Diana Wynne Jones' "The Game"

Hayley has been homeschooled and raised in London by her grandparents due to her parents’ disappearance when she was a baby. She has never met her extended family, except for Uncle Jolyon, who is not very friendly. When Hayley gets into trouble, her grandmother decides to send her to her aunts in Ireland. She meets her cousins who involve her in “the game,” which involves going to a place called “the mythosphere.” In the mythosphere, Hayley discovers characters from mythology and legends. After playing “the game” several times, Hayley runs into her father and mother whom she hopes to reunite and bring back to her regular world. Ultimately, she discovers her unique role in the world. Jones introduces readers to Greek mythology and includes an appendix in which she provides background on the characters used in her book. 179 pp. Grades 5-8.