The Good War

Written by Todd Strasser

A video game club's rivalry spirals into real-world conflict.

3.5 Goodreads · 250 ratings

192 pages· 42,377 words· Est. 6 hour read· 750L

$8.99Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

At Ironville Middle School, Ms. Peterson's new video game club pits students against each other in a WWII simulation. As friendly competition turns dark, one player's actions threaten to divide the group. Can this game change how they see each other and the world? Discover the unexpected consequences of gaming and the lessons it teaches about prejudice and understanding.

From the publisher

From the author of The Wave comes a poignant and timely novel about a group of seventh graders who are brought together–and then torn apart–by an afterschool club that plays a video game based on WW2. There’s a new afterschool club at Ironville Middle School. Ms. Peterson is starting a video game club where the students will playing The Good War, a new game based on World War II. They are divided into two teams: Axis and Allies, and they will be simulating a war they know nothing about yet. Only one team will win. But what starts out as friendly competition, takes an unexpected turn for the worst when an one player takes the game too far. Can an afterschool club change the way the students see eachother…and how they see the world? “By using a gaming lens to explore the students’ entrée to prejudice and radicalization, he succeeds in lending immediacy and accessibility to his cautionary tale.”–Kirkus Reviews

At a glance