Player vs. Player #1: Ultimate Gaming Showdown

Player Vs. Player #1

by M.K. England, Chris Danger (Illustrator)

In this action-packed illustrated series, four kid gamers meet at a virtual tournament and battle for the ultimate grand prize.

Sixty-four teams.
One mysterious grand prize.
Four gamers determined to win it all.

Welcome to Affinity, the hottest battle royale video game in the world! Gamers can be anything they want to be in Affinity’s high-tech, magical universe—and test their skills in fierce PvP combat. So when Hurricane Games announces an epic tournament with killer prizes, four kids form a team that feels unstoppable . . . but also maybe doomed from the start?

Josh is the tank . . . when his parents let him game.
Hannah is the melee fighter . . . but she can only play at the public library.
Larkin is the healer . . . as long as her family’s not around.
Wheatley is the ranger . . . with a secret that might wreck the whole team.

As solo gamers, they’re good. Really good. But the tournament is a whole new level of competition, and it'll take all four of them to bring it home. Can they step up their game in time for the final match?

Genres: Adventure, Middle Grade, Gaming, Science Fiction, Contemporary

288 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2022

About the author

M. K. England grew up on the Space Coast of Florida watching shuttle launches from the backyard. These days, they live on a micro-farm in rural Virginia packed with video and board games, plants, D&D books, Star Wars memorabilia, and their preschooler's giant personality. They're probably covered in dirt right now. MK is the author of ten novels for kids, teens, and adults and a forthcoming interactive novel with Choice of Games. You can find them at mkengland.com.

For the latest news, you can subscribe to my irregular newsletter updates at mkengland.substack.com. I'm also on instagram (rarely, @mk_england) and on tumblr more informally (mkengland.tumblr.com)

(Just FYI, I don't accept friend requests because Amazon is weird about reviews but follow me on social media above and we can hang out there!)

Reviews

[M.K. England · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual readers, please look away while I convince your parents that they should let you read this book!

Hey, parents. I get it. I'm a parent, too. You're worried about encouraging your kid's love of video games by getting them this book. Every kid is different, so I'm never gonna tell you what the right choice is. What I can do is give you a little reassurance about a few things:

1. There are no guns in this video game and there's no blood. The video game combat is not bloody or graphic or anything like that. Promise.

2. The kids in this book all have lives outside of video games. They go to school. They pursue other interests.

3. My local bookseller has gotten these books into the hands of kids who refuse to read anything. Those non-readers have now read three entire books—this trilogy. I also get more fan mail from kid readers of these books than any of my others. They connect over this shared interest of ours, and that matters a lot for young readers.

4. The art is awesome.

5. I was a kid gamer. I'm still an adult gamer. I also have a successful author career, a partner, a kid of my own, friends, and so on. I turned out okay. So will yours, because if you're reading this, you clearly care about them, and I know you'll make the right choice for your individual kid. Thanks for considering this book. You got this!

Okay readers, welcome back. Anyway, I love video games and I loved writing this trilogy (which is now complete, no cliffhangers!). If you've ever felt like books aren't for you, I hope this one can prove you wrong. Game on!

[Melissa Marwedel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read! Great character development and exciting action. I read it in one day and I’m ordering it for my school library right away. It’s about 4 kids who find themselves on a gaming team for a video game tournament. Each has a secret or circumstance they can’t/won’t share and it affects their ability to play. I’m looking forward to book 2!

[Cindy Cobleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this out of the library to see if it would work for the school library. While not a gamer myself, many I know are. I was pretty immediately hooked! I was unfamiliar with some of the specific gamer vocabulary, that did not impede the total enjoyment of the book. Fun adventure with good suspense and a cliffhanger at the end - cue up Book 2?

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a gamer and I found this plot to be fun and a quick read. The story is told in 4 different points of view, all teens 12-13 years old. They love playing the game Affinity and are in a tournament. As they play together, they become friends and share challenges and feelings with one another. There is a twist with one of the characters. If you like video games, this is the book for you. No swears, no romance, video game violence. 6th grade and up.

[Abigail Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for a gaming loving kid. Positive messages. Only problem is it ends with a cliffhanger and book 2 isn't out yet!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pants Lobsters.

[Rachel { dazai’s version } 🐾 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grrrrk
I hope that Affinity’s real AAAAA
LOVE IT
LITERALLY GOT IT YESTERDAY AND FINISHED IT YESTERDAY

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the positive portrayal of the teen services librarian.