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The Game of Worlds
Author: Roger MacBride Allen Published: Avon, 1999 Suitable for: (Age/Grade level) grade 7-12 Length: 246 pp. Reading Level: 7 Interest Level grades 7-12 Need Addressed: heroism, responsibility Genre: science fiction Plot: The future life is too soft. Aliens have given humans the technology to travel the stars in an instant, but only the young can survive the travel. So people of the future borrow spunky kids from the past to help with problems dealing with alien cultures. In the year 2345, Adam from North Carolina in 1999 AD; and Aaron, a Jew from Nazi Germany in 1938; and Roberto, a slave from Brazil in 1883 have skills needed to help those in the future deal with the Devlin, a hostile culture. Characters: Adam is a boy from a working class family who is a troublemaker. He has put a cherry bomb in a teachers car and is asked to confess his guilt. Aaron is a Jew who was Yanked (the term for being brought to the future) a few days after Kristallnacht. He is being chased by a group of German boys. Roberto is a slave that will be beaten because he wishes to bathe in the sea. He lives in filth and depravity. He longs to run away but is afraid of what retaliation will be done to his family. Use: Individual, but could make an interesting large group discussion Discussion Questions: What choice did the principal give Adam? Why did Adam run away from being Yanked and Aaron and Roberto welcome it? Why did the people of the future need those with "grit?" Do modern conveniences make us weak? Why was Roanoke a good name for the crash site? Who is Least? What is a Broca Amplifier and why is it needed in the story? There is an old saying, "It takes one to know one," How does this apply to Adam's suggestions in the negotiations with the Devlin? What were the Devlin doing with the survivors of the Roanoke crash? What laws apply to embassies? Do the aliens on Negotiations Island have the same laws as on Earth? Related Works: Yanked! By Nancy Kress. Ace, 1999 Tiger in the Sky by Shelia Finch. Ace, 1999. Censorship Issues: none
Game of Worlds
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