''The Game of Sunken Places,'' first published by

Scholastic Paperbacks Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

in 2004, is a children's

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novel by

M. T. Anderson Matthew Tobin Anderson (born November 4, 1968), is an American writer of children's books that range from picture books to young adult novels. He won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2006 for '' The Pox Party'', the first o ...

. It is the first of the Norumbegan Quartet which continues in ''The Suburb beyond the Stars'' (2010), ''The Empire of Gut and Bone'' (2011), and ''The Chamber in the Sky'' (2012).

Plot summary

The book follows the story of two boys in their teen years, named Brian and Gregory (who are friends, but complete opposites) who visit a mansion in Vermont owned by Gregory's Uncle Max. Uncle Max is a strange and weird character who uses complicated words from the past such as "effluents" that is very much like an Edwardian-era

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

. The two boys uncover the board of the Game of Sunken Places in the nursery and unintentionally set the game into motion. They also meet Gregory's cousin Prudance, a girl from the area. Thus they become involved in an age-old ritual conflict between enchanted supernatural races. Once they go out into the woods and begin playing the game, they meet unlikely allies such as Kalgrash the

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

and work together to accomplish all the challenges using the game board as a map. In the final challenge, Gregory is about to win and Brian is being strangled by Jack Stimple. By believing that Jack was their opponent, the two almost fell into his trap. Jack was not playing the game at all. Gregory was the player for the Thusser Hordes and was about to win when Brian stopped him. Jack Stimple was meanwhile being dragged away by monks for strangling Brian. Gregory trusts Brian, and lets him win the game and so another battle had been won in the name of the Norumbegans. Prudance is the one who actually came up with the idea of The Game in the first place.

Reception

''The Game of Sunken Places'' received starred reviews from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' and ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', as well as positive reviews from LitPick, and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

.''

References

2004 American novels American children's novels Children's fantasy novels Novels set in Vermont 2004 children's books {{2000s-child-novel-stub American children's book series American fantasy novel series Scholastic Corporation books Children's books set in Vermont