the fittest taken as a way of life, with people ranked on things as inconsequential as pimples. It's really about how the world values a person's sense of worth and the problems of fitting into it. The Spirit Flyers are the only escape, and what's very scary about this is that Goliath is spreading into something called ORDER, and the battle may be beyond the town itself.
If anything, adult readers are going to get a lot more out of the book than kids, because a lot of what Mrs. Happy does with the board is chillingly plausible in this age of Achievements, and Gamerscore. It's weird how Bibee made an argument against essentially the gamification of life before the term even existed. Daniel's fight against this is a real one, and it's not cliche at all, nor without suffering. It's also relevant to kids: Bibee in this book has a talent at portraying Daniel as a shy, but bright normal kid, with the desires of one. Even the bad characters are humanized well.
It's a good book, better than the second in the series.
The conflict in this book is very strong. The point system is survival of the fittest taken as a way of life, with people ranked on things as inconsequential as pimples. It's really about how the world values a person's sense of worth and the problems of fitting into it. The Spirit Flyers are the only escape, and what's very scary about this is that Goliath is spreading into something called ORDER, and the battle may be beyond the town itself.
If anything, adult readers are going to get a lot more out of the book than kids, because a lot of what Mrs. Happy does with the board is chillingly plausible in this age of Achievements, and Gamerscore. It's weird how Bibee made an argument against essentially the gamification of life before the term even existed. Daniel's fight against this is a real one, and it's not cliche at all, nor without suffering. It's also relevant to kids: Bibee in this book has a talent at portraying Daniel as a shy, but bright normal kid, with the desires of one. Even the bad characters are humanized well.
It's a good book, better than the second in the series.
August 6, 2024
I enjoyed the book and the focus on how the negative feedback pressured Daniel and affected his internal perspective. Some parts seemed a bit less allegorical and more direct, which I didn't enjoy quite as well, but overall, the story of Daniel's journey was a solid one.
Re-read with the kids. Felt the same as the initial post.
Re-read with the kids. Felt the same as the initial post.
December 15, 2007
It's was really good. I liked it.
July 29, 2011
I like how the writer introduces new challenges to the spiritual life, like doing the right thing even when no one else is.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews