Brainboy and the Deathmaster
Published by HarperCollins
Synopsis

Darryl Kirby is an orphan. He’s also a whiz at computer games. But when Darryl plays a new version of his favorite game, StarMaster, strange things begin to happen. A mysterious message—“WANT TO PLAY?”—invites him to play a new game in which the stakes are higher than they appear—a game that eventually lands him in the luxurious Paradise Lab, where software guru Keith Masterly has enlisted a brain trust of children for a secret purpose of his own. With the help of his friend Nina, Darryl slowly uncovers a sinister plan and finds himself the star of his own real-life computer game.

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  • "An absorbing thriller. As rich in texture as the novels of Avi and Gail Carson Levine, Brainboy deftly bridges the gap between the young-adult thriller of a past generation and the high-tech adventures of this one."
    - ALA Booklist
  • "Seidler creates as likeable a motley crew of heroes as that in Holes’s Camp Green Lake. What Masterly wants with these computer-savvy orphans at his luxury lab is part of a deliciously conceived plot that builds to a rousing denouement in the deserted mountainous terrain of Washington State. Everyone, not just computer geeks, will want to play this thrilling, high-tech game of cat and mouse, heroes and villains."
    - The Horn Book
  • "Seidler’s suspenseful story and fast pacing will keep the pages turning. An excellent read."
    - VOYA
  • "Seidler has created emphatic characters and writes at a level that is accessible even to readers not usually drawn to this genre. Despite the high-tech background, it is Darryl’s emotional journey that resonates and makes this novel worthwhile."
    - School Library Journal
  • "The language, invariably crisp and bright, makes for a quick read. As with Seidler’s first book, The Dulcimer Boy, the core message—children do stand a chance against the cruelties of the world—always bears repeating."
    - Publishers Weekly
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