Level Up

The game was supposed to replace schoolwork. No one told Charlie it would decide her future.Thirteen-year-old Charlie Randolph has spent her entire life indoors. In a post-pandemic America where schools are virtual, leaving home is heavily restricted, and the government controls nearly every aspect of daily life, video games are Charlie's favorite escape.Then the government sends every eighth grader a mysterious new game.Charlie is supposed to play for thirty hours. She plays for seventy.And she's good. Frighteningly good.Soon Charlie is selected for an elite gaming program, where she meets Jack, the boy who becomes her perfect partner. Together, they're nearly unstoppable. But when Charlie's scores earn her a place at a secret Gaming Academy, the game suddenly becomes much more serious.She's the first girl ever admitted. She's surrounded by boys determined to beat her—or date her. And the instructors seem far more interested in combat, strategy, weapons, and survival than any ordinary school should be.Charlie came to the academy believing she'd won the ultimate prize: a chance to play video games instead of going to school.Now she's beginning to wonder what happens when the game is over.Because someone has been watching every shot Charlie takes.And they have plans for the best player they've ever seen.PRESS START is Book One of the Game Over series, a dystopian young adult adventure about friendship, competition, freedom, and a girl discovering that being the best at the game may be the most dangerous thing she's ever done.