More great reads: the best books for 9 year olds
"An interactive, choose your own pathway summer camp adventure about friendship, teamwork and self belief, with puzzles, mysteries and eight possible endings for readers to unlock."
August 2026 Book of the Month
The second of Helen Rutter's interactive decision making stories, The Game Changers hands control to the reader, who chooses the pathway through the adventure and shapes how it all turns out. It is a clever, absorbing format that combines outdoor challenges, indoor mind games, mysteries and genuinely emotional decisions, so that no two journeys through the book need be quite the same.
At the heart of it is Tig Larson, who lives with his mum and isn't sure he has any friends. He finds it hard to know what to say or how to connect with people, so when his mum signs him up for a mysterious and exclusive summer camp, run as a game where campers must work as a team to reach the end, it is well outside his comfort zone. The team Tig joins are all very different from one another, and from him, and somehow they have to pull together.
What makes this more than a puzzle book is the care in the storytelling. Every choice has consequences, and those consequences carry lessons that relate back to real life. Tig discovers he is not the only one with problems, and that his decisions can take him anywhere. With eight possible endings to unlock, the game and puzzle elements are a big part of the charm, but so is Rutter's warm, engaging writing, where every ending is really a new beginning.
LoveReading4Kids recommends this for readers aged nine and above, and it is a strong choice for reluctant readers who enjoy being active participants in a story. Excellent for building confidence and for classroom discussion about friendship and resilience.
Perfect for readers who like:
● interactive and choose your own adventure stories
● Helen Rutter's other books, including The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh
● summer camp settings, puzzles, codes and team challenges
● themes of friendship, belonging, teamwork and self belief
● funny, fast paced fiction with emotional depth
Welcome to The Game - an exciting summer camp where you will make new friends, build resilience and test your limits! You will be put into a team of five with strangers, no screens, no shortcuts. Everyone starts from scratch and has to make friends and find a way to the finish line together.
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the best books for 9-12 year olds · the best books for teenagers
Welcome to The Game - an exciting summer camp where you will make new friends, build resilience and test your limits! You will be put into a team of five with strangers, no screens, no shortcuts.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Game Changers and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
The Game Changers features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Books of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Adventure Stories, Stories about Family and Friends, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Game Changers was written by Helen Rutter and published by Scholastic
The Game Changers has 300 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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