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Game Over
Step into the world of HIVE in this thrilling, high-stakes virtual reality adventure -- perfect for younger fans of Ready Player One ! Welcome to HIVE, the world’s most popular virtual reality simulator. Everyone’s addicted to it―except Kara Tilden. She has no time for games since her mom disappeared, and Kara believes HIVE had something to do with it. But when a big update drops, a glitch in the system traps everyone―including Kara―inside HIVE, and there’s no way out. In order to escape, Kara and her friends must venture deeper into HIVE than ever before and uncover the very real dangers lurking in this virtual world. Will Kara be able to beat HIVE at its own game?
336 pages, Paperback
Published December 6, 2022
20 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
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April 4, 2024Just bought at the book fairrr... Awaiting reading it 😘
April 1, 2024
So. This book was interesting, to say the least. I was originally going to give this 3 or 3.5 stars, but I liked the ending too much to do so. The problem I had with this book was that the plot was good, and I found it interesting, but it just felt really slow somehow, all the way up until the end.
If we disregard that though, this book was quite good. I loved the characters and found HIVE to be a cool concept. I would love to read more books like this in the future.
If we disregard that though, this book was quite good. I loved the characters and found HIVE to be a cool concept. I would love to read more books like this in the future.
January 1, 2023
This book has the single best teenage female character I've ever seen. She isn't just narrating the book. She has all these little side comments, like about her boots, her boy friend and just one or two words in parenthesis. It's also an excellent science fiction book. Hopefully it never becomes reality but it does seem possible.
October 25, 2022
Ross, M.C. Game Over
December 6, 2022 by Scholastic Inc.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
High schooler Kara Tilden lives in a society where the populace has become so enamored of the enticing virtual reality game HIVE that students and teachers don't show up at school. While Kara would rather read a book, she does participate in some of the games, although her boyfriend Gus and best friend Sammi play a bit more. After a run in with school bully Markus in a teacherless classroom, where she has to defend former friend Jason, Kara finds that she was stood up for her weekly Friday afternoon date with Gus. she drops in to leave him a message in the game, but then things get weird. She waits a long time for the bus, but cars are crashing in the street. She tries to help one bus driver, but when the driver drops in to the game to warn the passengers about the crash (they are all immersed in HIVE), she is not able to get back out. On the street, Kara runs into Jason again, and he has some alarming news: an update has occurred, with horrifying consequences. The update was so anticipated that almost evreyone in the world has tried to be in the game, and a huge glitch has occurred. People can't get out. Jacob shares alarming news about his own life, including that he lives at a former arcade-turned-Apiary where people check in to play the game. He knows everything there is to know about the game, and has found a back door out of it, but can't get back in. He wants Kara to help him, especially since her mother is one of the creators of the game, along with Eric Alanick. One reason Kara isn't wild about the VR game is that her mother left their family in order to work on it. She agrees, Jason patches into her feed, and she enters the game. She finds her father's office (virtual real estate is cheaper than an actual office), and embarks on a harrowing quest through the different games and levels of HIVE to try to figure out how the game has ensnared so many people, before their absence has real life consequences.
Strengths: Note that the review centers mainly on the story set up. Most of the book involves Kara and her friends involved in the game, doing... game things. This is fantastic for people who love playing games and understand them, but since I have never played video games, my brain is not wired in a way that I could understand exactly what was going on. The world building is well developed, the mission explained thoroughly, and the details of how Kara needs to progress through the levels (especially my favorite, Terms and Conditions, which few players pay attention to!) are logical, but Ross is clearly a player of video games and uses his experience to construct a world that will be particularly appealing to other people with knowledge of video games. One of the reasons given for the widespread appeal of the game is that players are allowed to virtually experience smell, and therefore taste. There are many food sellers in the game, and none of the food has any calories! I did enjoy Kara's quest; she wasn't entirely sure she would find her mother, but hoped she would. I identified with Kara quite a bit; she's a bit annoyed at everything, and not wild about being in HIVE, but sees a job that needs to be done and reluctantly does it to save her friends and family. The MOST brilliant thing about the book is that Kara is a high schooler. She and Gus drive, they are dating, and she attends high school. This is all the veneer of teendom that middle school readers need, and also makes the book more likely to appeal to actual high school readers. Perfect.
Weaknesses: Scholastic! Paperback? Why? WHY?!?!?! At least Follett has a prebind. This should be in hardcover, absolutely.
What I really think: I'm buying two copies to go along with other intriguing video game titles like Anderson's Insert Coin to Continue, Schrieber's Game Over, Pete Watson, and Zhao's Last Gamer Standing.
December 6, 2022 by Scholastic Inc.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
High schooler Kara Tilden lives in a society where the populace has become so enamored of the enticing virtual reality game HIVE that students and teachers don't show up at school. While Kara would rather read a book, she does participate in some of the games, although her boyfriend Gus and best friend Sammi play a bit more. After a run in with school bully Markus in a teacherless classroom, where she has to defend former friend Jason, Kara finds that she was stood up for her weekly Friday afternoon date with Gus. she drops in to leave him a message in the game, but then things get weird. She waits a long time for the bus, but cars are crashing in the street. She tries to help one bus driver, but when the driver drops in to the game to warn the passengers about the crash (they are all immersed in HIVE), she is not able to get back out. On the street, Kara runs into Jason again, and he has some alarming news: an update has occurred, with horrifying consequences. The update was so anticipated that almost evreyone in the world has tried to be in the game, and a huge glitch has occurred. People can't get out. Jacob shares alarming news about his own life, including that he lives at a former arcade-turned-Apiary where people check in to play the game. He knows everything there is to know about the game, and has found a back door out of it, but can't get back in. He wants Kara to help him, especially since her mother is one of the creators of the game, along with Eric Alanick. One reason Kara isn't wild about the VR game is that her mother left their family in order to work on it. She agrees, Jason patches into her feed, and she enters the game. She finds her father's office (virtual real estate is cheaper than an actual office), and embarks on a harrowing quest through the different games and levels of HIVE to try to figure out how the game has ensnared so many people, before their absence has real life consequences.
Strengths: Note that the review centers mainly on the story set up. Most of the book involves Kara and her friends involved in the game, doing... game things. This is fantastic for people who love playing games and understand them, but since I have never played video games, my brain is not wired in a way that I could understand exactly what was going on. The world building is well developed, the mission explained thoroughly, and the details of how Kara needs to progress through the levels (especially my favorite, Terms and Conditions, which few players pay attention to!) are logical, but Ross is clearly a player of video games and uses his experience to construct a world that will be particularly appealing to other people with knowledge of video games. One of the reasons given for the widespread appeal of the game is that players are allowed to virtually experience smell, and therefore taste. There are many food sellers in the game, and none of the food has any calories! I did enjoy Kara's quest; she wasn't entirely sure she would find her mother, but hoped she would. I identified with Kara quite a bit; she's a bit annoyed at everything, and not wild about being in HIVE, but sees a job that needs to be done and reluctantly does it to save her friends and family. The MOST brilliant thing about the book is that Kara is a high schooler. She and Gus drive, they are dating, and she attends high school. This is all the veneer of teendom that middle school readers need, and also makes the book more likely to appeal to actual high school readers. Perfect.
Weaknesses: Scholastic! Paperback? Why? WHY?!?!?! At least Follett has a prebind. This should be in hardcover, absolutely.
What I really think: I'm buying two copies to go along with other intriguing video game titles like Anderson's Insert Coin to Continue, Schrieber's Game Over, Pete Watson, and Zhao's Last Gamer Standing.
January 7, 2024
Evie picked out this book at her school book fair. Took us quite a while to get through it, but we enjoyed it. I’m sure it would be even more enjoyable for someone familiar with video-game lingo. The vocabulary throughout the book is impressive and the writing is well done.
November 9, 2022
DISCLAIMER: I received a digital review copy of Game Over via Edelweiss Above the Treeline in exchange for an honest review
I really, really wanted to like this, y’all. I was so excited when I got it and I was all prepared to move books around on my favorites list and annotate it with all my favorite things.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any favorite things.
Well, that’s a little harsh—and kind of untrue—so here’s a list of things I did like:
- I loved that opening chapter from HIVE. It struck me in such a false-utopia way and I love those stories
- I think the concept is really cool and had a lot of potential
- I liked the disabled and poc rep
- I think Jason and Kara’s banter was funny
- I liked the Victorian-era-vibes in Mind Your Manors
- There were a few plot twists that did make me gasp
Okay. Now…*sigh* the stuff I didn’t like so much:
- About halfway through, I came to the conclusion that this book felt like if someone rewrote Spy Kids 3 in the style of a 2013 Tumblr post. Maybe a little harsh, but it was the best analogy my sleep deprived brain could come up with as I was reading this.
- I’m so sorry, but Gus had the personality of unseasoned chicken (bringing back THAT comparison from my early review days). He seemed…fine?? I guess?? Sweet enough, but very, very, very bland.
- Although…Kara wasn’t much better. She had a defined personality, sure, but she so often struck me in an “I’m-not-like-other-girls” way and I was tired of that trope in 2015. (Although! I do like that she was friends with Sammi—so, a step above the “I’m-not-like-other-girls” trope.)
- I was lost through about 75% of this book. Maybe I’m just extremely uncultured when it comes to all things video games (I am—for sure) but I could not follow most of what was happening here.
There’s more, but it’s mainly nit-picky stuff that doesn’t *really* add anything.
I think I was just very, very much not the target audience for this (although, I’m not the target audience for most things I read) and I can definitely see kids enjoying this book.
Good for fans of Ready Player One, Spy Kids 3, and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
I really, really wanted to like this, y’all. I was so excited when I got it and I was all prepared to move books around on my favorites list and annotate it with all my favorite things.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any favorite things.
Well, that’s a little harsh—and kind of untrue—so here’s a list of things I did like:
- I loved that opening chapter from HIVE. It struck me in such a false-utopia way and I love those stories
- I think the concept is really cool and had a lot of potential
- I liked the disabled and poc rep
- I think Jason and Kara’s banter was funny
- I liked the Victorian-era-vibes in Mind Your Manors
- There were a few plot twists that did make me gasp
Okay. Now…*sigh* the stuff I didn’t like so much:
- About halfway through, I came to the conclusion that this book felt like if someone rewrote Spy Kids 3 in the style of a 2013 Tumblr post. Maybe a little harsh, but it was the best analogy my sleep deprived brain could come up with as I was reading this.
- I’m so sorry, but Gus had the personality of unseasoned chicken (bringing back THAT comparison from my early review days). He seemed…fine?? I guess?? Sweet enough, but very, very, very bland.
- Although…Kara wasn’t much better. She had a defined personality, sure, but she so often struck me in an “I’m-not-like-other-girls” way and I was tired of that trope in 2015. (Although! I do like that she was friends with Sammi—so, a step above the “I’m-not-like-other-girls” trope.)
- I was lost through about 75% of this book. Maybe I’m just extremely uncultured when it comes to all things video games (I am—for sure) but I could not follow most of what was happening here.
There’s more, but it’s mainly nit-picky stuff that doesn’t *really* add anything.
I think I was just very, very much not the target audience for this (although, I’m not the target audience for most things I read) and I can definitely see kids enjoying this book.
Good for fans of Ready Player One, Spy Kids 3, and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
January 12, 2025
It was a good book. It reminded me of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over! When I was revisiting my childhood, I realized the book is literally called Game Over! Man, 2003, when Spy Kids 3 was made—I feel old. Anyway, decent book. Instead of Juni saving his sister from being trapped in a video game, it’s Kara trying to save her mom, who “abandoned” her. Kara was likable—I don’t know why, but she just was. Her boyfriend, Gus, was okay. The rest of Kara’s friends, Aaron and Sammi, were alright.
But my favorite character is Jason! You know why—background trauma! His parents were neglectful and basically abandoned him, like actually abandoned him. So, he lived homeless until the Creator of Hive offered him a job. Now, he lives in a small room at Hive’s headquarters, but he’s technically still homeless because he sleeps in his car.
The saddest thing about Jason is that he believes real life is a simulator, and Hive is the real world. (It’s hard to understand, but then again, the guy was lonely, so you can’t judge him.) He spends his time in Hive learning all the secrets that even the developers don’t know about. When he crashes his car and meets Kara, he convinces her to help Hive because there’s a “glitch” in the system, and nobody can get out. Jason discovers what’s happening and manages to get out through the “back door” (I forgot what it’s actually called), but he can’t get back in. So, he asks Kara for help.
Here’s the wild part—Jason and Kara actually met when they were kids. They were friends at a library, but Jason disappeared and never came back. Years pass, and they meet again at Kara’s school (I think Eric Alanick offered Jason a chance to go to school). Now, they reunite after Jason’s car crash. Don’t worry, he’s fine—just a bloody scratch on his forehead.
Do you know why Jason was rushing and crashed? Remember, he thinks life is a simulator. He also believes Hive kidnapped his parents, and that’s why he was offered a job there. When Hive glitches, he assumes his parents are back because Hive is broken. (Like I said, bro is traumatized.) He goes to his old house to look for his parents, but that’s when he crashes his car. Since he can’t physically go back into Hive, he exists in Kara’s head inside Hive, seeing and hearing everything she does.
Jason guides Kara to find her friends and uncover clues. They theorize that the Creator of Hive, Eric Alanick, has been kidnapped and someone else is causing all this chaos. But instead, Kara loses all her friends (don’t worry, they didn’t actually die). Jason and Kara eventually discover that Eric Alanick was behind everything, including government involvement!
Jason probably felt crushed because someone he trusted turned out to be evil. And to make things worse, Eric kidnapped Kara’s mom. Kara had believed her mom abandoned her and her family, but now she learns her mom was kidnapped all along. Eric even puts Kara and her mom in the same room. It doesn’t say it outright, but you can tell Jason feels even lonelier watching Kara reunite with her mom. He just wants someone—just someone—to be there for him and never abandon him. He’s not desperate, just lonely.
Anyway, Kara and her mom manage to escape. Kara tricks Eric in a sneaky yet classic way. She switches a scroll that Eric uses to press “I Agree.” If he had succeeded, everyone on Earth would have been trapped in Hive forever. I don’t remember what scroll she switched it with, but it defeats Eric because, let’s be honest, who actually reads the whole terms and conditions?
So yeah, they save the world, all thanks to Jason—he’s a hero! The best part is that Jason isn’t a psycho lonely person anymore. He now has Kara’s friends to keep him company.
Jason’s parents…? Uh, they weren’t mentioned again. At least he has friends now. :D
But my favorite character is Jason! You know why—background trauma! His parents were neglectful and basically abandoned him, like actually abandoned him. So, he lived homeless until the Creator of Hive offered him a job. Now, he lives in a small room at Hive’s headquarters, but he’s technically still homeless because he sleeps in his car.
The saddest thing about Jason is that he believes real life is a simulator, and Hive is the real world. (It’s hard to understand, but then again, the guy was lonely, so you can’t judge him.) He spends his time in Hive learning all the secrets that even the developers don’t know about. When he crashes his car and meets Kara, he convinces her to help Hive because there’s a “glitch” in the system, and nobody can get out. Jason discovers what’s happening and manages to get out through the “back door” (I forgot what it’s actually called), but he can’t get back in. So, he asks Kara for help.
Here’s the wild part—Jason and Kara actually met when they were kids. They were friends at a library, but Jason disappeared and never came back. Years pass, and they meet again at Kara’s school (I think Eric Alanick offered Jason a chance to go to school). Now, they reunite after Jason’s car crash. Don’t worry, he’s fine—just a bloody scratch on his forehead.
Do you know why Jason was rushing and crashed? Remember, he thinks life is a simulator. He also believes Hive kidnapped his parents, and that’s why he was offered a job there. When Hive glitches, he assumes his parents are back because Hive is broken. (Like I said, bro is traumatized.) He goes to his old house to look for his parents, but that’s when he crashes his car. Since he can’t physically go back into Hive, he exists in Kara’s head inside Hive, seeing and hearing everything she does.
Jason guides Kara to find her friends and uncover clues. They theorize that the Creator of Hive, Eric Alanick, has been kidnapped and someone else is causing all this chaos. But instead, Kara loses all her friends (don’t worry, they didn’t actually die). Jason and Kara eventually discover that Eric Alanick was behind everything, including government involvement!
Jason probably felt crushed because someone he trusted turned out to be evil. And to make things worse, Eric kidnapped Kara’s mom. Kara had believed her mom abandoned her and her family, but now she learns her mom was kidnapped all along. Eric even puts Kara and her mom in the same room. It doesn’t say it outright, but you can tell Jason feels even lonelier watching Kara reunite with her mom. He just wants someone—just someone—to be there for him and never abandon him. He’s not desperate, just lonely.
Anyway, Kara and her mom manage to escape. Kara tricks Eric in a sneaky yet classic way. She switches a scroll that Eric uses to press “I Agree.” If he had succeeded, everyone on Earth would have been trapped in Hive forever. I don’t remember what scroll she switched it with, but it defeats Eric because, let’s be honest, who actually reads the whole terms and conditions?
So yeah, they save the world, all thanks to Jason—he’s a hero! The best part is that Jason isn’t a psycho lonely person anymore. He now has Kara’s friends to keep him company.
Jason’s parents…? Uh, they weren’t mentioned again. At least he has friends now. :D
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2023
I thought it was a good idea to make the intire thing about a vitual reality simulator because I haven't read any other books with that theme so it was interesting to read the book and travel along with Kara and her friends. It was a book that I felt was very good because it was in my hand when I fell asleep some nights when I was reading it and not very many books have that effect on me. I applaude the author and incurage him to keep writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2023
This book was good and kept my attention until the plot of the dastardly villain was revealed. Then it became too hokey for my tastes. However for a preteen this caricature of evil would be an appropriate bad guy.
I did like the heroine and her friends. Kara’s affinity for the library mirrors mine. Her mom’s disappearance colored her life a lot! This will appeal perhaps to single-parent readers.
I recommend this for preteens and gaming VR fans.
I did like the heroine and her friends. Kara’s affinity for the library mirrors mine. Her mom’s disappearance colored her life a lot! This will appeal perhaps to single-parent readers.
I recommend this for preteens and gaming VR fans.
April 1, 2024
Rating: 2.5
The characters were realistic at times and well-written, yet they sometimes acted and spoke older than their years. The atmosphere was adequate, but it required more development and details to provide a more immersive experience. The writing was enjoyable and flowed nicely. The plot, while enjoyable, seemed to have holes in it, making it complicated to understand at times.
The characters were realistic at times and well-written, yet they sometimes acted and spoke older than their years. The atmosphere was adequate, but it required more development and details to provide a more immersive experience. The writing was enjoyable and flowed nicely. The plot, while enjoyable, seemed to have holes in it, making it complicated to understand at times.
December 26, 2024
This was fun and cute! As a girl who also loves Pride & Prejudice and doesn't really know how to play video games, I related to the main character. I think some of my students will really like this too!
November 13, 2022
Similar in concept to Ready Player One this book takes a different twist on the virtual reality impacts on the world and danger it poses or excitement it can bring.
December 28, 2022
A must-read for fantasy and sci-fi enthusiasts. Twists and cliffhangers in every chapter. Couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!
October 9, 2023
Really liked it. I love the idea and the writing style the author uses!
February 26, 2024
It was a good book and I often turn to it when I just want something wholesome but adventurous at the same time.
It is well written and the plot if fairly original.
It is well written and the plot if fairly original.
May 3, 2024
2.5 it was okayyy butttt...
May 22, 2024
I love this Brooke a bit confusing though
Read
September 12, 2024there were so many twists and turns it almost hurt my head.
Read
May 30, 2025This book was amazing! It will be a definite read again next year, such a cool book!
June 18, 2024
It had the poTeNtIaL to be an AWESOME BOOk-
Not that this is NOT good, it's just if the world they are living in - tHaT would be amazing <333
I didn't really understand most things they explained about HIVE and real world and other simulators stuff-
But this book is SO wEiRdLy funny- XD and the fact that Kara kept commenting stuff and putting parenthesis everwhere😌✋✨✨✨✨✨
This book is worth reading, go for it!
Not that this is NOT good, it's just if the world they are living in - tHaT would be amazing <333
I didn't really understand most things they explained about HIVE and real world and other simulators stuff-
But this book is SO wEiRdLy funny- XD and the fact that Kara kept commenting stuff and putting parenthesis everwhere😌✋✨✨✨✨✨
This book is worth reading, go for it!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews