The Computer's Nerd

Bullied and mistreated by three schoolmates, Arthur thinks his computer and a strange program called The Game may hold the answer to his problems. The Game allows him to secretly get even with his tormentors, but when The Game begins to go too far Arthurfeels he may get into even bigger trouble.

Grade 4-6-This cautionary tale works fairly well until its didactic and unsatisfying conclusion. Arthur is a stereotypical nerd who is constantly bullied. Each day, the sixth grader is forced to surrender his lunch and endure physical and verbal abuse. Then, when he turns on his new computer, he is greeted by a sort of genie who informs him that if he is willing to play "The Game," he can exact revenge on his tormentors. The game consists of selecting the right answers from a series of multiple-choice questions. At first, he enjoys the game, but then the consequences become more serious. He wants desperately to stop playing, but the genie will not leave until he has answered the final question: "When your tormentors first began taking your lunch- you should have a) taken karate lessons- b) told your teacher c) told your parents d) both b and c." If that were not blatant enough, Arthur is then informed that nothing that happened was a direct result of his choices. Arthur then concludes that the point of the game was to show him how to deal with obstacles in his path more effectively. While it's certainly important to teach kids confidence, self-respect, and responsibility, it's equally important that novels attempt to do this with some degree of subtlety.
Ronni Krasnow, New York Public Library
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