Minecraft: The Crash

Official Minecraft Novels #2

by Tracey Baptiste

Bianca Cooper, a normal sixteen-year-old student, escapes into the world of Minecraft after getting into a terrible car accident.

Soon, however, she realizes that she is trapped inside the game, none of the rules are working like they should, and the in-game characters who have been attacking her resemble figures from her real life.

She must unravel the mysteries of this new why did she end up here? Who are the menacing figures who’ve been following her? Is any of this real, and if it is, how does she get home?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Childrens, Gaming, Middle Grade, Science Fiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2018

About the author

From Thompson-Gale: "Something About the Author"
I have always loved books. My favorite, was an oversized complete Grimm's Fairy Tales with beautiful illustrations, which I lost when my family moved to the United States. I was fascinated by the stories of the tailor who went up against a giant, and clever Hans, who wasn't so clever as well as the more traditional princess stories. When I was about thirteen, after spending a summer in the library reading Paul Zindel and Judy Blume among other authors, I announced to my best friend that I was going to be a writer. I didn't decide what I wanted to write until I read "The Friends" by Rosa Guy. I had recently moved to Brooklyn, NY, and the book spoke to my situation precisely. It remains one of my favorite books. I started writing for children then, and never stopped. I had early interest from publishers from the moment I began submitting stories at the age of 21, but I didn't put in the work necessary to become published until my late twenties. "Angel's Grace" was largely written while I was on maternity leave with my first child. It was inspired by my mother (the redhead) and my husband. Because I have very young children, I work when they sleep, which, sadly, is very little.

Reviews

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/07/21/...

Minecraft: The Crash is the second official tie-in novel based on the popular survival sandbox video game, though unlike the first book, whose clueless protagonist wakes up in the strange blocky world of the game with no explanation, this standalone sequel is rooted more in our own reality. It is also, in my opinion, a more mature book. While the target audience for this series falls in the middle grade to young adult range, I feel that some of the story’s deeper themes will be lost on younger readers.

Still, depending on how you look at it, that might be a good thing. The Crash is a book that can be enjoyed on multiple levels. Obviously, you can expect a Minecraft novel to be adventurous and fun—and trust me when I say there will be no disappointment there. However, I was also surprised to find a more complex and deeper thread of meaning woven subtly into this novel. I won’t lie—the ending made me cry. It wasn’t that the story was unduly sad or made me miserable and distraught, but there was a powerful and bittersweet element to the conclusion that really pulled on my heartstrings and made me tear up.

The story follows two teenagers, Bianca and Lonnie, who have been best friends ever since the fateful day they met on the playground and bonded over a love for Minecraft. Almost ten years later, the game is still the glue that binds them, even though they go to different high schools and Lonnie is a junior, while Bianca is a newly-minted freshman. Then one night, while on their way to a homecoming game, the two friends get into a terrible car accident. Bianca finally wakes up sometime later in the hospital, after multiple surgeries to save her life. She learns from the doctors and from her parents that the accident was very serious, and that she could have been paralyzed from her injuries. No one tells her anything more, only that she needs to concentrate on getting better.

Soon, Bianca discovers that there are other children at the hospital, some who are very sick and are admitted for long-term care. To provide entertainment for their young patients, the facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art virtual reality gaming system so that users can play and interact with each other in-game. To Bianca’s delight, it even supports a VR version of Minecraft. One day, she meets AJ, a young boy who visits her room and invites her to his Minecraft server which has been heavily customized with mods that he designed himself. As Bianca explores AJ’s realm, she also meets Esme and Anton, two other teens who are at the hospital playing on the server. She teams up with them, hoping to find Lonnie along the way so they can all work towards playing to the End, which is the final dimension of Minecraft. Strange things have been happening on the server, which isn’t running the way it is supposed to. Our characters find themselves trapped in the game, and it is their hope that reaching the End will help them get back to the real world.

Minecraft: The Crash raises several interesting topics. We all know that games can be useful educational tools. But can they also be used for therapeutic purposes? Bianca is a strong and resourceful character, but also extremely stubborn. She has a lot of questions, but after a while, it’s clear to see she’s neither physically nor mentally prepared to handle many of the answers awaiting her at the end of her journey. She frequently gets into arguments with her companions, especially Esme, whose personality clashes strongly with our protagonist’s. Anton is like the mediator of the group, who tries to defuse tense situations and get everyone to work together. Still, despite the constant conflicts and infighting, our characters’ time in the game ultimately becomes both a learning and healing experience—for all of them. While adventuring through Minecraft together, they had inadvertently created their own little support group.

This probably goes without saying, but this book will also be perfect for Minecraft fans. Readers who love the game will no doubt recognize something of themselves in the characters, who are all Minecraft enthusiasts. Each of them has their own building styles, from Lonnie who loves to plan his projects, to Bianca who is more of a “wing it” type of player who improvises as the inspiration strikes her. Then there’s AJ, who likes to build massive, intricately-detailed and elaborate structures, or paranoid Anton who surrounds his fortress base with explosives and other deadly traps. You’ll also find plenty of Easter eggs and other game references scattered throughout the story. The bulk of the book is the actual adventure, following our characters in-game as they gather, explore, craft, build, and fight. It’s all very entertaining.

That said, as I alluded to earlier, there are also some darker and sadder themes underlying this novel. Most of the characters in the story are kids who are very sick or injured. There’s also the question of what happened on the night of Bianca’s accident, along with the difficult truths she must figure out for herself. This novel genuinely surprised me, because I did not expect such an emotional conclusion, or that the final message would be so beautifully or poignantly written.

Overall, I would recommend Minecraft: The Crash. It features a fun and fast-paced adventure which would undoubtedly appeal to fans of Minecraft, though I daresay even non-gamers will be able to find a lot of joy in the book as it contains a story with themes that will speak to readers from all walks of life.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was, overall, not a very good book. Not as exciting or as enjoyable as the first book, and I felt it was a huge drop in my expectations of the Minecraft novels series. It was hard to understand the story and it was not logical in any sense, video game or other.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the video game minecraft so I REALLY wanted to get this book as soon as it came out but I didn't but I still got it and it really was a awesome as I thought it would be.

The way it starts in real life is different then the first minecraft novel but i think it's a good way to change up the two books even though there about the same game.

I love the way the characters were introduced into the story, the main character at the start (obviously) but other important characters added in throughout the book.

I recommend this book for ages 8-15 or maybe older if you like this type of story!

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a fun little story but it takes way too many liberties with Minecraft. Like how to get to The End and there being a butcher in a village? I get that somebody puts mods in it but it just felt too far from Minecraft to be as enjoyable as the first book.

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh wow. I gave a minecraft book 2 starts lol.

My lovely mum bought me this book as I had read the first one 'Minecraft: The Island' by Max Brooks and I actually really enjoyed it so I was really excited to read this one. I was sadly let down.
The beginning and the end of the book was really strong and captivating, I found them the most intersting to read, however the middle bit was honestly just a bit weird and boring.

My biggest critique of this book is that the characters seemed to forget that minecraft is just a game. They got so upset and angry with each other about stuff and I couldn't help but think 'Its not even real life, it doesn't even matter'
It was also really weird because it didn't really feel like minecraft at all because there were LOADS of things that happened that would never happen in-game and none of the characters even questioned it. I felt like the author didn't have a strong knowledge of minecraft and made parts of it up. There was even one bit where the main character's wolf attacked a creeper. Wolves are scared of creepers!!! Also they said 'Blaze sticks' instead of 'Blaze rods'
The characters had no motifs for why they were doing what they were doing it just seemed that they were doing th most random things for no reason whatsoever. There didn't really seem like a solid plot and it was just all over the place and hard to follow what they were actually doing.Also,
The characters were all really mean to each other and it got on my nevers because there was no reason for it.

I could tell that one of the books main themes was supposed to be grief, however, the book tacked this really poorly and had hardly any emotion to it.

I just felt that the book was really boring and I didn't really care for what the people did as they were just playing a video game. It was different with 'Minecraft: The Island' because the Main charatcer wakes up and is actually IN minecraft, rather than playing the game.

Lastly, for a kids book did it really have to say p----ed loads in like on page for no reason whatsoever?????

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

look okay I had one AMAZING experience and now I've gotta see if there's more

[Dr. Block · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was good. It had an interesting take on the isekai genre. In this book, the main character is living inside the game while at the same time living in the real world. It takes a few chapters before the Minecraft part of the book starts, so be patient.

[Jenny Vee · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Editing errors throughout and a major plot point left unresolved despite it being a big deal. I was disappointed.

[Motylkus · Rating 1 out of 5]

It feels like it was written by a person who has only read about Minecraft and never played it.

[Rudy R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Over winter, I read “Minecraft: The Crash” by Tracey Baptiste, and I didn’t like it. I decided to read this book because I wanted to read it before, but I couldn’t find it, plus, it was about Minecraft, one of my favorite video games. I don’t have anything against Minecraft, but I was really bored when reading this book. I’d give this book a 2 out of 5 stars. This book has failed to keep me entertained for the winter. Also, I am not a professional critic for books so some stuff may not be accurate.

I was disappointed after finishing the book. The plot is that a critically injured person from a car crash faces their fears in a special version of Minecraft. The plot, to me, sounds amazing, but how it plays out is what makes me dislike the book. I think the characters are okay… but they don’t feel very important. Somehow, I may not even care for the main character, which is unusual because you’re supposed to for almost every book containing a main character.

I’m pretty sure that part of the problem with this book for me is that there’s not a lot of writing techniques used here. The book mostly just tells me what’s going on instead of showing it to me. This book just straight up tells me what the main character is thinking. I’ve been able to predict exactly what’s revealed at the end of the book when the Minecraft gameplay begins after a couple of pages, and I wasn’t surprised to find out it was true. The ending could’ve been better if it was less specific, most great pieces of literature leave the reader wondering what happened at that last sentence. This book is, unfortunately, not very memorable.

But in the end, this just wasn’t a book that was for me. If you expect to find Minecraft gameplay adapted to a book, I recommend Minecraft: The Lost Journals by Mur Lafferty. This book just uses abnormal Minecraft mechanics, like pressure plates on walls. I think if you are looking for something different in Minecraft, then maybe you should read this book. Overall, I did not enjoy this book.

[Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best Minecraft book ever!

[Scott Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty meh. It is an entertaining book about a virtual Minecraft world, but it is very formulaic.

[Keefe Sencen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed just like a normal VERY long day playing Minecraft. I bit boring in my opinion...

[Kettei Yuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minecraft: The Crash by Tracey Baptiste is an action-adventure novel that brings to light the recurring theme of the inner monsters we all have and how they follow you wherever you go, no matter how hard you try and escape them, whether they may be physical and directly in front of you, or an anxiety relentlessly throbbing in your head.
The book centralizes around Bianca, our protagonist, who is hospitalized after she and her friend, Lonnie, end up in a car crash. While bed-bound at the hospital, she encounters AJ, a kid who gives her a chance to escape all the new problems and worries that have been pressed on her shoulders: a VR headset device, Minecraft installed on it. She welcomes the chance to get out of the real world and dives in. She meets fellow hospital residents Anton and Esme in the game, who are kids just like Bianca, but each struggling with their own personal problems, physical and mental. However, it seems that Lonnie has the biggest problem out of all of them. Bianca encounters his mute, glitching avatar in game, and she believes the only way to get him back to the way he was is to complete the game. With the knowledge of having played Minecraft for years with Lonnie, and all the plans they had made, Bianca begins playing the game with her friends, but it seems as if the anxieties and worries of each kid playing the game are manifesting themselves into physical monsters, relentlessly holding the players back from their ultimate goal. Chaos erupts on the battlefield and between the friends, and it seems as if getting to the finish line may be harder than Bianca initially thought, and it’s up to her knowledge of the game and passion for her friends to pull the group back together and complete the game.
The plot of the book makes for a fun read, and fun characters. The way the story progress often pits the characters against each other, and also forces them to come together to solve their problems, and the book ensures the encounters between the characters feels entertaining as well as feeling realistic in the way a normal teenager of their age would respond to the scenarios in a similar manner to the teens in the story. The characters’ developments are very decent as well, as the characters are forced to get along with each other to accomplish their goals. They learn a lot about themselves and each other that way, and the friendships that form because of it are satisfying to see bloom. Each of the characters are well defined with their own distinguishable personality and interests, and none of them feel artificial. Another aspect of the book that’s intriguing is how each character individually responds to their own problems and group problems. All of the characters are hospitalized, and their worries about their real world conditions are seen carried over into the game, and it’s what ends up generating most of the novel’s main conflicts. The characters have to learn how to deal with these problems, whether trying to man it alone or seeking help from their friends. We get the best insight into Bianca’s problems, as the book is told in first person, letting us see into her mind and how she feelings about the current situations, and how she feels appropriate to respond, as well as what goes through her head to make these choices. However, we’re also given enough info about the other characters to the point where we feel we know them on a level where we can understand them well, and even if we can’t get into their heads, we can know their motivations and have a good idea on what goes through their heads. In conclusion for the characters, they are very well developed and built, and good characters is a vital aspect to make any story enjoyable, especially the protagonist.
For my thoughts on any downsides to the book, there are a few things I didn’t enjoy, but overall don’t take too much away from the story, at least in my reading experience. The first I’d like to discuss is the protagonist, Bianca. Throughout the story, Bianca proves to be more of a frustrating protagonist than a likeable one, which is critical for the overall success of a story. Some of Bianca’s most blatant problems seem to have obvious solutions, and I as a reader get frustrated by some of her actions to try and deal with them, or in some cases, not deal with them altogether. It’s slightly understandable that the book is trying to paint Bianca as the type to not face her problems at the present or think before she acts, but to me, it’s dealt in a way that’s more annoying than it is empathetic. Sometimes she seems to put no thought into things whatsoever, and, part of her personality or not, I don’t find it enjoyable to read sometimes. Her narrative may be why I find the book in places hard to want to read, as if you don’t like the protagonist the story is being told through, you’re not going to like the story. Another aspect of the book that particularly upsets me somewhat is how it strays from the source material, Minecraft. Lots of elements from the game are changed so it can better accompany the flow of the story, but to me, as someone who’s played the original game quite a bit, I can firsthand say it’s more bothersome than it is doing good in my eyes. Another official Mojang Minecraft book, Minecraft: The Island by Max Brooks, is a story that stays true to the original game almost to an exact level, and for a player of the game, it’s nice to see an author who can pay tribute to the original content to an amazing degree while still keeping an amazingly interesting story, like the book Minecraft: The Island is. However, the way this book does it does not work as well. The scenario for The Island is where the protagonist finds himself in the game itself. It’s like he’s been transported into the world of Minecraft itself, and the setup would be perfect for aspects of the game to be changed to feel more realistic, like the real world, as it’s fairly vague that he’s even in a video game, and there really would be no way to prove if he was in it or not. In that case, changing aspects of the game would flow perfectly with the story. But in this case, the protagonist is using a VR headset to play Minecraft. It’s entirely clear she’s playing the actual game, and yet, they change so many things about the game that would make no sense to fit in it. One of the characters indeed says the game is modded, but features of it are changed so drastically, including effects in the game that would appear in real life rather than a blocky world, such as actual tears, and being able to feel physical pain, despite the fact that the characters are simply using virtual reality headsets. Not futuristic headsets, either, for the book is set in modern day time. These factors combined creates a feeling of artificialness and laziness, like the author is just trying to lazily shove real world feelings like tears and hunger into the game without any thought about how it actually works in the story in there, perhaps to try and make you emphasize with the protagonist more. It could work in that way, but once you analyze it from a realistic standpoint, it makes no sense, and overall that aspect of the story kind of falls in on itself. One more aspect I dislike is the fact that the book would likely make less sense if you haven’t played the game. The demographic is for players of the game, sure, but it’s a professionally published full length novel. It’s not a tutorial or tips and tricks guide, it’s supposed to be an intriguing novel, and in my opinion, a well written book should be one you don’t have to read the game or source it’s based off (not talking about sequels here, only adaptations). To bring it back, Minecraft: The Island does this perfectly in my opinion; it describes every aspect of the game in a way anyone would understand as the protagonist uncovers the mysteries of it himself, making it enjoyable for a long time Minecraft veteran or someone looking for an interesting read with no or little experience with the actual game. Minecraft: The Crash is not very friendly to readers who have not played the game. The protagonist fails to explain some aspects of the game that would make the story hard to understand if you haven’t played the game. This is slightly understandable, as the protagonist in this one novel than in The Island knows what’s going on in the game, as she’s played it before. However, I do believe it wouldn’t have been hard for the author to simply add some more descriptive words and slight revisements to make the book easier to understand for people who haven’t played the game it’s based off of. The last thing I’d like to address is a minor nitpick, which is a “twist” that comes around near the end. Although it’s hinted at throughout the book, it’s never quite made certain until the very end, and it’s very easily predictable, and I was able to guess it in the first ten or so pages. I get that plot twists are supposed to be somewhat predictable, but this is one confuses me. It’s very obvious, yet the book will try to cover it up, and it’s hard to tell if the book is even making it out to be a twist, or just something you’re supposed to easily figure out. Either way, it wasn’t shocking, but the delivery of it was satisfying enough, however, I will have to label it as a dislike, due to my confusion over the authenticity of calling it a twist or not not being made clear enough by the writing.
As for the book’s level of difficulty, I would recommend it to late middle grade-early high school students, who can grasp things such as diseases and death easily and slightly complicated scenarios the protagonists find themselves in. The characters in the book are also around late middle grade-early high school, and as I’ve stated earlier, the characters are very built, and I believe that the optimal age for a reader to emphasize with them would be at a similar age to them. However, I do think this book could be just as enjoyable for adults, as some of the situations the characters end up in are melancholy and sometimes just plain sad, and I believe that a teenager or adult with experience with these sorts of “real world” things could relate to these scenarios, or at least understand them at a relatable level, so overall, I think optimal age for this story is late middle school-early high school grade students, but I do think that other ages could find this book plenty enjoyable.
Now, I’ve mentioned this story several times already, but if you’re looking for another similar read, yet something with a refreshing change of narrative from this one, I would recommend Minecraft: The Island, by World War Z author, Max Brooks. He does an beautiful job of painting the world and scenario the protagonist finds himself in, and every moment of the story leaves you wondering what the protagonist will do or find himself in next, and as readers, Minecraft players or not, we can’t help but feel grasped in his journey of learning more about the world, and feel proud of his accomplishments. The novel also has this overlaying mystery behind it, as we’re as clueless as the protagonist as to how we got here, and as he figures out the depths of the world and everything it holds, we can’t help but continuously wonder what the truth is. The novel feels like if Castaway met Minecraft. I would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys Minecraft, and anyone who does not, looking for a slower-paced novel, but a novel that is enjoyable in almost every aspect at that.
Before I give my final opinion on this novel, I would like to share a quote from the story that I find significant. Ant one point in the novel, one of the main characters, Anton, states, “We have to face our monsters no matter where we go.” This quote sums up one of the major themes in the story perfectly, wrapped up in a neat little sentence and nailed right on the nose. The quote summarizes one of the most recurring topics in the story, with the constant in game manifestations of the character’s worries and anxieties and their own mental struggles they’re going through, including Bianca’s own that she tries to escape by entered the world of Minecraft, but finds there is no such fleeing from her inner demons. The line is, essentially, in my eyes, the plot of the book embodied into one simple delivery.
As for the book overall, I’m going to give it a positive rating. If I had to scale it, I would place it around a 5.5, at about a slightly above average level. It’s a decent read, with great themes and fantastically imagined characters by Tracey Baptiste, and the plot itself, spare a few holes and frustrating protagonists, though not award winning, is decent enough, and is enough to keep your attention and interest throughout the story right up to the conclusion of the novel, which I’d have to say is a satisfying one. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys Minecraft, or someone looking for a story with well-built characters and relationships between said characters.

[Leah Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun YA book that my 12 recommended for my 16 year old and I decided to read too. I enjoyed the descriptive style and the peak into the Minecraft world my kids so love. It was fun and engaging, and good moral to the story as well.

[Michael Hurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

the crash was interesting. it was in a real world.

[Ezra Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is AMAZING!!!

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Significantly better than The Island, but it's still not the best.
I personally don't mind death, minor "swearing", and emotional distress, but I know a lot of people do.
I feel there should have been more warning that this book features a car crash scene, that was more violent than I was expecting from a minecraft book, death, and heavy emotional problems.

The characters were average, though they had personalities and had legitimate reasoning and emotions. That and the darker tone was the only thing that kept me interested.

The plot was limp. The fight scenes all felt the same, and the pacing was really slow. The actual plot didn't start until chapter 3, which is understandable, considering that the author had to set a lot of things up. When I was half way through, I felt that barely anything had happened. If this book had a faster pace and had less samey fight scenes, I would have enjoyed it.

[Mandy Crumb · Rating 1 out of 5]

My six year old likes Minecraft so I read The Crash to him. All told we've read four official Minecraft novels and this is the absolute worst one.
The pacing of the story was so so slow, the plot predictable enough that six year old figured it out, characters were bland and I would guess that the author has not spent much time, if any, playing Minecraft. The fighting scenes were all pretty much the same thing only copied and pasted. I wasn't impressed with some of the language that it contained either. I felt like I was saying "said" nearly every sentence so I started counting how many times it appeared on a page and it averaged out to five which is excessive. Use a different word sometimes for crying out loud!
I can't with a conscience recommend that anyone read it.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my 8 year old son after we read Minecraft: The Island. He loves these books. This one was dealt with a pretty heavy (albeit, appropriate for his age) issue, which I actually welcome as an opener for conversation. Most of the story took place inside the Minecraft world among the budding friendships of teens who were dealing with hard issues in life. Again, this was very appealing to my son. I like how they portrayed the characters, their strengths, weaknesses, haunts, and how friendship and loyalty helps them through.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sons each tore through this book, which is a stand-alone story about an 11yo girl named Bianca who must face her worst nightmares in a virtual-reality Minecraft world. Sounds awesome, right? We read parts of this book aloud and enjoyed the way the author wove together a powerful contemporary story with my sons' favorite online game. Bianca is a tough and savvy character who has endured a car crash with her best friend, and now must face battles to save that friend through the virtual world of Minecraft. Don't miss this book if your readers love Minecraft and reading middle grade stories.

[Tina Crog · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because it’s my nephew’s favorite book. When I learned it was about a girl trying to connect with a missing friend after a car accident I hoped it would be a good book to help connect with my nephew around complex issues of grief, hospitals and death. While the Minecraft stuff is fun, the book handles the difficult subjects of death and grief poorly. This book would not be helpful for a child mourning the loss of their friend.

[Jacob Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotional Rollercoaster that had me nearly teared up (nearly) easily the best minecraft novel that doesn't take place inside the minecraft universe

[Erdem Ciftci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bence bu kitap güzeldi hikaye hoşuma gitti ama anlayamadım tek bir şey var o da kitapları sıralamasını anlayamam

[Sonia Donelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.esmeraldaviaggielibri.it/r...

Review Party – Recensione di Esmeralda – Minecraft – Lo scontro di Tracey Baptiste, un libro per ragazzi, dedicato al famoso videogioco, pubblicato da Mondadori il 28 agosto.

Se avete letto la mia tappa di ieri sapete quali sono i motivi per cui consiglio questo libro ai giovanissimi, ma oggi ve ne parlerò dal mio unico e solo punto di vista, che può essere condivisibile o meno, ma è sempre sincero.

Ho faticato non poco a finire Minecraft e il motivo è che la parte relativa al gioco è preponderante, troppo per i miei gusti, ma credo che tutta questa azione possa piacere molto ai ragazzi dai 14 anni in giù. Io ho apprezzato molto la parte iniziale, i momenti di riflessione della protagonista Bianca e quelli di conoscenza con gli altri giovani pazienti, ma i capitoli dedicati a Minecraft li ho trovati eccessivi. Starete pensando che era ovvio si parlasse del gioco, ero ben consapevole di questo, ma desideravo più capitoli all’esterno della realtà virtuale.

Bianca e Lonnie sono amici per la pelle, migliori amici da quando erano bambini e appassionati a Minecraft dove lavorano in simbiosi per costruire la loro realtà virtuale perfetta. Lonnie è il più riflessivo, colui che pianifica tutto nei minimi dettagli per arrivare alla perfezione, Bianca è molto più impulsiva e proprio una di queste azioni presa senza pensarci troppo (e per ovviare a una sua dimenticanza in Minecraft) porterà i due ragazzi a rimanere coinvolti in un bruttissimo incidente stradale.

Bianca si sveglia in un letto d’ospedale certa di essere fortunata a essere sopravvissuta, è ingessata in quasi tutto il corpo e non si sente per niente padrona della sua vita. Continua a chiedere di Lonnie ma nessuno sembra volerle dare notizie sul suo migliore amico.

Le cose cominciano a migliorare e un giorno, grazie a un ragazzino di nome AJ che va a farle visita, scopre un modo diverso per giocare a Minecraft, un modo in cui non c’è bisogno delle mani. AJ le fa indossare un visore che si sincronizza con le onde cerebrali e reagisce al pensiero. Per Bianca è una sensazione incredibile tornare a muoversi anche se solo nella realtà virtuale e inizia a esplorare il mondo creato da AJ qui incontra un avatar in cui rivede Lonnie e decide che deve aiutarlo a tornare quello di un tempo, già perché questo Lonnie è muto e non sembra essere se stesso al 100%. Ma Bianca non ha alcuna intenzione di darsi per vinta e, nonostante le paure e i pensieri che arrivano a tormentarla e a intralciare la riuscita del gioco, non vuole lasciare il suo amico indietro.

Bianca non è una protagonista semplice da amare, io personalmente non ci sono riuscita, la stupidaggine (perché di questo si tratta) che compie all’inizio avrà delle ripercussioni difficili da digerire per il lettore. Un gesto da bimba viziata che non sa fin dove può spingersi e che agisce d’impulso senza usare il cervello. Bianca sarà presente in ogni singola scena, per fortuna arriveranno altri giocatori ad aiutarla e ad aiutare me nella lettura, AJ, Esme e Anton mi sono piaciuti e avrei voluto che le interazioni non si riducessero al gioco ma che fossero anche all’interno dell’ospedale, visto che sono tutti pazienti. La cosa bella di tutti loro è la positività, perché anche se hanno diversi gradi di sfortuna nel gioco portano solo la parte più gioiosa di loro e si aiutano in ogni modo possibile.

Questa convivenza forzata all’interno del gioco li porta a crescere, a interrogarsi, permettendo loro di comprendere meglio se stessi e di scendere a patti con le proprie paure. Avrei dato maggior risalto alle loro riflessioni e al loro lato umano, togliendo un po’ di azione e donando maggior respiro alla narrazione, credo che un equilibrio migliore tra le due parti avrebbe giovato non poco alla riuscita di questo libro, ma gli appassionati di Minecraft lo apprezzeranno proprio grazie alla tantissima azione presente.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Library copy

Bianca has been friends with Lonnie for years, even though he is two years older than she is, and that is a lot when you are a freshman in high school. They play a lot of Minecraft together, but Bianca hasn't been good about keeping up with all of the game improvements that Lonnie wants her to make, since she is trying to get more out of her high school experience. She forces Lonnie to go to a Homecoming event, and on the way back from it makes the mistake of putting her phone in front of his face while he is driving, causing their car to crash into another one. Bianca wakes up in the hospital badly injured, and goes in and out of consciousness for quite a while. When she finally has some lucid moments, another patient, A.J., approaches her with virtual reality goggles and suggest she enter the game that patients in the children's ward are allowed to play. Bianca hasn't been cleared by her doctor, and the first time doesn't go well, but since she can't move because of her injuries, she enjoys being in the game. She meets fellow patients Anton and Esme, who are in the hospital fighting cancer, and also comes across Lonnie in the game. He's not himself-- he has the glassy, vacant stare that other villagers have, but he does come along with the group as they fight their adventures. Bianca doesn't know for sure what has happened to Lonnie in the real world, but feels compelled to keep up the Minecraft adventure, thinking that perhaps Lonnie has gotten stuck in the game. Esme and Anton know the truth, and eventually, Bianca is forced to confront it as well.
Strengths: I really enjoyed the fact that this was not like the Cube Kid Minecraft novels that are set in the Minecraft world. As someone unfamiliar with the game, this made the books very hard to follow. Baptiste does a great job briefly setting up characters in the real world who have a passion for the game, and giving a realistic scenario for them to get pulled into the virtual world. I also read the second and third book, and it's also interesting that the books aren't connected. The fact that the characters are in high school will make this a title that even 8th graders will pick up. This reminded me very strongly of Vande Velde's User Unfriendly (1991), Heir Apparent (2004) and Deadly Pink. (2012), or Klavan's MindWar series (2014). Since video games follow decided trends (RuneScape, anyone?), it's good to have updated titles to offer my students so that they occasionally take a break from playing games, if only to read about them, and I feel better handing these to students knowing that they are written by authors I respect!
Weaknesses: There's a lot unprocessed with the fact that Bianca caused Lonnie's death by her foolish action. This is serious stuff that would take a whole novel to unpack, so I sort of wish that the accident hadn't been Bianca's fault.
What I really think: Not my personal favorite, but a good addition to a middle school collection, along with my favorite, the Minecraft Cookbook! All of these have circulated like mad!

[literaryaura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had really enjoyed Mincraft: The Island and so I can't help comparing this book to that one. While The Island was a fun introduction to Minecraft, The Crash goes much further into the Minecraft world. Never having played the game, I didn't have a problem understanding The Island, but I didn't know a lot of the game stuff in The Crash.

The Crash is part litrpg/Minecraft and part YA/contemporary. It's more mature than the first book, and has more depth. The Minecraft part was enjoyable to a certain point, but then I didn't know or care what was going on. I think the YA part also had a part to play in my not caring where the story was going.

The YA part is similar to a lot of popular books nowadays. If someone likes one of those books, most likely they'll enjoy this book. I frankly couldn't stand Bianca. I couldn't relate to her extreme 'teenagerness'. It's easy to figure out what's going on pretty early in the book, but having to wait till the end was like an itch you can't scratch.

I loved the side characters, Esme, Anton and AJ. Two of them had quite big roles in the story, but somehow it felt as though they were background characters for a lot of the time.

This book is a lot like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, where the characters are immersed into a game world, and they have to play to the end to get themselves out. Those who play Minecraft will love that aspect. Those who don't, might probably be confused by a lot of things, like the baddies. It's easy enough to look up online, but I do feel that it would have been more enjoyable for me if I had played the game.

Audiobook - I don't like Jack Black at all, but he had made The Island fun to listen to. January LaVoy has a really wonderful voice, but I'm not sure if her's was the perfect fit for The Crash. Maybe it was a bit too perfect for a litrpg book?

[Lucas C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to just have your life on pause? like, It just out of nowhere paused and you couldn’t just restart it when you wanted? Well, that’s what it felt like for Bianca, the main character of Minecraft: The Crash by Tracey Baptiste got into a car crash. She woke up in the hospital in a state of practically being in a full body cast, having nothing to do, and stuck in the hospital with no idea on how long her recovery time is. and full of questions she doesn't have the ability to answer. so, in an attempt to distract herself and get a little entertainment, she tries playing a VR version of Minecraft. In the game, she encounters a mute and glitching avatar who she believes is Lonnie. She teams up with Esme and Anton, two players also playing on the hospital’s local server to try and save Lonnie. but there are a lot of uncertainties somewhere in the back of her mind the whole time. and Esme and Anton both have a doubt that the avatar even is Lonnie, let alone that Lonnie is still alive.

I like the book because of a few things.One is that I like minecraft, and I feel like the author did a good job making the story feel like it takes place in minecraft. Another thing is that the story feels gripping and makes you want to read more of it, and it stayed interesting, even after the initial excitement of starting the book wore off. it just made me want to read more of it, and I liked how it felt like you couldn’t tell what was going to happen next. the story sort of seems like it’s always at the climax, and just when you think it’s starting to settle, it picks back up again, like there’s something that got forgotten, so it has to go back and do it all over again, in a good way.

[Levi Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is a book of friendship. Bianca and her best friend get in a car crash. When Bianca is in the hospital, nobody will tell her what has happened to Lonnie(best friend). She starts playing in a version of Minecraft that her thoughts control, when she meets an odd looking villager that looks exactly like her friend Lonnie. He can’t talk or communicate. She then goes on a quest with a couple new friends to help save Lonnie in a mission to bring him back. You don’t have to like Minecraft to like this book. Something that is usual for this book as well as most Minecraft books is the inaccurate Minecraft facts, but you just have to live with it.

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The ending is what I wanted to talk about. It ends with Bianca’s friends telling her that they had known that Lonnie was dead; they had just programmed the weird villager Lonnie so that she could get used to the fact that he was really dead, but Bianca knew that she could count on her new friends to help her through anything she faced. It seemed to me a great book of friendship, but it was also very sad.

[C.P Maharani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never have I ever cried over a book. And I'm saying this as a grown adult, Bianca's journey hits way too close to home. If you're interested in buying this book, stop here cuz spoilers, but I assure you it's gonna be one heck of an emotional ride. *Major Spoilers* Throughout the It has been hinted since after the accident that Lonnie never survived yet somehow they manage to hide it on plain-sight because of Bianca's unwillingness to accept it (unreliable narrator), the "Lonnie" vilager npc was simply manifested by her grieving subconscious in the VR Minecraft headset all along. The reason why she was so hellbent on staying in the game was because how she's afraid of facing and accepting what has happened. One thing that I love and hate at the same time is how she never get to say goodbye with Lonnie throughout the story; usually in such stories you'd get the protagonist getting a final chance to say goodbye with their deceased loved ones—either through a fake hologram or something like a ghost. But that didn't happened here, Lonnie—Bianca's 7 year long best friend was ripped away from her all in a blink of an eye, yet that's exactly what happens in life.
The only downside of this book is the in-game consistency; characters crossing their arms, putting hands on hips, etc y'all get it.

Overall a really solid and poignant book. Underrated as well. The fact I rarely cry when reading but this one manages to hit right in the guts is a saying