Level 13

Slacker #2

by Gordon Korman

Cameron Boxer, king of the slackers, has found something worth his time. By playing video games online in front of an audience he can find both fame AND fortune -- especially with Elvis (a beaver who seems to love video games as much as Cam) at his side.

The only problem? Things keep getting in Cam's way. Like school. And the club he accidentally started. And the misguided people in his life who don't think beavers should be playing video games.

It's going to take some trickery, some close calls, and a fierce devotion to slacking in order for Cam to get to his goal -- conquering the game's infamous Level 13. But if any slacker can do it, Cam can.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Audiobook

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 25, 2019

About the author

Gordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Reviews

[Harun Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

এককথায় দুর্দান্ত!
"স্ল্যাকার" সিরিজের প্রধান চরিত্র ক্যাম বক্সার তার গেমিং এর সুবিধার জন্য বিভিন্ন ছলের আশ্রয় নেয়। কিন্তু সে যা ভাবে সবসময় তার উল্টো ঘটনা ঘটে।"স্ল্যাকার" মজার ও হৃদয় উষ্ণ করা বই। সিরিজের দ্বিতীয় কিস্তি "লেভেল থার্টিন" অনেক বেশি ডার্ক। গেমিং এর জন্য ক্যামের ভালোবাসা পরিণত হয় পাগলামিতে। গল্প কোনদিক থেকে কোনদিকে যাবে তা অনুমান করা যায়নি এবার। ক্যামের পাগলামি, স্ট্রিমিং এর সুবিধার জন্য বিভার এলভিসকে ব্যবহার, অসাম থ্রিসামের বন্ধুত্বে ফাটল, অচেনা স্টকারের আগমন, ক্যামের বলা মিথ্যাকে সত্য ভেবে স্কুলসুদ্ধ ছেলেমেয়ের তাকে পড়াশোনায় সাহায্য করতে এগিয়ে আসা, মেলোডির দ্বিধাদ্বন্দ্ব- সব মিলিয়ে জমজমাট প্যাকেজ। মজার পাশাপাশি উত্তেজনা ছিলো প্রচুর। চূড়ান্ত আসক্তির ভয়াবহতা ও নিরর্থকতা ফুটে উঠেছে গল্পে।শেষের অপ্রত্যাশিত মোচড়টা তো সেরা! এই না হলে করম্যান!!

[Allyson Jamison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little skeptical when I saw there was a sequel to Slacker. Slacker was an amazing book but a great single, I was worried if this book would measure up. But it was great! Slacker is still my favorite and Level 13 was a touch predictable in ways, but still an altogether amazing read!

*Fourth reread: This story is incredible!! It's such an amazing sequel for Slacker and takes the characters on an even deeper journey. I love this set of characters so much! I would follow them through any journey. <333

[Kaytlin Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hesitant to read this one because it's a sequel to Slacker...and Slacker was hilarious! And I wondered how Korman could follow that up...not top it, but just follow it...well, he delivered! It was hilarious, fun, and the ending was endearing. <3

Characters:
Cam is funny, the lengths he goes to. XD BUt also just the lessons he learns in this book and how much he grows as a person. <3 I feel like the lesson in this book is one everyone needs.
Chuck cracked me up!
Daffiny was so much fun!
Pavol was such a wit! (pardon me if I misspell names listed to the audiobook)

Theme:
That chasing our dreams isn't worth sacrificing our health. That sometimes what we want isn't all it's cracked up to be. And that even the things we love the most can get old when we are required to do them all the time.
It was beautiful and so well executed!

Language:
There were probably a few side word, but no actual cussing...I didn't count though because I was listening to the audio at work. Sorry.

Romance:
There is a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship that's pretty central to the plot but it's more funny than anything. XD And there's no kissing.

Violence/Gore:
Mentions of video game violence and gore.

Overall:
This story did well as a follow up to Slacker...it actually delivered, which was pleasantly surprising! I'm still cracking up just thinking about some of the scenes in this one...it was so much fun to revisit the cast of Slacker!
And Elvis...man, that beaver! XD

Recommended Age - 10+

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gordon Korman is a master at writing for my 4th and 5th grade library patrons and giving them novels that they really connect to and love. "Slacker" remains steadily checked out and "Level 13" is likely to be even more popular with its focus more on the gaming side of Cameron Boxer. In this installment, which can be read without reading book 1 first, Cam is more determined than ever to do nothing but sit in front of his gaming console and goes to great lengths to get as far away from his accidentally formed Positive Action Group and all of its worthy endeavors. Unfortunately this time, his Awesome Threesome friendships are suffering, as is his health, his relationship with his sister and more. Readers will laugh as Elvis the Beaver gets involved in the gaming, a new P.A.G. acting president reigns, and students at Cam's school strive to help him regain his role as club leader. Highly recommended for libraries and readers in grades 4-8 without any notes needed on potentially objectionable content. Thanks for the dARC, Edelweiss.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unnecessary sequel

Unfortunately, though I adored the first book in this duology, in my perception, this sequel has nothing new or interesting to add to what was already done in the first book.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed with gordan korman books! I had to read the next book and I enjoyed it sooo much I just wish that he would have said a bit more about what happened at the gaming con thing from the first book. I can't believe the ending though! First off what would a beaver laugh sound like I mean I would probably laugh at the laughing beaver! Though seriously the game was banned for a TOOTHPASTE SIGN a whole game months of work from the creators of the game demolished because the didn't have permission for a sign! I mean a destroyed earth was scary sounding but come on a sign! That was a hilarious twist! Five stars all the way!

[Jaiden Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, wow…that was hilarious…lol!

Language: N/A. Just a few uses of h*ck and d*ng.

Violence: N/A.

Magic: N/A.

This was so great, it was fun to be with Cam and the Slacker cast again! I had such a blast! I was cracking up the whole time😂 
It was one of those sequels that weren't really necessary, but was totally worth it and impossible not to love even if I didn't exactly like the plot, I can’t not love Cam! He's the best!😂
And Chuck and Daphne were just….Duckne…lol! I loved that aspect, so, so good! And Cam and Pavel's reaction to it, oh, dear…haha!
Elvis was absolutely adorable too! And I loved Melody's part. Her and Cam's relationship is great, how they act like they don't care about each other but would actually do anything for each other, so sweet!🥰
This was so super fun and hilarious!!!! These guys are the best…lol!

8+

[Rizwan Khalil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably as close to Jeff Kinney's modern masterpiece The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in its sheer inventive whackyness of laugh-out-loud out of control crazy situations as a middlegrade novel could come, among the ones I have read. And that's the highest praise that I can think of. Maybe not as heartfelt or high stakes as the first Slacker novel, but damn if it isn't funny!

4.5 out of 5.

[Farhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. The ending seems too far-fetched, and the story just dragged on.

[darnfeinbookthoughts · Rating 2 out of 5]

*read aloud Cayson
2 1/2 rounded down

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. The descriptions were amazing.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Level 13 by Gordon Korman is the sequel to Slacker (2016). The positive action group Cameron Boxer created as a way to be in a club without actually being in a club has taken on a life of its own. Now it's large enough to basically run itself, so he's hoping he can finally get back to his true passion — video games. Recently he's gotten into live streaming and hopes to reach the coveted 50,000 subscribers.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the sixth Gordon Korman novel we have read in the last few months. After reading Restart, my son and I each picked two other books by him and picked up the eBooks. My son can read on his iPod and I can read on my phone during my commute to work. And we can share about our experiences with the story and have conversations around the books. Sometimes when we really get into one, we will also read it together in the evening. So you might be asking why 4 books by Korman, we each had preferences for which ones we wanted to read. I gave in a bit and we each got 4 and have a book to read each week for the next month together. But this is the last of those original selections. We have both become addicted to Korman’s writing. And we already have another half dozen that we want to read. Moth my son and I love the books by Korman that we have read. But it seems that ‘to be read piles’ are constantly having more Korman books added!


This is the second book featuring Cam Boxer, or at least the second that we have read. And to be honest we really hop it is not the last. In the first one Slacker, all Cam wanted to do was live his lifestyle, be a gamer and making a living live streaming. He created a fake school group, the PAG, Positive Action Group/ And his fake group became a big hit, and ended up in conflict with the High School group. In this volume Cam’s role as president of the PAG is really cutting into his gaming time. So he and the other two members of the awesome threesome let word get out that he needs to pull back because his grades are slipping. And thus is born GameFox229, Cam goes online wearing a Zoro mask and with gummy worms stuffed in his cheeks to disguise his voice. During that first live stream the town beaver, Elvis, sits on his shoulder and really seems to be into the game. And soon his live stream is taking off. But only while the beaver is there.

Soon he has hundreds of thousand followers and ten of thousands of subscribers. They seem as into the beaver as the game he is playing. And both Elvis and the followers are really interested in the Guardians of Geldorf game he is playing. It appears to be a variant that was banned in 47 states and people who love the game are picking up all the differences and dreaming of a hidden banned level. Soon Pavel and Chuck are helping to cover it all up again. Cam is accepting assignments and school help from anyone in the school.

But something is going sideways for Cam. And his sister who has always considered that he lived a charmed life is really starting to worry about him. Daphne is really worrying about Elvis and his loss of weight. Cam is looking like a wreck, bags under his eyes, pasty, losing weight himself. And when certain things come to light it all starts collapsing around him.

But to find out if Cam can figure a way out of the mess, he created this time, you will read to read this awesome book. Slacker was an excellent read, but in may ways this follow up is even better. Last year my Gordon Korman wish list will consumed a lot of my reading budget towards the end of the year. It is another excellent read from the always entertaining pen of Gordon Korman. A great read and fun for readers of all ages.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Gordon Korman.

[Mike Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

wow. just wow!

Ok I'm starting off by saying this book was incredible. So great. I read slacker and loved it, and the sequel was just as good if not better.
BUT.
How stressed did I get reading this? I read it all in 3 hours and my stress levels went sky high. This may just be a me thing but the way Cam runs his life in this book left an actual effect on me. Like there were parts where I wanted to quit the book. I know that's the sign of a good author, but I was about to give up on this book in multiple parts. Read this book in sections, not all in one go. Late night also isn't the best time if you've hit the middle half and further on. I liked this book, but it should come with a warning label. It was SOSOSO good though.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following up on the success of the previous novel, Slacker, featuring Cameron Boxer, who just might be the biggest slacker ever, this book shows that even slackers can learn to work hard if they are motivated. Cameron figures that he can play games online and attract a large paying audience, combining his need for fame with fortune and using his avocation to do so. The fact that Elvis, the beaver introduced in the previous book, loves watching him play those games is a bonus and makes his streaming of his antics appealing to his ever-growing audience. But when he finds a copy of an old video game that is now outlawed and it turns out to have a secret thirteenth level, the views for his streaming grow even more. Cameron plays the game in disguise, and because he has undeservedly earned the affection of his classmates for the club he started, his classmates start secretly sending him copies of homework assignments and notes. Suddenly, Cameron finds himself with the best grades in the class, and his classmates are feeling betrayed. There's a subplot involving one of his best friends, Chuck Kinsey, and his budding romance with the bossy, super-organized Daphne Leibowitz. He must keep Cam's secret doings from Daphne, which causes quite a lot of drama and skin-of-his-teeth moments. His loyal friend, Pavel Dysan, is also concerned that Cameron seems no longer to have any time for his friends. Readers will certainly get caught up in all the excitement, and love how the story ends. Gordon Korman has certainly not lost his touch here.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cameron Boxer founder of a club at school that helps people and such but he only did it to slack off because his parent said he could not play video games all the time he needed to join a club so he made this fake club but what did he know it took off and now he is stuck but he wants to be a like a youtube sensation for playing video games so he fakes having bad grades and cites the need to study more for his time away from the club and pushing his responsibilities on others. But when his success hinges on a beaver things start to change, will he make it to the famous level 13 and what happens if you do?

This is a funny, cute, action packed, and totally suspense filled book that will have you reading by flashlight under the covers to see what Elvis the beaver does next, or if Cam can squirm out of the next fix he is in or if he finally gets caught. S grab a bag of gummy worms and get to reading you won't want to miss this book it will be a hit this year, Elvis says so.

[jeoslapha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why people think this is better then the original. It's a pretty ok book but it's far from perfect. I don't think Cameron going back to gaming was necessary. I think the series should have ended with Slacker. I just think that because the story was over. The PAG was done, Cameron learned his lesson about not letting gaming take over his life, and everyone was happy. But in this book, all the things accomplished in the 1st book were completely destroyed. That's why I don't like sequels that do that. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone reading this, though. Nevertheless, I would recommend this to anyone who was big fans of the first book, just because if you really like the 1st book, you'll probably look past it's flaws. And it's not bad, either. I just don't think a sequel was necessary.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps this book would have gotten a higher rating from me if it was written by someone else..I'm unsure. I tend to have high hopes when reading Korman's work because I have found him so amusing. I think it will still appeal to its intended audience, but for me as an adult I started to feel a little silly for sticking with it.

[Jnase1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn’t. It took me forever to get through as I kept stopping from getting bored with the storyline. Maybe if it were more believable. IDK- it was a miss for me.

[Frances Sayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first one!

[Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ending was slightly disappointing (Which I can tell is intentional), but it was really good!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Things were going to get ugly, and I only had myself to blame.”

The awesome threesome are back: Cam, Pavel and Chuck. Cam, the video obsessed character from Slacker, has now moved on to a new phase of video gaming. He wants to stream his gaming live and gather followers and subscribers. That way, he could play video games for a living and never have to leave the house ... it would be video games all day, every day. How cool would that be? His goaI: 50,000 subscribers. Is that out of reach? Cam doesn’t think so, but it’s going to mean some changes in his life. “... doing things that weren’t gaming-related didn’t fit into my lifestyle.”

First and foremost, the Positive Action Group (PAG), which he created, is taking up way too much of his time. It’s also going to take some help from friends. Pavel is still in, but Chuck is in a “ship” now with Daphne, and most of his free time is going to keeping that relationship healthy. They are, after all, Duckne.

Step #1: how can Cam get out of leading the PAG? He starts telling everyone that his grades are slipping and that the PAG is taking too much time away from studying. And, of course, because he is Cam ... everyone jumps into action. Daphne takes over running the PAG. Check.

Step #2 - create a disguise so that no one will recognize him when he is live streaming his gaming. Simple ... a mask for the face, some gummy worms in his mouth to disguise his voice when he’s talking. Also, create a new screen name, GameFox229. Check

Things start pretty slowly because Cam is always being interrupted by life, including Chuck and his insane relationship issues with Daphne. But it is Chuck that unwittingly helps create a buzz on the stream. He leaves Elvis at Cam’s house one day and Elvis becomes an instant celebrity on the stream. All the comments are about him. Remember Elvis the beaver who was about to lose his habitat in the first book? Well, he has now become a video obsessed rodent and the reason Cam’s stream takes off. It’s like Elvis is mesmerized by the video games ... he even seems to understand gaming strategy. Who knew?

Then, Cam finds a copy of an old video game called Guardians of Geldorf , which was banned in 47 states because of the content in the illusive Level 13. What could be so bad that it was banned in 47 states? Cam just has to reach Level 13 to find out. And his number of subscribers begins to explode because everyone wants to know what’s on Level 13, which is almost unattainable.

And just as things really get rolling, life starts to spiral out of control for Cam. “How could something so successful be so doomed at the same time?” First, people start sending Cam their homework assignments and study guides for tests, because they want to help him get his grades up so he can return to the PAG. At first, Cam is reluctant to use them, even kind of clueless as to why he’s receiving them, but after awhile that guilt goes away. Then there’s Daphne, who is so worried about Elvis because he seems to be losing weight, that she is constantly going to the habitat to check on him. Which requires the Awesome Three to continually run Elvis back and forth without getting caught. Then, there’s the stalker that seems to be following Cam around. Is it a weirdo fan? Is it the FBI? Finally, why is Cam so tired all the time? Video gaming is supposed to be fun. It’s only a matter of time before this scheme blows up in smoke ... and when it does, Cam is going to get burned.

At times laugh out loud funny, this book still manages to have a strong message about achieving balance in life. Cam’s actions, which are often reprehensible, make for good conversation with students. The alternating perspective allows for different strong voices to tell their side of things. For 4th grade students and up.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Cam Boxer successfully got his parents off his back in Slacker by forming the Positive Action Group, a school organization that took on a life of its own, but now he wants to focus on his video game streaming career. His goal is to get 50,000 followers. This is more difficult than he imagines, since the PAG is constantly putting demands on his time. It doesn't help that Chuck is now going out with Daphne. Cam decides that if he tells everyone that he's failing in school, they will let him out of PAG obligations in order to study, and he can use the time to concentrate on his gaming. He keeps getting sucked into things, like the library fundraiser where he finds an old video game he used to enjoy. He starts playing this game on his stream, with Elvis, the beaver in the background. To his surprise, Elvis seems to really enjoy watching him play, and is quite the draw. His followers grow, but there are still problems. He isn't getting enough sleep, Elvis seems ill, and his school work is still suffering. When classmates start e mailing him assignments, he is apprehensive about accepting them, but soon caves and starts handing them in. It turns out that the video game is a rare first edition that has an outlawed 13th level, and his followers grow even more. There is even a fan base in his hometown, and t shirts with his user name are a hot seller and a big money maker for the local library. When it looks like Cam won't be able to break into that 13th level, his sister Melody helps, and additional assistance arrives from a surprising source. Eventually, Cam will be found out, and there will be consequences, but it's a wild ride until then!
Strengths: Cam is the embodiment of all that some of my students hold dear. Why pay attention in school when they could start their "careers" as famous YouTubers right now! Korman does a good job of having Cam achieve this, but at a price that teachers everywhere will appreciate. He still gets to meet his gaming inspiration, and he does get to be somewhat famous. He does well academically by cheating, but also learns the price of that. The inclusion of Chuck and Daphne's relationship, and it's toll on the group of friends, is something we need to see more in middle grade literature. The idea of fundraising for the library is admirable. This was a very fun read, and for some reason, I love Cam's misuse of the principal's name. I may change my name to Ms. Ying-whatsis!
Weaknesses: I personally found it beyond belief that Elvis would have been taken from his habitat and willingly watched video games, but it's believable and goofy enough that tweens will love it.
What I really think: One of my copies of Slacker walked away; I suspect it was stolen by a student who couldn't bear to part with it. I'm reordering a copy so I have two of the first book. I wouldn't mind seeing another volume or two of Cam's adventures.

[rxsOwO · Rating 2 out of 5]

Level 13 by Gordan Korman is the story of a boy who gets whatever he wants, whenever he wants, without doing any work and never suffers any consequences for his deplorable behavior and mistreatment of others' kindness. From this description, you might be led to believe that I dislike this main character, Cameron Boxer, because he’s astonishingly similar to the dried pieces of gum on the street that have long since turned black, but I actually don’t hate him, it’s impossible to, because he is so intensely dull. I never thought it possible to have such feelings of neutrality toward a fictional character, but Gordon Korman has certainly done that for me.
Despite my opinion of immense emptiness towards the main character, the story does have some more aggravating elements. Cameron is a slacker; all he wants to do is play video games and eat gummi worms all day, every day, but he isn’t able to do that, because he is the leader of THE BIGGEST VOLUNTEERING ORGANIZATION IN HIS ENTIRE COMMUNITY. He started this club at school so his parents would get off his back about playing too many video games, and think of him as a student leader. This club was never meant to be real, but the club managed to gain ALMOST NINE HUNDRED MEMBERS. How he was able to do that without putting in any effort is beyond me, but the main point of the story is his streaming career. Cameron tries to start a career in online live streaming, but he knows he can’t do that if he’s still the leader of the volunteering organization, so he lies to everyone by saying his grades have been slipping and he needs to step down to work on them. When he does that EVERYONE STARTS MAGICALLY SENDING HIM A+ LEVEL WORK TO HELP HIM OUT. This book is insane.
As I just spent the past 100 words bashing Level 13, I thought I might want to elaborate on my positive feelings toward this novel. While most of the characters are dryer than a Saltine cracker, a few of them have some believable struggles that I can relate to. Cameron’s sister Melody is definitely my favorite character in the book. She’s jealous of her brother’s undeserved success but it’s clear she still really cares about him and wants him to be better. I can definitely relate to feeling like someone is undeserving of their success and it should be me in their place, but it's nice to see she was able to move past those feelings and care about her brother. I also think Daphne is a good character; she is a fantastic student leader, she cares about animals, and she deals with Cameron and his stupid friends maturely, even while they complain about her and condemn her annoying tendencies.

There are some MAJOR issues with Level 13, but it does have some merit as a novel for middle schoolers, and there are a few good characters and moments sprinkled on top of the Doritos and Mountain Dew-infused turd that is the plot.

2.5/5 for Daphne and Melody.

[ZaNdEr33 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Choice book #2 quarter #2

Level 13 written by Gordon Korman is a realistic fiction book.

Level 13 is a book that takes place in Sycamore, a small town.

The main character is an 8th grade boy named Cam. He is a streamer on YouTube that goes by the name GameFox229. He really liked how his life was going. He got super tired because he was playing too much video games so he started to fall asleep in class a lot. He said he was failing in school so everybody would get off of his back. People started doing his work for him because he said he was failing in school but he wasn’t. He didn’t tell the people to do his work, but he still accepted it. I think that Cam is a dynamic character because in the beginning he was all about video games but in the end he was realizing that it wasn’t good for him so he quit streaming and lived a normal life.

There wasn’t any big problem but there were little problems throughout the book. One of them was Cam got a disease from being around a beaver and his parents were confused because they didn’t know that Cam was gaming with a beaver. Another one was the whole 8th grade was mad at him because he had won an award that he didn't really deserve because everyone was doing his work for him. The last one I remember was the whole 8th grade found out who GameFox229 was, it was Cam. The first problem was person versus nature because the beaver gave him the disease. The second problem was person versus society because the whole 8th grade was mad at Cam. The last problem was person versus society because the whole 8th grade was shocked.

The theme statement I found in this book was always choose the good option.
Cam decides to quit streaming because he was getting unhealthy.
Chuck decided to not tell Daphne about Elvis because she would freak out if she knew.
Cam decided to give all the money he earned from streaming to the library for the remodel.
I enjoyed this book because I like how the story line is and I like to play video games.(but not too much.) My favorite part of the book was when Cam fell in the mud and everyone found out that he was GameFox229. The book felt complete to me. I would have changed how everybody found out Cam was GameFox229. I think this book is a little better than Slacker.(the first book of the series.)

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My name is Cam Boxer, and video games are my life. I'm going to get thousands of people to watch me play online, and then I'll have a job that I love! The only problem is this club I kind of started at school. I wasn't serious about it, but now hundreds of classmates have joined and want to help me perform community service. I don't have time for that! It's really interfering with my gaming. One good thing that's happened is Elvis. I've discovered this local beaver loves to watch me play video games, and my viewers like to watch him watch me. The rodent stinks and leaves a mess, but I know he's going to help me get fifty thousand subscribers. The recalled, controversial video game I found won't hurt either. I'm going to have the best career ever!

I had already started the book before discovering it's the second one in a series. It has Korman's usual style and tone with normal kid topics mixed with humorous dialogue and situations. Elvis provides an extra touch of wackiness. Cam has an amazing knack for being lazy but somehow always comes out smelling like roses. It drives his sister crazy, and I tend to agree with her. Korman includes concepts of friendship, public service, environmental conservation, and family. One of Cam's buddies gets his first girlfriend, and it helps to complicate the plot. She also provides some relief for Cam, as he allows a misunderstanding to get blown way out of control. He has mixed emotions about the situation, and it becomes very important in the plot's climax and resolution. As expected, Cam emerges from a horrendous, embarrassing problem into the revered hero of the school. How does he do it? You'll love the book if you like to laugh and you like video games. I recommend you give it a shot.

[karen is wrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

in the book "level 13" it is about a kid that is trying his best to be a good streamer for his 7 viewers and also have fun with his friends somehow in the middle of everything. He has a pet beaver named Elvis that hangs out with him when he is streaming. his streaming career started as nothing then he found the perfect game to play to kickstart his career the game was so hard that nobody could beat level 13 everyone watched as he worked his way up to level 13 and everyone wanted to stick around to see if he could actually beat level 13 that has been proven to be difficult.

outside of streaming he tries to hang out with his friends and together they formed what they call the "awesome threesome" together that started a school group called the PAG where people join together and do community service but the group has had way more classmates join than he thought and he is falling behind managing it because of his streaming career he wants to start.

i would recommend this book because of the interesting plot of the whole book and just how he tries to balance everything. and i feel like alot of young adults also would like to be a streamer.

[papasteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry, Korman. You didn’t do it again. You know, hit a home run with this book, as you usually do.

First off, I’m not a gamer. My gaming experience is reserved for crossword puzzles. So the gaming part of this story—which was the main thing—didn’t do a whole lot for me. That’s just me, and didn’t have anything to do with your writing.

But, your writing. In this story it seemed like you just went on and on, and over and over with stuff. You could have edited this down to 200 pages and it would have been fine.

And for me, Elvis was a distraction. The beaver didn’t add anything for me. Again, that might just be me.

In most of your other books, the main character(s) learn something about themselves. I’m not sure Cam learned any “lessons” here other than it stilled paid to be a con artist and get away with stuff. I don’t think he grew any from the whole gaming experience.

Anyway, I have enjoyed all the other books of yours that I have read. Really enjoyed them! Just not this one.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biggest of slackers is Cameron and he does it very well AND he loves his video games. The thing is that he keeps getting interrupted with his gaming because he has created a solution to get his parents off his back – they think he plays too many games! He has created the Positive Action Group; a move that keeps him far busier than he ever thought. It has not become the flop that he hoped it would be!

Adding to his problems is Elvis. Elvis is not just any video game aficionado - he is a beaver!


It's great fun to see if Cam can get to Level 13 with all of the "real life" distractions...and will he become more responsible in the process? A fun read for middle schoolers, especially as Gordon Korman has such great stories. Readers will be drawn back to look for more of his stories.

[Maria Antonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sequel to Slacker. Cameron Boxer is obsessed with video games. And this time, he wants to be like his gaming idols and build his own massive live-stream following. In order to do so, he has to get out of his responsibilities as leader of P.A.G. Which means, he can't let anyone (other than his best buddies) know. Being Cameron... well, he tends to get away with such things.

Another fun book by Gordon Korman. I found it especially intriguing when we get to the reason for the title: Level 13. It doesn't happen until about half-way through the book. But once it's mentioned, I could wait for Cameron to get to Level 13. (He does get there, but I won't spoil what he finds there.) [3.5 Stars]