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Emmy Levels Up
Emmy is brilliant at the computer game, Illusory Isles. Her avatar is a powerful fire elemental with magma claws and flaming breath. When Emmy's gaming video gets a front-page feature, thousands of devoted fans flock to watch her battle the ultimate online baddie, the Mulch Queen herself.
Life at school is the exact opposite. Emmy is friendless and bullied by Vanessa AKA the Queen of Mean. To Vanessa and her gang, Emmy is a weirdo with bad handwriting, horrible fashion sense and no dad.
But if Emmy can take on the Mulch Queen online, perhaps she can also find a way to take on Vanessa too? Emmy decides to level up and solve this challenge alone. But then Emmy discovers that Mulch Queens and Mean Queens are much easier to face when you have a little help from new friends . . .
Life at school is the exact opposite. Emmy is friendless and bullied by Vanessa AKA the Queen of Mean. To Vanessa and her gang, Emmy is a weirdo with bad handwriting, horrible fashion sense and no dad.
But if Emmy can take on the Mulch Queen online, perhaps she can also find a way to take on Vanessa too? Emmy decides to level up and solve this challenge alone. But then Emmy discovers that Mulch Queens and Mean Queens are much easier to face when you have a little help from new friends . . .
- GenresFictionMiddle Grade
280 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2021
3 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 25, 2021
This book is well good, imo.
March 2, 2021
A brilliantly styled story focusing on bullying , friendship, fitting in and finding your own personal power . The story is updated for the digital age of gaming and feels fresh , relevant and very relatable with it’s almost dual narrative on characters online and real life worlds.
In ‘ real life`, Emmy is an outsider , a ‘ weirdo` - looked down on and bullied by a mean girl clique lead by the Queen of Mean Vanessa . She is sly, vicious and full of cutting and hurtful remarks. Emmy doesn’t have the back up, the confidence , the cool clothes or the perfect family and funds to feel she can take Vanessa on or match her in the school pecking order. So school is tough and home often feels like a battleground between the family members ( especially mum’s boyfriend ,Paul and big brother Ryan)
Yet, online Emmy becomes Emmentine in the fantasy game Illusory Isles . Here, she is an experienced , expert gamer ; a fire elemental full of confidence, battle skills and tricks that has her many, many gamer fans and friends eager to follow and learn from her .
As she levels up online to beat the ( poisonous gas spitting ) Mulch Queen and escape from her attempts to slay her , can Emmy level up her real life to rise above and beyond ( poisonousinsult spitting ) Mean Queen Vanessa’s attempts to cut her down ? Can Emmentine and Emmy find their own tribe to trust, support and belong to?
Emmy Levels Up is heart breaking and heart warming. The dual lives of Emmy show her initially in isolation and as a lone figure battling her adversaries but also give the reader a sense of her inner resilience and make us root for her from the start. I love the way that the online world of Illusory Isles isn’t created just to flesh out the real life story line . The details within it, the world building and the decisions Emmentine make are all of equal weight to her real life experiences . As Emmy says to brother ,Ryan “ Online friends are real friends.” I’m sure this will resonate hugely with many of the book’s reader. These strengths and abilities as Emmentine sustain Emmy through the pain, humiliation and confusion of what she experiences and can’t always control in her day to day life.
The book is so sensitively and carefully written . Author Helen Harvey doesn’t sugar coat the emotional and often brutal effect that others can have on an individual and there are several very moving and upsetting scenes for Emmy at school . Seeing Emmy’s gaming talent and reputation create a whole group of blossoming friendship at school, as well as giving her a squad of heroes online, however, really seals the intertwining of her two worlds and makes a vital point about the validity and value of what an online persona can give to a younger person as they grow up. There is so much negativity and concern about online worlds/ social media that our new generations are growing up in and it is right that we monitor and support these activities but I really enjoyed seeing the positives and empowerment that can also be given to someone through the creativity and imagination of the digital age.
Emmy Levels Up is an exciting, enthralling, clever and powerful story . I am excited to take this into school and read with classes .
In ‘ real life`, Emmy is an outsider , a ‘ weirdo` - looked down on and bullied by a mean girl clique lead by the Queen of Mean Vanessa . She is sly, vicious and full of cutting and hurtful remarks. Emmy doesn’t have the back up, the confidence , the cool clothes or the perfect family and funds to feel she can take Vanessa on or match her in the school pecking order. So school is tough and home often feels like a battleground between the family members ( especially mum’s boyfriend ,Paul and big brother Ryan)
Yet, online Emmy becomes Emmentine in the fantasy game Illusory Isles . Here, she is an experienced , expert gamer ; a fire elemental full of confidence, battle skills and tricks that has her many, many gamer fans and friends eager to follow and learn from her .
As she levels up online to beat the ( poisonous gas spitting ) Mulch Queen and escape from her attempts to slay her , can Emmy level up her real life to rise above and beyond ( poisonousinsult spitting ) Mean Queen Vanessa’s attempts to cut her down ? Can Emmentine and Emmy find their own tribe to trust, support and belong to?
Emmy Levels Up is heart breaking and heart warming. The dual lives of Emmy show her initially in isolation and as a lone figure battling her adversaries but also give the reader a sense of her inner resilience and make us root for her from the start. I love the way that the online world of Illusory Isles isn’t created just to flesh out the real life story line . The details within it, the world building and the decisions Emmentine make are all of equal weight to her real life experiences . As Emmy says to brother ,Ryan “ Online friends are real friends.” I’m sure this will resonate hugely with many of the book’s reader. These strengths and abilities as Emmentine sustain Emmy through the pain, humiliation and confusion of what she experiences and can’t always control in her day to day life.
The book is so sensitively and carefully written . Author Helen Harvey doesn’t sugar coat the emotional and often brutal effect that others can have on an individual and there are several very moving and upsetting scenes for Emmy at school . Seeing Emmy’s gaming talent and reputation create a whole group of blossoming friendship at school, as well as giving her a squad of heroes online, however, really seals the intertwining of her two worlds and makes a vital point about the validity and value of what an online persona can give to a younger person as they grow up. There is so much negativity and concern about online worlds/ social media that our new generations are growing up in and it is right that we monitor and support these activities but I really enjoyed seeing the positives and empowerment that can also be given to someone through the creativity and imagination of the digital age.
Emmy Levels Up is an exciting, enthralling, clever and powerful story . I am excited to take this into school and read with classes .
May 3, 2021
Amazing - a beautiful exposition of bullying, written with incredible empathy from the perspective of a child. The story was both moving and exciting - balancing the maturity of the topics with the youth of the narrator with real finesse. Really enjoyed reading it, and felt very connected to the characters by the end. Go Emmy!
March 14, 2021
Luck was on my side this weekend. I preordered Emmy Levels Up from Waterstones ... and it was delivered yesterday. It's not even released yet, officially. How did that happen? (Emmy might say it was a magical anti-mulch time travel spell - you will understand if you read the book).
I read it late into the night, not able to put it down. I enjoyed the creative, fun and fast-paced game element, as I expected. I didn't expect to be so moved by it. Three plots are seamlessly woven together. The fun, inventive, adventurous game, the tensions at school as bullying and friendships come into play, and a changing dynamic in Emma's family. The bullying especially took me back to when I was in school, and the dark relationships that can exist under the nose of teachers and parents. I think children who feel unpopular will take heart in Emmy's beautiful though sometimes painful journey.
I highly recommend discovering Emmy Levels Up by Helen Harvey and being inspired to seek community. This book is for the 8-12 yr old audience (and of course young-at-hearts like me!)
The book has the beautiful message that, sometimes to move forward, we need to do it with friends.
I read it late into the night, not able to put it down. I enjoyed the creative, fun and fast-paced game element, as I expected. I didn't expect to be so moved by it. Three plots are seamlessly woven together. The fun, inventive, adventurous game, the tensions at school as bullying and friendships come into play, and a changing dynamic in Emma's family. The bullying especially took me back to when I was in school, and the dark relationships that can exist under the nose of teachers and parents. I think children who feel unpopular will take heart in Emmy's beautiful though sometimes painful journey.
I highly recommend discovering Emmy Levels Up by Helen Harvey and being inspired to seek community. This book is for the 8-12 yr old audience (and of course young-at-hearts like me!)
The book has the beautiful message that, sometimes to move forward, we need to do it with friends.
August 1, 2021
What a brilliant book! Helen has written a proper emotional rollercoaster, starting in a high place as our hero Emmy zaps and pows her way to victory in Illusory Iles, then plunging and climbing again and again as her not-so-easy real life intrudes. Will she triumph in the end against the evil Mulch Queen II? Well I thought she would, but not quite how she did! Excellent to the end. I hope there will be more Adventures of Emmy, and soon!
April 9, 2021
What a great read!
Let me be clear, I read this while playing through Final Fantasy IV and doing a lot of levelling up. So I loved reading about the game! The parallels between gameplay and real life were clever and really unique.
Cracking debut. Unique, clever, and rather emotional at times.
Looking forward to recommending once the bookshop reopens!
Let me be clear, I read this while playing through Final Fantasy IV and doing a lot of levelling up. So I loved reading about the game! The parallels between gameplay and real life were clever and really unique.
Cracking debut. Unique, clever, and rather emotional at times.
Looking forward to recommending once the bookshop reopens!
April 2, 2021
I found this book to be quite a page-turner and I loved the parallel stories of beating off computer game baddies and school bullies. The computer game played by the main character, Emmy, felt like one I would love to play (though I would probably be too slow to beat the Mulch Queen) and as a primary school teacher I could picture individual children I've taught using exactly the same tactics to exclude former friends. I will definitely be adding a copy to our KS2 class library. I only wish my current class were old enough to appreciate it as it would be a great book to read aloud, with lots of friendship issues to talk about and plenty of action to make the children look forward to the next chapter.
March 29, 2021
This was quite an emotional read for me - it brought up memories of my own experiences with childhood bullying, things I thought I'd forgotten. Emmy Levels up is written so honestly and relatably, that I felt it as fresh as if it were yesterday.
I think that's the greatest power of this book - the bullying is real, Emmy's experiences hurt, but the bully is real too. Not just a plot device, or a trope to be won over or destroyed!
As someone who has always loved gaming and, too, used it as an escape from life, I felt the portrayal of video games as force for good was refreshing. My Switch-mad kids are going to love it!!
I think that's the greatest power of this book - the bullying is real, Emmy's experiences hurt, but the bully is real too. Not just a plot device, or a trope to be won over or destroyed!
As someone who has always loved gaming and, too, used it as an escape from life, I felt the portrayal of video games as force for good was refreshing. My Switch-mad kids are going to love it!!
March 20, 2021
Emmy Levels Up explores the story of a girl who truly feels at home gaming and in her online world, especially because she's bullied by a mean clique at school. Her love of gaming and budding new friendships thankfully enable her to realise her strengths. The story was told with warmth and sensitivity. I loved Emmy's quirky nature and the description of her realistic and slightly eccentric family. I've not quite finished the book yet, but know that Helen Harvey is a brilliant new addition to the middle-grade children's world and I look forward to seeing what she writes next!
December 20, 2021
This is another 2021 debut, and it follows a girl named Emmy, who is a bit of a superstar in her online gaming community, but who is really struggling at school because mean girl Vanessa and her band of followers are making her life hell, for things like not having the right clothes and not being as good as them at certain school subjects. I think most people, at some point, will have come across a Vanessa throughout their life, and I actually got really emotional reading this because she reminded me so much of some that I’ve met. Emmy is very loveable and I really, truly felt for her throughout the book, and I loved how passionate she is about Illusionary Isles. Supporting characters-wise, I obviously despised Vanessa because she is just vicious, but I really liked the way Jude and Ryan support Emmy, and I liked Emmy’s mum and her boyfriend Paul very much too; I especially loved that Emmy’s mum was a tattoo artist because I’m lowkey obsessed with tattoos and it’s not something I see talked about in books super often. If you liked Aisha Bushby’s A Pocketful of Stars, I think the gaming part of this will really appeal, and while the contemporary themes are different, they’re handled as brilliantly as Aisha tackled certain subjects. I’m really looking forward to reading more from Helen in the future!
October 27, 2021
I really enjoyed this story. It took me a while to get into it because I've never played this sort of games, but after the first chapter, I'd gotten the hang of it. So: totally accessible to non-gamers. Occasionally I wanted to tell Emmy to do the obvious thing but I guess that's because I'm older now - at her age I might have acted she way she did (or not?)
It's a good story about friendship and dealing with bullies.
It's a good story about friendship and dealing with bullies.
April 7, 2021
What a great debut novel!
It's a story about friendship, bullying and growing in confidence with yourself.
It's modern twist is the world of gaming is dotted throughout the story. I love the addition of online chatrooms.
It's a story about friendship, bullying and growing in confidence with yourself.
It's modern twist is the world of gaming is dotted throughout the story. I love the addition of online chatrooms.
April 25, 2021
Fun, fresh, five star fabulous! Helen Harvey has crafted a thoughtful, moving narrative that echoes the likes of R. J. Palacio, Stewart Foster and Aisha Bushby.
It's so exciting to have another girl gamer on the scene in kid’s literature (there aren’t nearly enough!) and Emmy is a character who really shines.
It's so exciting to have another girl gamer on the scene in kid’s literature (there aren’t nearly enough!) and Emmy is a character who really shines.
August 25, 2021
Emmy is a talented gamer who is popular and famous in her community. But in school, she is being pushed out of her friendship group by the new girl. Sent away from her classroom with the others who "struggle" with English allows her to make a new friend who helps her find her tribe.
October 11, 2023
David: Is this a game or is it for real?
Joshua: What’s the difference?
- WarGames
Emmy Levels Up by Helen Harvey is a warm look at growing up in school, surviving bullying and trying to avoid fiction from reality - ideally pitched for its middle-grade audience (& of course, for all ages over it)! The story is updated for the digital age of gaming and feels fresh, relevant, and relatable with its dual narrative on characters online and real life worlds. It's so exciting to have another girl gamer on the scene in kid's literature (there aren't nearly enough!) and Emmy is a character who shines.
I love that it presents gaming and the online community positively while also presenting a truly authentic depiction of bullying and the complexity of the schoolyard. One was depicting gaming as a rich fantasy world, a wonderful, bonding experience rather than a negative influence in a child's life. For me, it highlighted what a positive influence gaming can be and how rich a young person's online life is. As someone who has always loved gaming and, too, used it as an escape from life, I felt the portrayal of video games as a force for good was refreshing.
August 9, 2021
OUTSTANDING!
Review to come
Review to come
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews