Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

Coop is the only human at the Dungeoneer Academy. He feels alone and fears failure, but it’s his lifelong dream to be an explorer. Luckily, his best friend Oggie (a bugbear) and two other new friends on his team stick together to survive the bullying Coop faces at school and the life-or-death jungle trial in which they experience trouble with their team, unexpected attacks, and a monster spider. The stakes are high–if they fail the trial, they’ll be kicked out of the school forever. It’s a fun-to-read, illustrated, and fast-paced fantastical adventure!

I found the narration in this book a bit stiff. It doesn't find a good balance between world building, character development, and action. It's entertaining and may land with a certain group of young readers but there's an awful lot of set up to get through.

This was a fast-paced and adventurous novel that was filled with fantastic illustrations. I appreciated the friendships and teamwork between the characters of the book. It will likely be popular amongst kids that enjoy graphic novels, humor and adventure stories.

Strong Star Trek vibes, just underground and featuring way more mushrooms 😄
Lots of collaboration and teamwork and embracing everybody’s unique skills 3.5 *’s

this is what I would consider a hybrid-graphic novel. Lots of text but fantastic illustrations to add to the story. Overall, I'm not as impressed as I thought I would be. I really like Ben Costa's other works on Rickety Stitch, so I had high expectations. The story is just ok.. Honestly, I would check it out from the library, but probably not buy it.

This will be the newest middle grade series that kids are going to go wild over! This book is super fun and adventurous without being too intense for any readers. The characters are great and the mix of real world problems that kids this age would be going through with this incredible fantasy realm makes for a super fun middle grade book. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ben and James for an upcoming episode of my podcast and you can definitely tell where all the fun of this book comes from.

This will be a great book for middle grade readers and definitely one that has to be in classrooms and libraries and is tons of wholesome fun!

Calling all dungeoneers! Looking for adventure? Smart enough to know not to split up the party? Dungeoneer Adventures is a highly illustrated story, for kids looking for a fun read. Fans of LARPS (live action role play games) and D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) will love it. But you don’t need to be a D&D player to enjoy going to Dungeoneer Academy with Coop and his friends.

Coop is the only human at the academy so readers will meet a wide array of beings who all desire to be dungeoneers. As you’d expect each student has their own set of skills and everyone’s skills will be tested. It’s the end of the school year and each team will run the final gauntlet in the Fungal Jungle—unfortunately things don’t go according to plan!

Fun for all adventure seekers. Great for reluctant readers.

Grades 3 – 7