Escape from a Video Game: The Secret of Phantom Island

I was really excited to read a choose-your-own-adventure type book as I enjoyed them so much as a kid. This, however, was not the enjoyable read I was hoping for.

The choice to write in second person is never, in my experience, a good one. The end result is either preachy or distanced emotionally from the reader and this book is both. The tale presents readers with puzzles to be solved and also asks them to provide dialogue; the interactive nature is reflective of the supposed setting and not a bad technique, but from a narrative standpoint it does nothing helpful. Ultimately, the book is closer to an activity book than a readable one.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review.