SuitabookRotten School #12 - Battle of the Dum Diddys
Robert Lawrence Stine, Trip Park
- Reading
- Try reading a little together before deciding whether to continue. Pause at the friends’ changed roles and ask what the child thinks is happening; revisit the school’s fate as the story unfolds.
- Themes
- Game roles and real-life behaviour: Students act as opposing groups in a battle that is part of the Wungo Warriors video game. The plot makes the overlap between playing a game and acting out its roles important, but does not establish whether that overlap is presented as harmless, troubling or both.
- Paying to play: Players have to pay Sherman Oaks to take part in the video game. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Risk to the school: The book addresses risk to the school; the detail of how it is developed remains unclear. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- The friends’ unexplained changes in behaviour and the possibility of the school closing may bring suspense. The story’s tone and how seriously these stakes are treated remain unclear.